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This study aimed to investigate the effects of a violence-prevention education program using empathy (VPEP-E) on elementary school students. This quasi-experimental design examined fifth-grade students' (a) empathy level, (b) perception of violence, and (c) permissive and negligent attitudes toward violence, using a pre- and post-test design. A total of 101 students participated: the experimental group (n = 48) received eight sessions of VPEP-E, whereas the control group (n = 53) received violence prevention education through classroom lectures. Significant differences were observed between the groups' empathy level (t = 6.81, p < 0.001), perception of violence (t = 2.79, p = 0.006), and permissive and negligent attitudes toward violence (t = -2.21, p = 0.030; t = -2.02, p = 0.046). Thus, a school-based VPEP-E may help elementary school students. Long-term studies evaluating behavioral changes from VPEP-E implementation are needed for establishing the effects on violent behavior.

Several authors have underlined the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in several populations, including medical students, such as increases in anxiety, depression and burnout symptoms. Furthermore, previous studies showed that anxiety and depressive symptoms are positively associated with affective empathy and negatively associated with cognitive empathy. Given the adverse pandemic effects highlighted by several authors, the present study sought to determine whether medical students' empathy has been potentially impacted, with higher affective empathy and lower cognitive empathy score in the pandemic cohort compared to pre-pandemic cohorts. Medical students (n = 395) were recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic and completed the "Interpersonal Reactivity Index" (IRI) and the "Basic Empathy Scale" (BES). This cohort was then compared with two pre-pandemic cohorts (one used the BES [n = 1168], and the other used the IRI [n = 342]). Similar results were found on both scales: the pandemic cohort displayed significantly higher scores in affective empathy and personal distress (affective empathy domain) and, surprisingly, significant higher scores in cognitive empathy, fantasy, and perspective-taking (cognitive empathy domains). As stressed by previous studies, we posited that the higher scores in affective empathy, personal distress, and fantasy might indicate emotional difficulties. The paper concludes with the identification of empathy components that should be promoted in the curriculum of medical students.

Objective: The present study aimed to determine correlates of adherence to COVID-19 health precautions among college students. Drawing from the literature, the following constructs were considered: self-efficacy, conscientiousness, social support, collectivism, empathy, and fear of COVID. Participants: Undergraduate students (N = 92) recruited from psychology classes and social media, living on and off-campus, served as participants during fall 2020. Methods: Participants completed a short self-report survey, delivered online, measuring adherence to COVID-19 health precautions and its possible correlates. Results: After preliminary comparisons showing no differences in adherence between students living on and off-campus, linear regression analyses of the complete sample revealed that the significant predictors of adherence were conscientiousness, collectivism, empathy, and fear of COVID. Conclusions: College student adherence was largely driven by interpersonal motivators coupled with a modest level of fear, rather than more general constructs. These findings offer implications for considering targets in public health campaigns delivered to college students.

Purpose: Considering that knowledge, skills and behavior can influence sustainability efforts, this study aims to assess which personality traits influence one's sense of feeling connected to nature and presumably make more sustainable choices. The study also explores the situational factors that might pose barriers, despite an individual's preference for a sustainable lifestyle. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 54 faculty members from six Higher Education Institutions in Bangladesh were interviewed based on a semi-structured questionnaire on the barriers to a sustainable lifestyle in Dhaka city, while their personality traits were assessed using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, the Big Five Factors and the Connectedness to Nature Scale through a survey. Findings: The results state that Empathic Concern and Fantasy, as dimensions of empathy, have strong positive correlations with feeling connected to nature. The physical, social and psychological challenges also cause fewer people to lead a sustainable lifestyle, despite feeling highly connected to nature. Research limitations/implications: Sustainability efforts need to be context-specific due to localized challenges the people face. While educators play a key role in mainstreaming sustainability, generalizing the findings of the study to the wider population is limited. Further investigation to explore demographic and socioeconomic factors will provide key insights to the determinants of sustainable behavior. Practical implications: The findings highlight that educational institutions can play a key role in the development of empathy and sustainability education, while addressing the need for good governance and policies in mainstreaming sustainability for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030. Originality/value: Few studies have been conducted to understand sustainable behavior in Bangladesh and identify effective methods to promote sustainability. This study provides insights to sustainable behavior in the context of a least-developed country. Additionally, it will support educational institutions to work toward sustainable development by enabling empathic skills development in curricula, leading to more concrete sustainability efforts.

