Systematic Review of Empathy and Offending: A 10-Year Update

• In Event: Individual and Family Risk Factors: Impact on Development and Maintenance of Antisocial Behaviour

Abstract

Empathy is a key individual difference proposed to have an impact on the likelihood of offending. In their original systematic review and meta-analysis Jolliffe and Farrington (2004) identified 35 studies which compared the levels of empathy of offenders (usually defined as prisoners) to those of non-offenders. The results suggested that low empathy was associated with offending, but this relationship varied considerably depending on the key features of the studies. This paper reports on an update of this original systematic review, including 10 additional studies which compare the empathy levels of offenders to those of non-offenders. The key findings from the meta-analysis will be used to further interpret the proposed relationship between empathy and offending, and the limitations of the current state of knowledge will be discussed.

Authors

• Darrick Jolliffe, University of Greenwich

• Alessandro Moretti, University of Greenwich

• David Philip Farrington, Cambridge University