Expanding on the relationship between empathy and aggression in adolescents: A multidimensional perspective.

This study examined adolescent aggressive behaviours in relation to empathy. Aggression was conceptualized as being multi-dimensional, composed of both form components (i.e., physical aggression and relational aggression) and function components (i.e., reactive aggression and proactive aggression). Empathy also was conceptualized as being multi-dimensional, composed of both cognitive components (i.e., perspective-taking and fantasy perspective-taking) and affective components (i.e., empathic concern and personal distress). Adolescents in grades 11 and 12 were asked to complete one self-report measure each for aggression and empathy. Correlation analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between each aggression component and each empathy component. These findings suggest that the nature of the relationship between aggression and empathy differs by gender. Possible aetiologies of this difference are discussed. Implications of the unexpected finding that aggression forms and perspective-taking were negatively correlated are discussed. Also discussed are possible implications of the results for aggression intervention programs and potential areas of future research. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)Dept. of Psychology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2005 .Y33. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-04, page: 1987. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2005