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Impairment of affective and cognitive empathy in high functioning autism is mediated by alterations in emotional reactivity.
Kimmig, Ann-Christin S; Burger, Lina; Schall, Marina; Derntl, Birgit; Wildgruber, Dirk.
Affiliation
  • Kimmig AS; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Calwerstr. 14, 72076, Tübingen, Germany. ann-christin.kimmig@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
  • Burger L; German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Partner Site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. ann-christin.kimmig@med.uni-tuebingen.de.
  • Schall M; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Calwerstr. 14, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
  • Derntl B; Department of Psychology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany.
  • Wildgruber D; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Calwerstr. 14, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
Sci Rep ; 14(1): 21662, 2024 09 17.
Article in En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39289415
ABSTRACT
Empathy impairments are considered a key aspect of autism-spectrum disorders (ASD). Previous research consistently shows reduced cognitive empathy, but findings on affective empathy vary, possibly due to experimental design variations (e.g., stimulus modality, social distance) and individual psychological factors (e.g., perceptual abilities, emotional reactivity). This study aims to clarify deficits in affective and cognitive empathy in ASD by addressing these contributing factors. Empathy was examined in 34 autistic individuals and 33 typically developed controls (TDCs) through the Textual Empathy Test (TET). The TET was developed to assess emotional responses when imagining oneself (emotional reactivity) as compared to a target person (friend, stranger) in emotional situations presented via short verbal descriptions. Participants rated emotional states of the target person (cognitive empathy) as well as their own emotional responses when imagining the target person in that situation (affective empathy). Ratings were interpreted relative to normative mean values through standardized regression coefficients. Results showed that high-functioning autism was associated with lower cognitive and affective empathy irrespective of social distance as well as with decreased emotional reactivity compared to controls. Moreover, emotional reactivity mediated the impact of ASD on both empathic components. In summary, altered emotional reactivity may underlie impaired empathy in autistic individuals.
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Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Cognition / Emotions / Empathy Limits: Adolescent / Adult / Female / Humans / Male Language: En Journal: Sci Rep Year: 2024 Document type: Article Affiliation country: Germany Country of publication: United kingdom

Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Cognition / Emotions / Empathy Limits: Adolescent / Adult / Female / Humans / Male Language: En Journal: Sci Rep Year: 2024 Document type: Article Affiliation country: Germany Country of publication: United kingdom