Autistic Traits and Prosocial Behaviour in the General Population: Test of the Mediating Effects of Trait Empathy and State Empathic Concern

Zhao, Xuhao; Li, Xiujun; Song, Yuncai; Shi, Wendian

doi:10.1007/s10803-018-3745-0

Cited by 46 publications

(59 citation statements)

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“…Possible reasons for this inconsistency are as follows. First, as the core component of interpersonal interactions (Bos and Stokes, 2018), empathy is multi-layered and multidimensional (Kern Koegel et al, 2016; Argott et al, 2017; Bos and Stokes, 2018; Foell et al, 2018; Khalil et al, 2018; Zhao et al, 2018), and the empathy deficit of individuals with ASCs may be component specific. Second, as an important social cognitive process (Chen and Liu, 2016), empathy is context dependent (Kennedy and Adolphs, 2012; Chen and Liu, 2016; Powell and Roberts, 2017), and the empathy impairment of autistic individuals may be regulated by other factors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It should be noted that “trait empathy” and “state empathy” are relative. The main difference between them is that “state empathy” is context dependent (Cuff et al, 2014); namely, it requires the induction of a specific situation and stimulus (Van der Graaff et al, 2016; Zhao et al, 2018) and is a short-term, instant psychological state and process of an individual. In contrast, “trait empathy” is relatively stable across time (Cuff et al, 2014) and does not require the induction of a specific situation or stimulus.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, “trait empathy” is relatively stable across time (Cuff et al, 2014) and does not require the induction of a specific situation or stimulus. This division has also determined that the measurement of “trait empathy” is often achieved through offline, self-reported questionnaires (Zhao et al, 2018), such as the empathy quotient (EQ) (Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright, 2004), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) (Davis, 1980) and the Questionnaire on Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE) (Reniers et al, 2011). In contrast, the measurement of “state empathy” is often achieved through some online, performance-based methods (Zhao et al, 2018), such as the eyes test (Baron-Cohen et al, 2001), the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET) (Dziobek et al, 2008), the empathic embarrassment tasks (Adler et al, 2015), etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Empathy Impairment in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Conditions From a Multidimensional Perspective: A Meta-Analysis

et al. 2019

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Background: Although empathy has always been considered to be impaired in individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASCs), the relevant findings have been inconsistent. The present meta-analysis aims to determine which empathy components are impaired and how culture, gender, and age moderate such empathy impairment.Methods: By using “Autism,” “Asperger Syndrome,” “Empathy,” and related Chinese synonyms as keywords, we searched the databases of Weipu, Wanfang, CNKI, Web of Science, Science Direct, SpringerLink, and Elsevier through “subject” and “keyword” searches. We also conducted a manual search according to the references. In total, 51 studies from Eastern and Western countries were included in this meta-analysis, which comprised 144 independent effects, 2,095 individuals with ASCs and 2,869 controls without ASCs. For the retrieved data, Hedge's g was taken as the quantitative measure of effect, and CMA V2.0 software was used for publication bias tests (by using Rosenthal's Classic Failsafe-N and Egger's methods), heterogeneity tests (by using a Q-test, I2-test, and H-test) and a moderating effect test (by using a univariate regression model).Results: The results showed that the empathy impairment evident in individuals with ASCs is component specific; that is, trait-cognitive empathy, trait-empathic concern, state-cognitive empathy, and state-empathic concern are impaired, whereas state-empathic accuracy remains intact, and trait-empathic accuracy is superior to the trait-empathic accuracy in neurotypical individuals. The univariate regression model showed that gender moderates the impairment of the trait-empathic concern, trait-empathic accuracy, and state-cognitive empathy in autistic individuals and that age moderates the impairment of the trait-cognitive empathy, trait-empathic accuracy, state-empathic concern, and state-empathic accuracy in autistic individuals. However, culture does not moderate any empathy components (trait-cognitive empathy, trait-empathic concern, or state-cognitive empathy) involved in the present meta-analysis.Conclusions: These findings contribute to ending the controversy over the empathic integrity of individuals with ASCs and shed some light on future research about the empathy impairment of autistic individuals. More specifically, subsequent studies should distinguish specific empathy components and consider the role of gender and age when demonstrating empathy impairment in individuals with ASCs. Moreover, related studies based on Asian collectivist cultural samples and female samples should be further enriched.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Empathy Impairment in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Conditions From a Multidimensional Perspective: A Meta-Analysis