Prior research has documented that mindfulness is negatively associated with aggressive behaviors. Recently, studies have examined mediating psychological constructs that account for the relationships between mindfulness and cyberbullying perpetration. The purpose of the current study was to examine the longitudinal relationship between mindfulness and cyberbullying behaviors through the mediating variables of self-esteem and empathy. This study used a two-wave longitudinal design. The final sample consisted of 661 Chinese junior high school students. Participants completed four self-report questionnaires including mindfulness, self-esteem, empathy, and cyberbullying perpetration. Structural equation modeling revealed that mindfulness was significantly related to cyberbullying perpetration over time. Self-esteem and empathy significantly mediated the relationship between mindfulness and cyberbullying. Future research may focus on the potential mechanisms linking mindfulness and other protective factors with cyberbullying perpetration to facilitate the development and use of cyberbullying interventions.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ([superscript 1]H-MRS) has shown inconsistent alterations in brain metabolites of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We investigated brain metabolites in the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala of 24 drug-naive adults with ASD and no intellectual disability and 24 non-ASD control subjects, using 3 T[superscript 1]H-MRS. Adults with ASD showed no significant differences from control in glutamate, glutamate plus glutamine, N-acetylaspartate, glycerophosphorylcholine plus phosphorylcholine, creatine plus phosphocreatine, or myo-inositol in either region. However, ASD subjects did show significant correlations of localized brain metabolites with autistic traits, empathy deficits, and personality traits using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and NEO Personality Inventory-Revised. These findings should be taken as preliminary or exploratory.

Little is known about the associations between bullying, empathy, and age. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the relationships between traditional bullying (verbal, physical, and relational) and cyber bullying based on the roles of cognitive empathy, affective empathy and age among adolescents. Three instruments to collect data were the Interpersonal Reactivity Index to measure the level of empathy, the Adolescent Peer Relations Instrument to measure the level of traditional bullying, and the Adolescent Peer Relations Instrument to measure the level of cyber bullying behavior. The sample in this research was 685 female students and 538 male students from three private high schools in Surabaya, Indonesia. Proportionally stratified samples were used to determine the sample. The data obtained were analyzed using Pearson Product-moment and Multiple Regression. The results showed that males were more often involved in bullying than females, and the level of empathy (cognitive and affective) of males was lower than females. It was only affective empathy that was significantly negatively related to traditional bullying. Age also correlated positively with traditional bullying, and the higher the age in the adolescents, the more they engaged in traditional bullying. The implication of this research was highlighting the role of affective empathy as part of efforts to prevent bullying and and to solve various bullying-related problems.

Using a pre- and post-test design, this study examined the changes in empathy skills, life satisfaction, and relationship quality among mainland Chinese adolescents (ages 13-15 years) and their mothers (N = 108 dyads) following an empathy training intervention. Participants completed a 20-day empathy training, including two in-person group training sessions and daily journals on assigned topics. Participants' mother-child relationship quality, mother-child conflict, life satisfaction, and empathy skills were measured three times, and selected participants were interviewed to explore their experience of the training. The research procedure followed protocols that were approved by an Institutional Review Board. ANOVAs were used to examine quantitative data and inductive analysis was used for qualitative data. The findings suggest that after the training, both adolescents and mothers reported significant benefits in mother-child relationship quality and life satisfaction. However, participants' empathy skills (i.e., perspective taking and empathic concern skills) did not change. Possible mechanisms of the observed changes included the empathy skills (e.g., perspective taking skills) learned through the training and the reciprocal nature of positive changes within the mother-child dyad. The current study suggests that empathy training may benefit adolescents and their mothers, both within the relationship and in their general life satisfaction.

The current study seeks to understand the potential benefits of culturally matched cross-age peer mentoring for Black and Latinx adolescent mentors residing in low-income, urban communities. Data for the study were derived from a 4-year longitudinal project examining the effectiveness of community-based cross-age mentoring. Data from the current sample (N = 249, 60.6% female, M = 16.72 years) were analyzed using HLM. Findings indicated that the mentoring relationship bond rather than attendance predicted change on several positive outcomes. Adolescent mentors were found to experience improvements in several areas of positive youth development, ethnic identity, and GPA after the program was completed and at 9 to 12 months follow up. Researchers propose an adapted theoretical model of the impacts of youth cross-age mentoring in low-income communities of color. Findings from the current study offer key information on the value of facilitating empowering, person-focused services in concert with members of marginalized communities.

Some studies suggest that individuals with autism spectrum disorder have reduced emotional empathy while others do not. The presence of co-occurring alexithymia in autism spectrum disorder and differences in interoception have been associated with reductions in empathic ability. To fully explore the relationships between interoception, alexithymia, and emotional empathy, we collected self-report and interview data in 35 youth with autism spectrum disorder and 40 typically developing controls (ages 8-17 years). The autism spectrum disorder sample had increased alexithymia and physiological hyperarousal compared to typically developing controls, but there were no group differences in interoception or emotional empathy. Alexithymia severity correlated with higher personal distress in both groups and with lower empathic concern in the autism spectrum disorder group. Within the autism spectrum disorder group, higher incidence of reports of bodily sensation when describing emotional experience correlated with lower personal distress and lower alexithymia. In addition, although empathic concern was negatively correlated with alexithymia in the autism spectrum disorder group, across groups, the alexithymia hypothesis was supported in only the personal distress domain of emotional empathy. These results suggest emotional empathy; personal distress, in particular, is not intrinsically impaired in autism spectrum disorder.

