Poster #232 - The Role of Empathy in the Relationship between Childhood Maltreatment and Social Support

• In Event: 1-061 - Poster Session 02
  In Poster Session: PS 02 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

Background The association between child maltreatment and long-term psychosocial functioning has been well-established (Billette & Marchand, 2006; Evans, Steel, & DiLillo, 2014), and recent studies have shown that adults with maltreatment histories report significantly lower levels of social support and greater impairments in psychosocial functioning (Sperry & Widom, 2013). However, less research has focused on identifying mechanisms to explain why these individuals may have lower social support. One important component of social interaction is empathy. Empathy represents a multifaceted construct comprised of affective and cognitive components (Reniers et al. 2011) that work together to form the ability to understand and share other’s feelings (Batson, 2009; Singer, 2006). Traditionally, empathy is viewed as a positive trait with links to greater prosocial behavior and overall well-being (Singer & Klimecki, 2014). Recent findings would suggest that low levels of empathy may increase the risk for negative socioemotional consequences, including disrupted social relationships (Batson, 2012). Given the lack of research in this area, the current study examined empathy as a possible mediator of the relationship between childhood maltreatment and social support in a sample of undergraduate students.
Methods The sample included 179 undergraduate students recruited from a Midwestern University. The Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure, a retrospective assessment of childhood maltreatment, was used to assess exposure to ten types of maltreatment (MACE; Teicher & Parigger, 2015). Additionally, the Empathy Quotient was used to assess current levels of empathy (EQ; Baron-Cohen & Wheelwright, 2004), and the Medical Outcomes Study was used to measure current degree of social support (MOS; Sherbourne & Stewart, 1991).
Results Preliminary analyses suggested positive correlations among childhood maltreatment, empathy, and social support (see Table 1). Mediation analyses via bootstrapping procedures (Hayes, 2012; Preacher & Hayes, 2008) were conducted in Mplus (Version 8) using maximum likelihood (ML) estimation. See Figure 1. Results indicated that greater exposure to childhood maltreatment was associated with lower levels of empathy. Further, lower empathy was associated with low levels of social support (see Fig. 1). There was a significant direct association between childhood maltreatment and social support, as well as an indirect association through empathy (IE = -.007, 95% CI = -.014, -.002). Subsequent analyses will examine these findings by gender.
Conclusion Findings suggest that impairments in empathy may be one consequence of childhood maltreatment that subsequently interferes with social relationships, and importantly, social support. Considering the salient role of social support for general psychosocial well-being among young adults, it is important to address factors that might interfere with building social support networks for those with histories of childhood maltreatment. Specifically, empathy may serve as an important marker for identifying youth and adults at risk for experiencing a lack of social support, and may be a possible target for interventions designed to improve social relationships. Future aims should examine the specific components of empathy to better understand the contributions of this mechanism, as well as examine the different types of social support to determine possible differential associations (Sperry & Widom, 2013).

Authors

• Samantha Addante, Oklahoma State University
  Presenting Author

• Mira Armans, Oklahoma State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Gina Erato, Oklahoma State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lucia Ciciolla, Oklahoma State University
  Non-Presenting Author