ArticleScientific reports2025
The association positive and negative empathy have with depressive symptoms, resilience, and posttraumatic growth.
Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Impact of Abusive Supervision on Quiet Quitting: The Mediating Role of Sleep Deprivation and the Moderating Role of Proactive Personality.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Differential associations between distinct facets of empathy, engaged gaming, and problematic gaming behaviours.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Evaluating a Culturally Tailored Digital Storytelling Intervention to Improve Trauma Awareness in Conflict-Affected Eastern Congo: Quasi-Experimental Pilot Study.JMIR mental health · 2026Article
- Neurophysiological mechanisms of embodied empathy in martial arts.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The impact of reading trauma literature on Chinese undergraduates' PTSD: the mediating roles of social support and empathy.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- The mediating role of family intimacy: negative emotions and resilience in adolescents with depressive disorders.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
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Abstract
Empathy, the ability to understand and respond to others' emotional experiences, is often regarded as a universally positive trait. However, its role in psychological adjustment following adversity is more complex. The current study examined the relationships between empathy - measured globally and through its positive (compassionate concern) and negative (callousness) dimensions - and three outcomes of stress or trauma: depressive symptoms, resilience, and posttraumatic growth (PTG). College students (N = 403) completed online surveys assessing these variables, with controls for age, sex, and personality traits. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that global and positive empathy were positively associated with PTG, indicating empathy's role in fostering personal and relational growth. However, positive empathy also predicted depressive symptoms, reflecting its potential to heighten vulnerability to emotional distress. Negative empathy was inversely related to PTG but unrelated to depressive symptoms or resilience. Resilience demonstrated weaker links with empathy, instead aligning more closely with personality traits like extraversion and conscientiousness. These findings highlight empathy's dual impact, where it can contribute to personal growth while also increasing susceptibility to distress. Future research should explore empathy's cognitive and affective components and develop strategies to minimize its negative effects while enhancing adaptive outcomes like PTG.
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