Chichua Mariam, Filipponi Chiara, Mazzoni Davide, Marinucci Marco, Masiero Marianna, Pravettoni Gabriella
Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Applied Research Division for Cognitive and Psychological Science, IEO European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, Italy.
Front Psychol. 2025 Mar 19;16:1397581. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1397581. eCollection 2025.
Empathy is a key driver of prosocial behaviors, including motivations to participate in clinical trials. Our study aimed to explore how individuals' levels of empathy influence their intention to participate in a trial, examining scenarios where participants envision the decision for themselves () and when they consider a hypothetical person (), who has to take that decision.
A between-subject design was conducted on 176 healthy participants (M = 31.98, SD = 10.14). All participants responded to socio-demographic questions and were assessed for empathy. They were randomly assigned to two conditions presenting a hypothetical cancer clinical trial and assessing the intention to partake in the trial.
The moderation regression model was statistically significant [ = 0.10, (7,167) = 2.04, < 0.05]. Simple slopes analysis showed that for Condition 1, each unit increase in empathy was associated with 8.59 unit increase in intention to partake in a clinical trial [ = 8.59, SE = 4.04, 95% CI: 0.61, 16.6], whereas for Condition 2 each unit increase in empathy was associated with -9.77 unit decrease in intention [ = -9.77, SE = 3.78, 95% CI:-17.24, -2.3]. The slope of empathy on intention for condition 1 was significantly different than for condition 2 [Δ = 18.4, SE = 5.5, (167) = 3.34, < 0.001].
Empathy acts as a facilitator for partaking in trials when imagining having been diagnosed with cancer, while it becomes a barrier when thinking about another person's participation. The reversed effect of empathy on intention shown in this study may guide future research and healthcare providers to discuss further before enrolment, involving both patients and caregivers in the decision-making process.
同理心是亲社会行为的关键驱动因素，包括参与临床试验的动机。我们的研究旨在探讨个体的同理心水平如何影响他们参与试验的意愿，研究参与者为自己设想做出决定的情景（）以及他们考虑一个必须做出该决定的假设人物的情景（）。
对176名健康参与者（M = 31.98，SD = 10.14）进行了组间设计。所有参与者回答了社会人口统计学问题并接受了同理心评估。他们被随机分配到两种情景中，呈现一个假设的癌症临床试验并评估参与该试验的意愿。
调节回归模型具有统计学意义[ = 0.10，(7,167) = 2.04， < 0.05]。简单斜率分析表明，在情景1中，同理心每增加一个单位，参与临床试验的意愿就增加8.59个单位[ = 8.59，SE = 4.04，95% CI：0.61，16.6]，而在情景2中，同理心每增加一个单位，意愿就减少9.77个单位[ = -9.77，SE = 3.78，95% CI：-17.24，-2.3]。情景1中同理心对意愿的斜率与情景2显著不同[Δ = 18.4，SE = 5.5， (167) = 3.34， < 0.001]。
当想象自己被诊断患有癌症时，同理心有助于参与试验，而当考虑他人参与时，同理心则成为障碍。本研究中同理心对意愿的反向影响可能会指导未来的研究，并促使医疗保健提供者在招募前进行进一步讨论，让患者和护理人员都参与到决策过程中。