This article investigates a teacher learning program in Mexico, Desarrollo de la Inteligencia a través del Arte: DIA (Development of Intelligence through Art: DIA), that supports teachers in applying holistic approaches to instruction that support social, emotional, academic, and cognitive growth. Using qualitative and quantitative measures, this article analyzes how pedagogical approaches that emphasize social and emotional learning affect teacher well-being and support practices associated with positive classroom culture. Analyses found that the DIA professional development program promotes an increase in teacher practices attending to social and emotional learning, such as emotional awareness, self-reflection, and student-centered learning. Teachers participating in the DIA professional development program also reported less emotional burnout and distress than control teachers. Analyses suggest that the DIA program may serve as a protective factor from emotional distress among teachers, promoting emotional support for students and student-centered learning.

Understanding college students' level of ageism is important for older adults' social inclusion and recruiting future workforce. This study extends the understanding of ageism among students of health- and non-health-oriented majors and the factors associated with students' attitudes. 246 students participated in this survey study and were measured their levels of empathy and ageism. The study found different levels of ageism and empathy among students in a general college setting. Empathy is a strong predictor for ageism when controlling for all other predictors. Path analysis revealed a moderate to strong mediating effect through empathy toward ageism. Future implications suggest that gerontological coursework should focus on more than physical and psychological curriculum design to include additional societal and sentimental understanding of the older population. Empathy should become an essential target to improve when aiming to reduce ageism among college students.

Objective: The present study aimed to examine the role of positive problem solving in the relation between perspective taking and relationship satisfaction. Participants: One hundred and four college students participated in the present study, if they had been in a romantic relationship for a minimum of six months. Methods: Participants completed measures of relationship satisfaction, perspective-taking relative to romantic couples, and of positive problem-solving in couples. Results: As predicted, both perspective-taking and positive problem-solving were significantly related to relationship satisfaction. In addition, positive problem-solving emerged as a significant partial mediator of the relation between perspective-taking and relationship satisfaction. Conclusions: The benefits of skills training in the areas of perspective-taking and problem-solving in college student health and functioning are discussed.

The present study was aimed at contributing to the understanding of the role of pre-service special education teachers' attachment styles and empathy dimensions in sentiments, attitudes, and concerns towards disability. Participants were 536 pre-service special education teachers (78.4% females and 21.6% males), Results of the path analysis showed that some empathy dimensions (fantasy and personal distress) played a mediating role in the association between preoccupied and fearful attachment styles and teachers' sentiments and concerns towards disability. Moreover, a direct positive association was reported from preoccupied attachment style to sentiments and concerns towards disability, from fantasy and personal distress (both dimensions of empathy) to sentiments towards disability, from personal distress to concerns towards disability, and from empathic concerns to attitudes towards disability, whereas negative relationships were found from perspective-taking to concerns and sentiments towards disability, as well as from empathic concern to sentiments towards disability.

We evaluated structural, construct, and concurrent validity evidence for State-Interpersonal Reactivity Index scores among 208 telemental health counselors. Confirmatory factor analysis results supported a three-factor model. Partial correlation analyses yielded evidence for construct and concurrent validity evidence for scores. We discuss counseling implications and research recommendations.

The present study aims to provide a systematic understanding of how perspective-taking ability contributes to primary-school students' cooperative behaviours and learning outcomes. The present study is frontline as we combined person-oriented (e.g., describing patterns of behaviours based on individual characteristics), process-oriented (e.g., examining factors affecting the quality of cooperative behaviours), and effect-oriented (e.g., examining the effect of cooperative learning on individual learning outcomes) analytical approaches within one research framework. In addition, we adhered to the multi-dimensional nature of perspective-taking ability and differentiated between social and cognitive perspective-taking ability while taking into account the contribution of perspective-taking ability at both the individual level and group level (i.e., heterogeneous and homogeneous perspective-taking ability groups) to cooperative behaviour profiles and learning outcomes of primary-school children. Based on transcribed episodes of interaction of 115 fifth-grade students, four different profiles of cooperative behaviours were discerned: captains, hard workers, switchers, and passive participants. We found that these profiles are related to perspective taking conceptualized at the group level, but not to individual-level perspective-taking ability. Profile membership, cognitive perspective-taking ability, and group-level perspective-taking ability could not predict students' learning outcomes. Social perspective-taking ability and reading comprehension did positively predict learning outcomes. Our findings add to existing knowledge as they suggest that the influence of perspective-taking ability on cooperative behaviours and learning outcomes is susceptible to the conceptualization (i.e., cognitive vs. social) and measurement level (i.e., individual vs. group level) of perspective-taking ability.

Although teacher empathy has an important influence on adolescents' positive academic emotions, the mediating mechanism between these two factors remains unclear. This study examines whether interpersonal emotion regulation plays a mediating role in the relationship between perceived teacher empathy and teenagers' positive academic emotions. A total of 755 teenagers completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, the Adolescents' Academic Emotions Questionnaire, and the Interpersonal Regulation Questionnaire. The results revealed significant correlations between two subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, perspective-taking and empathic concern; two dimensions of the Adolescents' Academic Emotions Questionnaire, high and low positive arousal; and two dimensions of the Interpersonal Regulation Questionnaire, positive and negative emotion interpersonal emotion regulation. Perceived teacher empathy positively predicted teenagers' positive academic emotions, and interpersonal emotion regulation played a mediating role.

