Ido Shalev, Varun Warrier, David M. Greenberg, Paula Smith, Carrie Allison, Simon Baron‐Cohen, Alal Eran, Florina Uzefovsky, Shalev, Ido [0000-0002-2034-4527], Uzefovsky, Florina [0000-0003-4571-2514], and Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository
Funder: Autism Research Trust, Funder: Kreitman School of Advanced Graduate Studies, Ben‐Gurion University of the Negev; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100014385, Funder: Medical Research Council; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100007155, Funder: National Institute for Psychobiology in Israel, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001739, Funder: Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Funder: Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100014370, Funder: Templeton World Charitable Fund, Funder: Department of Health; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003921, Funder: Health Research; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100005622, Funder: National Institute for Health Research; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000272, Funder: Biomedical Research Centre; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100014461, Funder: AUTISM SPEAKS; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000073, Funder: Horizon 2020; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100010661, Funder: European Union; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780, Funder: Ben‐Gurion University of the Negev; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100005005, A large body of research showed that autistic people have intact emotional (affective) empathy alongside reduced cognitive empathy. However, there are mixed findings and these call for a more subtle understanding of empathy in autism. Empathic disequilibrium refers to the imbalance between emotional and cognitive empathy and is associated with a higher number of autistic traits in the typical population. Here we examined whether empathic disequilibrium predicts both the number of autistic traits and autism diagnosis. In a large sample of autistic (N = 1905) and typical individuals (N = 3009), we examined empathic disequilibrium and empathy as predictors of autistic traits and autism diagnosis, using a polynomial regression with response surface analysis. Empathy and autistic traits were measured using validated self-report questionnaires. Both empathic disequilibrium and empathy predicted linearly and non-linearly autism diagnosis and autistic traits. Specifically, a tendency towards higher emotional than cognitive empathy (empathic disequilibrium towards emotional empathy) predicted both autism diagnosis and the social domain of autistic traits, while higher cognitive than emotional empathy was associated with the non-social domain of autism. Empathic disequilibrium was also more prominent in autistic females. This study provides evidence that beyond empathy as was measured thus far, empathic disequilibrium offers a novel analytical approach for examining the role of empathy. Empathic disequilibrium allows for a more nuanced understanding of the links between empathy and autism. LAY SUMMARY: Many autistic individuals report feelings of excessive empathy, yet their experience is not reflected by most of the current literature, typically suggesting that autism is characterized by intact emotional and reduced cognitive empathy. To fill this gap, we looked at both ends of the imbalance between these components, termed empathic disequilibrium. We show that, like empathy, empathic disequilibrium is related to autism diagnosis and traits, and thus may provide a more nuanced understanding of empathy and its link with autism.