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Relations between Empathy and Anxiety in Children as Moderated by Inhibited Temperament and Parent Emotion

Wagers, Keshia B
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8080-2836
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1594141172845846

Abstract Details

2020, Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, Psychology.
Empathy is generally considered to be an adaptive ability. Recent research, however, suggests heightened empathy may be a risk factor for internalizing symptoms, particularly in certain contexts. Affective empathy (the experience of feeling and sharing emotions) and cognitive empathy (the experience of understanding another's viewpoint or internal state) have also been found to relate differently to different outcomes Children with heightened empathy and an inhibited temperament, which is associated with heightened physiological arousal, may have a particularly difficult time regulating emotions when faced with another individual in distress. Further, if exposed to frequent negative emotion from parents, these children may feel more negative emotions and have fewer adaptive models of how to regulate emotions. In the current study, a three-way moderation among empathy, inhibited temperament, and maternal negative emotionality was examined. A significant interaction would suggest that maternal negative emotionality moderates the extent to which inhibited temperament interacts with empathy to predict anxiety. Mothers and their children participated in two phases of assessment to test these relations. No interactions were significant, however, maternal-reports of affective and cognitive empathy were found to relate to generalized and social anxiety symptoms as main effects. Children with high levels of cognitive empathy, as reported by mothers, were reported to have high levels of generalized anxiety. Children with high affective, and low cognitive empathy, as reported by mothers, were reported to have high levels of social anxiety. In addition, post-hoc analyses supported an interaction between maternal-report of affective and cognitive empathy in predicting social anxiety. Results suggest that components of child empathy are differentially related to different types of anxiety. Further research is needed to understand other potential moderators and mechanisms of this relation, and to understand whether disrupted empathy development can be a target of prevention and intervention for anxiety.
Elizabeth Kiel, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Aaron Luebbe, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Jennifer Green, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Amity Noltemeyer, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
57 p.
Psychology
empathy; generalized anxiety; social anxiety; children; inhibited temperament; parent emotion

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Wagers, K. B. (2020). Relations between Empathy and Anxiety in Children as Moderated by Inhibited Temperament and Parent Emotion [Doctoral dissertation, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1594141172845846

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Wagers, Keshia. Relations between Empathy and Anxiety in Children as Moderated by Inhibited Temperament and Parent Emotion. 2020. Miami University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1594141172845846.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Wagers, Keshia. "Relations between Empathy and Anxiety in Children as Moderated by Inhibited Temperament and Parent Emotion." Doctoral dissertation, Miami University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1594141172845846

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

miami1594141172845846
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This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.