This is the first study to investigate humane attitudes toward animals and empathic tendencies toward humans among Chinese adolescents and young adults. The present study administered two scales, the Animal Attitude Scale (AAS) and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), to 471 Hong Kong secondary school and university students who were between the ages of 14 and 25. The findings of the present study suggest that Chinese secondary school and university students tend to consider the instrumental value of animals used for the benefit of humans. Animal use for luxury purposes was most unacceptable, while animal use for survival purposes was most acceptable to these students. The many undecided responses on animal welfare issues might reflect students' lack of knowledge regarding the availability of non-animal alternatives in our lives. The results also show that there is a strong link between humane attitudes and human empathy in the young people in Hong Kong. Gender and education level were found to be significant factors of a humane attitude as well as human-directed empathy. The current study implies that a humane education (HE) program could be particularly beneficial to the empathy development of male adolescents.

Scholars have described compassion fatigue as the result of chronic exposure to clients' suffering and traumatic stories. Counselors can struggle when they experience compassion fatigue because of various reasons. As such, an exploration of factors predictive of compassion fatigue may help counselors and supervisors buffer adverse effects. Utilizing a hierarchical linear regression analysis, we examined the association between wellness, resilience, supervisory working alliance, empathy, and compassion fatigue among 86 counselors-in-training (CITs). The research findings revealed that resilience and wellness were significant predictors of compassion fatigue among CITs, whereas empathy and supervisory working alliance were not. Based on our findings, counselor educators might consider enhancing their current training programs by including discussion topics about wellness and resilience, while supervisors consider practicing wellness and resilience strategies in supervision and developing interventions designed to prevent compassion fatigue.

Aggressive behaviour has negative consequences for students who are exposed to it and those who are aggressive. In addition to a number of negative consequences at the individual level aggression negatively impacts processes within the school. Successful methods of preventing and reducing aggressive behaviour at school often include activities related to empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and feel the emotional state of another person. It includes cognitive and emotional components and is associated with positive effects on relationships and behaviours; the lack of empathy is associated with negative effects, including aggressive behaviour. We analysed the relationships among empathy dimensions and general aggression, including the subtypes of aggression. We used the AG-UD aggression scale and the IRI questionnaire for the measurement of empathy on a sample of Slovene (N = 125), Croatian (N = 95) and Swedish (N = 84) adolescents aged between 13 and 14. The findings across samples revealed several significant associations on the level of general aggression and high congruence across countries and on the level of types of aggression. This data indicates the need to include dimension-level prevention and intervention based on the prevalence of specific types of aggression.

The current study examined the roles of gender, and gender-role orientation in young adolescents' empathetic concern. In addition, this study aimed to explore the contribution of Theory of Mind in participants' empathetic concern. Finally, this study examined whether gender and gender-role orientation were implicated in emerging adolescents' Theory of Mind understanding. One-hundred-fifty 11- to 12-year-olds (79 self-identified females) completed questionnaires measuring their empathetic concern, Theory of Mind, and their perceived gender-role orientation. Results showed that gender-role orientation, specifically, femininity and masculinity predicted empathetic concern above and beyond gender. In addition, the effects of cognitive and affective Theory of Mind are explored and discussed in relation to empathetic concern. Finally, neither gender nor gender-role orientation was found to contribute to participants' Theory of Mind understanding. These findings suggest that emerging adolescents' perceived gender roles, as well as their ability to consider another's beliefs, play a role in their expression of empathetic concern.

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the empathy and levels of social problem solving skills of physical education and sports teacher candidates. The research group of the study, which was carried out through relational screening model was made up of 148 candidate teachers of physical education (53 female, 95 male) in total studying in the departments of Physical Education and Sport Teaching in 5 universities in Turkey. As a data collection tool, the information form including personal characteristics of the participants, Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and Social Problem Solving Inventory-Short Form (SPSI-SF) were used. For the analysis of the data, descriptive statistics, independent t-test, and Pearson Correlation Analysis were employed. The data obtained in the study indicated that there was a significant relationship between the emphatic skills of the physical education candidate teachers and of social problem solving skills. Depending on the variable of gender, the mean scores of the females were higher in the sub dimension of emphatic concern compared to those of males. In addition, males had higher scores in the avoidance style, which was considered the sub-dimension of social problem solving skills compared to females. As for the age factor, while there was no difference in the empathy variable, a significant and positive relationship was found in the social problem solving skills. In addition, it was determined that those doing non-contact sports approached the problem positively, while the ones doing contact sports approached the problem in an avoidance style. As a conclusion, it is likely to say that the empathy skills of the physical education candidate teachers are directly and positively related to their social problem solving skills. In this sense, the empathy education that physical education candidate teachers who are in an active relationship with students must have in order that they could have a solution based approach to the problem they are likely to encounter in this communication is of great importance.

