Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41888065›Full record

ArticleThe British journal of developmental psychology2026

Individual differences in empathy-related responses in early childhood: A person-centred approach.

Johannes Bullinger, Natalie Christner, Radu Urian, Christina M Kellermann, Seleste Beaulieu, Nikolaus Steinbeis, Kristen A Dunfield, Markus Paulus

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Article in The British journal of developmental psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Johannes BullingerDepartment of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1049-0282
Natalie ChristnerDepartment of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
Radu UrianDepartment of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Christina M KellermannDepartment of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
Seleste BeaulieuDepartment of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Nikolaus SteinbeisDivision of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK.
Kristen A DunfieldDepartment of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Markus PaulusDepartment of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.

Funding

Deutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftEconomic and Social Research CouncilSocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Empathy is vital for social development in early childhood. This study investigates the empathy-related behaviours of 362 German and Canadian children (49.72% girls) aged 3 to 6 years (M = 60.65 months; SD = 11.43 months), focusing on responses to emotional distress. Using latent profile analysis, a person-centred approach, we identified four profiles with distinct empathy-related response patterns: prosocial, empathic, self-distressed and uninvolved. To further delineate these profiles, we examined associations between profile membership and social-cognitive and social-emotional competencies. Results suggest that temperamental surgency and moral self-concept differed across profiles. Self-distressed children were rated lower in surgency compared with other profiles, and prosocial children had higher moral self-concept than uninvolved children. Descriptively, profiles differed in emotion comprehension, with no significant post-hoc differences, whereas Theory of Mind and inhibitory control did not differ between profiles. These results provide novel insights into the complex interplay of factors associated with children's reactions to emotional distress, enhancing our understanding of empathy development and informing future research directions.

Indexed as

Child BehaviorChild DevelopmentEmpathyIndividualityPsychological DistressSelf ConceptSocial BehaviorSocial PerceptionTemperamentTheory of MindCanadaChildChild, PreschoolFemaleGermanyHumansempathyperson‐centred approachpreschool childrenprosocial behavioursocial cognition

Identifiers

PMID41888065
PMCPMC13452005

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