Frontiers in Psychiatry (Apr 2024)
Empathy and psychopathology in children and adolescents: the role of parental mental illness and emotion regulation
- Arleta A. Luczejko,
- Klara Hagelweide,
- Rudolf Stark,
- Sarah Weigelt,
- Hanna Christiansen,
- Meinhard Kieser,
- Kathleen Otto,
- Corinna Reck,
- Ricarda Steinmayr,
- Linda Wirthwein,
- Anna-Lena Zietlow,
- Christina Schwenck,
- the COMPARE-family research group,
- Stracke,
- Gilbert,
- Eitenmüller,
- Awounvo,
- Kirchner,
- Klose,
- Buntrock,
- Ebert,
- Schlarb,
- Margraf,
- Schneider,
- Friedrich,
- Teismann,
- Stark,
- Metzger,
- Brakemeier,
- Wardenga,
- Hauck,
- Glombiewski,
- Schröder,
- Heider,
- Jungmann,
- Witthöft,
- Rief,
- Eitenmüller
Affiliations
- Arleta A. Luczejko
- Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Klara Hagelweide
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany
- Rudolf Stark
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus-Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Sarah Weigelt
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany
- Hanna Christiansen
- Department of Psychology, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
- Meinhard Kieser
- Institute of Medical Biometry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- Kathleen Otto
- Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
- Corinna Reck
- Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Ricarda Steinmayr
- Department of Psychology, Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany
- Linda Wirthwein
- Department of Psychology, Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany
- Anna-Lena Zietlow
- Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Christina Schwenck
- Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- the COMPARE-family research group
- Stracke
- Gilbert
- Eitenmüller
- Awounvo
- Kirchner
- Klose
- Buntrock
- Ebert
- Schlarb
- Margraf
- Schneider
- Friedrich
- Teismann
- Stark
- Metzger
- Brakemeier
- Wardenga
- Hauck
- Glombiewski
- Schröder
- Heider
- Jungmann
- Witthöft
- Rief
- Eitenmüller
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1366366
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 15
Abstract
ObjectiveAlthough empathy is known to be a strength, recent studies suggest that empathy can be a risk factor for psychopathology under certain conditions in children. This study examines parental mental illness as such a condition. Further, it aims to investigate whether maladaptive emotion regulation (ER) mediates the relationship between empathy and psychopathological symptoms of children.MethodsParticipants were 100 children of parents with a mental illness (55% female) and 87 children of parents without a mental illness (50% female) aged 6 - 16 years and their parents.ResultsGreater cognitive empathy was related to more psychopathological symptoms in COPMI, but not in COPWMI. In addition, in COPMI maladaptive ER mediated this relationship. In contrast, greater affective empathy was associated with more psychopathological symptoms regardless of whether parents had a mental illness.ConclusionOur findings highlight the importance of implementing preventive programs for COPMI that specifically target the reduction of maladaptive ER.
Keywords
- transgenerational transmission of mental disorders
- parents with mental illness
- children of parents with mental illness
- empathy
- emotion regulation