To be effective, teachers need to have empathic relationships with students based on respect, caring, and an overall understanding that relationships in schools are vital to a positive learning community (Cooper, 2003; Jennings & Greenberg, 2009; Ray, Lambie, & Curry, 2007). However, teacher stress may lead to negative consequences that undermine teachers' ability to sustain personal health and positive relationships with students. Thus teacher stress is of growing concern to researchers.

Much research on bullying behaviour in schools among students has been carried out since the 1970's, when Olweus started a large-scale project in Norway which is now generally regarded as the first scientific study on bullying. Yet, there has been little research on how teachers respond to reports of bullying and tackle bullying behaviour in post-primary schools. This paper reports on a preliminary study investigating teacher empathy levels and their preparedness for tackling bullying in a post-primary school in Ireland. There were two research questions central to this research. The first looked at "how empathic are teachers in this school?" The second examined "to what extent it prepares them for tackling bullying?" In answering these questions we relied on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) to gather data on empathy levels among teachers (n = 10), with findings related to existing research in the field. The results showed that teacher empathy is an important factor in creating and maintaining a positive school climate, which in turn leads to a prevention of bullying situations.

Research on young offenders has primarily focused on identifying predictors of the maladaptive, aggressive behavior; there is a scarcity of evidence on factors that relate to prosocial behavior in these adolescents. The current study examined the link from parenting, emotional instability, and prosocial reasoning to prosocial behavior, while also examining the mediating roles of empathic concern (EC) and perspective taking (PT) in a sample of Spanish adolescent offenders compared to a sample of nonoffenders. Participants were 440 adolescents: 220 young offenders residing in four Youth Detention Centres of Valencia (67.3% men) and 220 enrolled in public and private schools within the metropolitan area of Valencia (65.9% men). The two subsamples were similar in age (15-18 years), gender, and social class. Analyses show differences in mother's permissiveness with empathy (PT and EC), in emotional instability and internalized reasoning with PT in predicting prosocial behavior in offenders and nonoffenders adolescents. EC and PT are significative and positively related to prosocial behavior in both groups. These findings have implications for prevention and reeducation interventions oriented to social reinsertion of adolescent offenders and the development of family and social counseling programs that favor adaptive behavior.

Recent research has shown that internal factors are important predictors of adaptation, but little research has studied the relationship between a sense of coherence and school adaptation. The present study examined the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship. A total of 1,072 middle students completed self-report questionnaires assessing their sense of coherence, fathers' and mothers' parenting, empathy, and school adaptation. The results indicated that a sense of coherence was positively associated with school adaptation. A mediation analysis indicated that empathy mediated the relationship between a sense of coherence and school adaptation. Furthermore, both the effect of a sense of coherence on school adaptation and the effect of a sense of coherence on empathy were moderated by positive parenting. The present study contributes to a better understanding of how and when a sense of coherence promotes adolescents' school adaptation.

Research demonstrates that pupils do not always have the necessary social and emotional intelligence to cope with the transition to secondary school successfully. This paper explores a context-specific intervention designed to enhance key social and emotional skills after a secondary school transition. The intervention was designed with reference to a school-context analysis of children who had recently transitioned to secondary school. Sixty children aged 11-12 years took part in the intervention which involved six group sessions and the outcomes of the intervention were assessed through pre-, post-, and follow-up self-report questionnaires. Focus groups were also conducted with intervention participants following completion of the programme. Findings demonstrate that the intervention had a significant positive impact on empathy. The focus group findings highlighted ways the intervention helped pupils to address negative emotions, cope and manage difficult problems as well as positive and negative implementation strategies for future interventions. The paper highlights a context-specific approach to support programmes, based on the inclusion of an exploratory phase when designing such interventions. The findings may be of benefit to practitioners, researchers and educational psychologists.

We examined the links among religiousness, prosocial and violent media exposure preferences, empathic tendencies, and prosocial behaviors in early adulthood. Participants were U.S. college students (N = 324; M age = 19.5 years; 79.6% Women). While young adults' religiousness was not associated with prosocial media exposure preferences, it was negatively related to violent movie and Internet exposure preferences. In turn, violent movie exposure preference was negatively related to prosocial behaviors through perspective taking and empathic concern. Prosocial movie exposure preference was positively linked to prosocial behaviors. Moreover, religiousness was related to young adults' prosocial behavior via empathic concern. Discussion focuses on religiousness, media exposure preferences, and empathic tendencies in understanding young adults' prosocial behaviors.

This research was designed to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of a social and emotional learning (SEL) mindfulness-based school program (MindUp) for children in post-conflict Northern Uganda. In study one, we culturally adapted and implemented MindUp with 5th and 6th graders. Over a two-year period, significant decreases in children's self-reported depressive symptoms and increases in empathic concern were found. In a second, quasi-experimental study, we compared 5th and 6th graders from a school in which MindUp was implemented to children in a similar school without the program. MindUp children reported significant decreases in anger, hostility, and rejection; were reported by their teachers to be higher in positive affect and empathic behaviors; and showed greater increases in academic grades over the duration of the program in contrast to children who did not receive MindUp. These results are discussed with regard to the educational implications of the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing MindUp in other schools within Uganda and beyond.

