Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
J Affect Disord. 2019 Jan 1;242:48-51. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2018.08.008. Epub 2018 Aug 8.
Impairments in social functioning are common in individuals with (sub)clinical levels of depression. One possible underlying mechanism of this relationship is low empathy. The present study examined linear and non-linear associations between empathy and depressive symptoms, and whether these associations were moderated by gender.
Using the Empathy Quotient scale, cognitive and affective empathy were assessed using a large convenience sample from the general Dutch population (N = 3076). Depressive symptoms were indexed by the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) and the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS-SR16).
Low cognitive empathy was associated with more depressive symptoms. There was a weak positive relation between affective empathy and depressive symptoms, indexed by the QIDS rather than the DASS.
Generalizing results to the general population remains difficult with a convenience sample. Self-reported data may be affected by social-desirability or sex-stereotypical reporting biases.
Our results support a linear relationship between cognitive empathy and symptoms of depression. There was some evidence for non-linear associations and a moderating role of gender, but these patterns were not observed across all types of analysis.
在（亚）临床抑郁水平的个体中，社会功能障碍很常见。这种关系的一个潜在机制可能是同理心低。本研究使用大样本的一般荷兰人群（N=3076），检验了同理心与抑郁症状之间的线性和非线性关系，以及这些关系是否受到性别的调节。
使用同理心量表，通过认知和情感同理心评估来评估同理心。抑郁症状用抑郁、焦虑和压力量表（DASS）和抑郁症状快速清单（QIDS-SR16）来评估。
低认知同理心与更多的抑郁症状相关。情感同理心与抑郁症状呈弱正相关，而 QIDS 比 DASS 更能反映这种关系。
用方便样本很难将结果推广到一般人群。自我报告的数据可能受到社会期望或性别刻板报告偏见的影响。
我们的研究结果支持认知同理心与抑郁症状之间的线性关系。有一些证据表明存在非线性关系和性别调节作用，但这些模式在所有类型的分析中都没有观察到。
