The hypothesis that empathy inhibits aggression and therefore that a deficit in empathy may underlie aggressive behaviour (Feshbach, 1978) was investigated in this review. Twenty empirical papers examining the association between empathy and aggression in children and adolescents were reviewed. The studies revealed inconsistent results, particularly in relation to children. Amongst the studies of adolescent samples, there tended to emerge a significant negative association between empathy and aggression. More recent studies, and studies employing measures of situational empathy, yielded the most consistent evidence for a negative association between empathy and aggression. Gender differences were rarely reported, but one recent study offered some tentative support for the notion of a differential association between empathy and certain forms of aggression in girls compared with boys. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed in light of the results of this review.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:639511 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Reilly, N. L. |
| Publisher | University College London (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1445026/ |
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