Empathy for mental health professionals is often inferred from dispositional assessments that misrepresent the temporal, contextual, and multidimensional nature of empathy. This article presents the State-Interpersonal Reactivity Index, a multidimensional assessment of in-session empathy for mental health professionals. Results suggest good construct and incremental validity evidence for participant scores.

Background: Summer camp is proposed as a context to enhance prosocial behavior. This context could be used to apply intervention programs, in addition to being a time of fun and conviviality. A camp-based intervention program to increase empathy was administered for adolescents at risk. Purpose: The aim of this study was to apply and evaluate a positive behavior and social and emotional learning (SEL) intervention on empathy. Methodology/Approach: This exploratory study was carried out with pre-post quantitative design, based on a single-group intervention, with 113 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. Change in empathy was measured by means of a standardized test and participant observation. We used evidence-based interventions, drawing on the principles of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) and SEL approach. Findings/Conclusions: An intervention in positive behavior and SEL was useful in improving empathy in at-risk adolescents. The enhancement was noticeable in both cognitive and emotional empathy, more specifically in the constructs of perspective taking and empathic concern. Implications: Summer camps might be considered an appropriate setting for interventions with at-risk adolescents.

Teacher stress is evident in many developed countries; however, teacher stress is also evident in many low-income sub-Saharan countries such as Uganda where teachers face additional challenges compared to their North American/European counterpart. The goal of this study was to pilot test a mindfulness and yoga self-care workshop designed for teachers working in post-conflict Northern Uganda to help them cope with stress. Twenty teachers participated in the workshop and were compared to a group of matched wait-list teachers on psychological well-being measures. Results show that self-care teachers showed greater reductions in levels of anger, fear, sadness and perceived hostility, and greater increases in levels of emotional support and friendship compared to wait-list teachers. Moreover, longitudinal exploratory data analyses suggest that many of these effects gradually emerge over the course of the three-month school term. These finds are discussed in the context of how school psychologists can help teachers in developing countries through from yoga-based, mindfulness-type programs, and the need for more scaled-up research.

This study examined the mediating role of emotional availability in the relation between parent positive personality and toddler problem behavior. The sample comprised 654 twins at 12 and 32 months. Primary caregivers (>95% mothers) completed six measures indexing parent positive personality assessed at 12 months, and emotional availability and toddler problem behaviors assessed at both times. Parent positive personality was positively associated with emotional availability and negatively associated with problem behavior. The indirect path from parent positive personality to problem behavior through emotional availability was significant, and parent positive personality was no longer significantly related to problem behavior, suggesting full mediation. Although problem behaviors were heritable, over half of the variance was due to the shared environment, pointing to early childhood as a time when parent characteristics and behaviors may have maximum influence. Parental emotional responsiveness could serve to reduce problem behaviors in young children.

The educational approach of empathy has been prominently mentioned as a possible solution to the dehumanization occurring as a byproduct of the rapid development of science and technology in modern society. This study aims to identify the characteristics of Korean adolescents on the empathy factor, as a core competency of twenty-first century education, and the applicability of the empathy scale. This study analyzed 688 Korean adolescents' cognitive and affective empathy using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Korean adolescents showed an increase in all four factors of IRI as they got older. According to gender, females' empathy was higher in all four factors. In terms of the validity of the scale, the difference in subscales by gender was obvious. But, the instability in subscales by age of the Perfective Taking (PT) and Personal Distress (PD) was shown. Especially, PD had an insignificant correlation with other subscales. By revealing the limitations of the IRI, this study suggested ways to improve it. Therefore, this study will contribute to the educational foundation of Korean adolescents' empathic ability.

Introduction: As one of the most important requirements for healthy communication, empathy is vital in a great many occupations. Various studies have investigated the importance and level of empathy in various occupation groups. One of the leading occupations requiring strong empathic skills is teaching. Teachers need empathy to create an effective learning environment, develop good communication with their students, and understand them well. The current study investigates the empathic skills of physical education teachers to evaluate various variables. Methods: The research participants comprised 152 physical education teachers in Turkey, 39 women (25.7%) and 113 men (74.3%), who completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Descriptive statistical methods and the Kolmogorov Smirnov test were used to determine whether the data were normally distributed. The data were analysed using ranking t-test and correlation methods as well as descriptive statistical models ([alpha]=0.05). The total internal consistency coefficient of the scales, measured by Cronbach's Alpha, was 0.56. Results: Regarding the IRI scores for the physical education teachers, the highest mean score was for emphatic concern, followed by perspective taking and fantasy. Teaching duration was associated with higher empathic skill scores. Empathic skills were also positively correlated with higher educational level. Finally, the mean fantasy scores were statistically higher for participants who were not training a school team. Discussion: Physical education courses contribute to the physiological, sociological, psychological, and moral development of students. For this reason, physical education and sports is a compulsory component of the education system from an early age all around the globe. This makes it essential that physical education teachers have appropriate characteristics that they exhibit in their teaching. In the first place, it is necessary to have healthy communication between the physical education teacher and students. Limitations: The current study gathered data from one specific region in Turkey, from physical education teachers in the city of Kütahya. Consequently, the demographic data were evaluated only for statistically significant variables. Other variables that were not numerically equal, were not investigated. Conclusions: Physical education teachers should adopt an empathic approach to teacher-student relationships. Educational institutions should organise activities to develop these empathic skills in teachers.

Introduction: We aimed to examine whether student teachers' tendency to test anxiety relates to their later perspective-taking tendency and self-efficacy. The purpose of the presented study was to obtain first insights into the relationship between test anxiety, perspective-taking, and self-efficacy tendencies in student teachers. These tendencies may determine student orientation across different situations. We tested the hypothesis that the test anxiety components emotionality and worry relate to later low perspective-taking and self-efficacy. Methods: We conducted a longitudinal study with 275 student-teachers and analyzed the obtained data using structural equation modeling. Results: The data analysis revealed that only emotionality is related to lower perspective-taking and self-efficacy in later life. Discussion: We conclude that lowering student teachers' test anxiety emotionality (e.g. through interventions) would result to later increased perspective-taking tendency. Limitations: Participants attended the study voluntarily, so it was a self-selected sample. We employed a correlational design over two measurement times instead of experimental methods. Conclusions: The obtained results give an explanation of why student teachers focused rather on themselves than on school students in classes. The perspective-taking tendency is important for teachers' student orientation. The role of perspective-taking in different teaching situations might be investigated in further research.

Empathy has been linked to therapeutic alliance and positive client outcomes. However, the operationalization of empathy varies in definition and measurement, presenting challenges for assessment. This study describes the formulation of the Empathic Counselor Response Scale (ECRS), examines scale properties using Rasch analysis, and considers future directions for analysis.

In this study, the relationship among the group creativity, empathy, and scientific inquiry ability of elementary school students were investigated. For this purpose, average scores and standard deviations of the group creativity problem solving, empathy, and scientific inquiry ability inventory were calculated and their correlation was analysed with 5th and 6th grade elementary school students as the subjects. In addition, a stepwise multiple regression analysis was executed to investigate the explanation power of the remaining variables of the group creativity problem solving. The results showed that the group creativity problem solving had significant correlation with cognitive empathy, affective empathy, and integrated inquiry ability of scientific inquiry ability. The stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the empathic concern of affective empathy, perspective taking of cognitive empathy, and empathic awakening of affective empathy significantly predicted the group creativity problem solving. The educational implications were also discussed.

Focus on social and emotional intelligence competencies to improve effective leadership has become commonplace in the corporate arena and is now considered by many a prerequisite to successful job performance and outcomes (Antonakis, Ashkanasy, & Dasborough, 2009; Grant, Curtayne, & Burton, 2009; Spence & Grant, 2007; Kampa-Kokesch & Anderson, 2001; McGovern, Lindemann, Vergara, Murphy, Barker, & Warrenfeltz, 2001). Only recently has a similar trend become recognized and more accepted in the field of education (Patti, Senge, Madrazo, & Stern, 2015; Patti, Holzer, Brackett, & Stern, 2014). Few studies exist that study the role that educational leaders' social and emotional competencies play in their job performance and effectiveness; none exist that explore such development with aspiring school leaders. This quasi-experimental pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of a post-graduate development program for aspiring school leaders that incorporates social and emotional intelligence based on the Goleman-Boyatzis model (Goleman, Boyatsis, & McKee, 2001) and inspired by the original concept of emotional intelligence (Salovey & Mayer, 1990). The interrelated social and emotional competencies explored in this study form four core clusters that include: (1) self-awareness, (2) self-management, (3) relationship management, and (4) social awareness (Brackett, Rivers, & Salovey, 2011; Goleman, 1996; Salovey & Mayer, 1990; Zins & Elias, 2007). This study's sample consisted of 32 aspiring leaders who participated in a post-graduate educational leadership program at a university in New York. The study evaluated whether or not there were any effects of focused social and emotional intelligence content and skills on aspiring leaders' emotional intelligence (EI) and other related characteristics such as assertiveness, empathy, mental health, personality, and openness to experience. Post-tests on the various characteristics after one semester found no statistical significance in the tested variables. However, after two years, when the social and emotional intelligence competencies were post-tested (ESCI-U), there were significant findings in the student candidates' self-reported competencies directly related to leadership. Paired t-test comparisons of the means of Observer raters' scores did not find statistically significant differences in the competencies assessed. This article discusses these findings as well as the strengths and challenges of implementing social and emotional intelligence development within an aspiring school leaders program; finally, it provides recommendations for further program development and studies.

Research has shown that teachers' self-efficacy and empathy are two of the most important variables consistently related to outcomes of positive teaching and student learning. Emotional self-efficacy refers to peoples' judgment regarding their own capacity to process emotional information accurately and effectively. It is considered a powerful variable affecting the emotional state of individuals and their performance. The main objective of the present study was to examine to what extent emotional self-efficacy predicts teachers' self-efficacy and empathy in teachers. Findings indicated that emotional self-efficacy predicts both empathy and teachers' self-efficacy. These results contribute to the growing body of literature maintaining that in order to practice and succeed in the complex and demanding school milieu, teachers must develop not only their teaching skills, but the emotional capacity required to enhance their resilience, their survival and their ability to innovate.

The purpose of this research study was to ascertain whether there is a relationship between teachers' cognitive role taking aspect of empathy and the Virginia Standards of Learning (VSOL), English/Reading scores of their students. A correlational research design using hierarchical multiple regression was used to look for this relationship. In order to control for variables previous research has shown to contribute to student achievement, a teacher's years of experience, degree level, self-efficacy beliefs about managing classroom behavior and a teacher's expectations for her students were measured and placed into the regression equation. The study attempted to see if the relationship was stronger based on the ethnicity and course level of the students. The results indicate that the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. However, the results also indicated that the other teacher variables for which this study controlled were also not contributing to the variance in the test scores. These findings led to the conclusion that standardized tests, by their very nature, may possibly not be susceptible to teacher attributes or dispositions. Further, it was concluded that teachers may need to acknowledge that the VSOL, English/Reading tests may be measuring a very small part of student achievement which, in many cases, can be considered learning to pass the tests.

Human rights education is advanced as a method for promoting social responsibility, with an emphasis on promoting ideals of "global citizenship" among undergraduate students. At the same time, the practice of learning communities is widespread on college campuses for retaining freshmen and promoting student success. However, there is limited research on the effectiveness of combining these approaches. In response to this literature gap, this article first provides an overview of key concepts--social responsibility, human rights education, and learning communities--and outlines how these terms are currently understood within higher education. Second, the methods and initial findings of a longitudinal study within Webster University's Social Engagement Learning Community focus on gauging and assessing human rights knowledge and social engagement. Initial findings suggest that most freshmen respondents lack basic human rights knowledge and an activist orientation, yet their empathy and perspective-taking abilities provide foundations for building awareness of human rights issues and social responsibility. Lastly, recommendations are outlined for addressing learning goals related to identity awareness, helping students step outside of their "comfort zones," and promoting awareness and solutions.

Reduced empathy and alexithymic traits are common across the autism spectrum, but it is unknown whether this is also true for intellectually advanced adults with autism spectrum disorder. The aim of this study was to examine whether college students with autism spectrum disorder experience difficulties with empathy and alexithymia, and whether this is associated with their cognitive levels of executive functioning. In total, 53 college students with autism spectrum disorder were compared to a gender-matched group of 29 neurotypical students on cognitive and affective dimensions of empathy and alexithymia. In addition, cognitive performance on executive functioning was measured with computerized and paper-and-pencil tasks. The autism spectrum disorder group scored significantly lower on cognitive empathy and higher on cognitive alexithymia (both d = 0.65). The difference on cognitive empathy also remained significant after controlling for levels of cognitive alexithymia. There were no group differences on affective empathy and alexithymia. No significant relations between executive functioning and cognitive alexithymia or cognitive empathy were detected. Together, these findings suggest that intellectually advanced individuals with autism spectrum disorder experience serious impairments in the cognitive processing of social--emotional information. However, these impairments cannot be attributed to individual levels of cognitive executive functioning.

Reading and conducting research can initially feel daunting for community college students. For this nontraditional aged, first generation student-researcher, the interest in research increased with the availability of TEDx Talks. The overall intent of the study was to evaluate the empathetic reactivity of students (n = 78) while viewing a prosocial behavior TEDx Talk. Students completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) pre/post-assessment to understand if empathy levels changed from before and after viewing the video. Results showed statistically significant changes for both males and females suggesting increased levels of empathy after viewing the video. For the student-researcher, certitude was found as data were analyzed; initial positive feelings about learning research utilizing TEDx Talks were confirmed with statistical analysis, thereby strengthening confidence that learning was not only hypothesized but secured by empirical evidence.

There is a growing interest in understanding how individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience empathy to explore their social-emotional and communication impairments. Although there has been considerable research into autism and cognitive empathy, research into emotional empathy is scarce, and there is less on the impact of teaching social skills. This study explores the use of art therapy with puppet making and puppetry using the Expressive Therapies Continuum (Kagin & Lusebrink, 1978) to promote emotional empathy in individuals with ASD within the larger goal of addressing socialization.

Many researchers assessing counselor empathy have inferred state-specific counselor empathy in a counseling session using trait empathy assessments. This article introduces the State-Empathic Concern Scale, a state-specific assessment of counselor empathy based on Davis's (1994) multidimensional empathy model. Results indicated moderate to strong evidence of construct validity among 200 counselors-in-training.