et al. 2019

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“…Secondly, the antiepidemic measures have tended to force the public to make rapid changes to their daily habits, established plans, and even social contacts (Brooks et al 2020;Moron and Biolik-Moron 2021). ASDs or ATs are associated with a lower tolerance for uncertainty and unexpected change (Cassidy et al 2020;Hirvikoski and Blomqvist 2015) and with impaired executive function (Zhao et al 2019), which may make it di cult for individuals with high ATs to manage effectively the series of changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and lead to them becoming more irritable. Finally, atypical emotional regulation and poor social support as a result of di culties in social communication (Cassidy et al 2020;) may further increase the levels of anger and fear experienced by individuals with high ATs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a set of neurodevelopmental conditions, characterized by impaired social functions and unusually restricted behaviours and interests (Baron-Cohenet al 2001). Autistic traits (ATs) are considered the primary symptoms of ASD and are assumed to be distributed continuously amongst the general population (Zhao et al 2019). Quantifying the differences in cognitive-emotional function associated with ATs can provide an indispensable alternative for the understanding of ASD symptoms (Haruvi-Lamdan et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autistic traits and gender modulate emotion changes before and during the COVID-19 outbreak: a preliminary evidence based on quasi-experimental design

Zhao¹,

Zhao²,

Li³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show an enhanced response to stressors, and gender plays an important role in stress response. Thus, autistic traits (ATs) in the general population and gender may regulate the emotion changes before and during the outbreak of COVID-19. The present study addressed this issue through a participants between quasi-experimental design, in which the epidemic status (before, during), gender (male, female), and AT groups (high ATs, low ATs) were independent variables, and positive and negative emotions were dependent variables. We used generalized linear models to estimate the effects of the independent variables and their interactions on emotions. The results showed that the COVID-19 outbreak reduced positive emotions and increased fear and anger. Furthermore, compared with before the COVID-19 outbreak, individuals with high ATs and females experienced stronger anger and fear than individuals with low ATs and males during the epidemic. The present study revealed the emotional impacts of COVID-19 and greater emotional susceptibility to COVID-19 pandemic among individuals with high ATs and females. Our findings provide prospective evidence for understanding the ASD/ATs-related enhanced response to pathogen threat-related stressors and have implications for COVID-19 crisis interventions.

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Molecular genetic associations between a prominent serotonin transporter gene polymorphism (5‐HTTLPR/rs25531) and individual differences in tendencies toward autistic traits and generalized internet use disorder in China and Germany

et al. 2022

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Background The serotonin transporter polymorphism 5‐HTTLPR is an extensively investigated genetic marker of autistic traits or autism spectrum disorder, and recently has also been studied in the realm of internet use disorder (IUD), yet the findings remain controversial. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore associations between 5‐HTTLPR (also including SNP rs25531) and autistic traits/IUD tendencies and to assess whether the relationship between autistic traits and IUD tendencies varies by this genetic marker in participants from China and Germany. Methods A total of 540 Chinese and 563 German subjects were genotyped for 5‐HTTLPR/rs25531 and completed the Adult Autism Spectrum Quotient questionnaire and the short version of the Internet Addiction Test. Results Carriers of the low expressing S'S’ genotype (S, L G ) showed significantly higher levels of autistic traits than the high expressing allele (e.g. L A ) carriers in both samples. There was no significant effect of 5‐HTTLPR/rs25531 on IUD either in the Chinese or Germany samples, whereas positive correlations between autistic traits and IUD varied by 5‐HTTLPR/rs25531 genotypes and also differed between Chinese and German samples. In the Chinese sample, positive correlations were mainly driven by S'S’ and S'L' carriers, while they were mainly determined by S'L’ and L'L' carriers in the German sample. Further analyses revealed that the associations between autistic traits and IUD tended in parts to be more strongly pronounced in the complete German sample compared to the complete Chinese sample, and also varied depending on 5‐HTTLPR/rs25531 genotypes (in S'S’ carriers: China > Germany; in S'L’ and L'L’ carriers: China < Germany; both in terms of more positive associations). Conclusions Our findings suggest carriers of low expressing alleles (S, L G ) are more likely to show higher autistic traits in both Chinese and German samples. Furthermore, the present work shows that both 5‐HTTLPR/rs25531 and cultural differences might be of relevance to understand associations between autistic traits and IUD tendencies, but this needs to be further backed up.

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Autistic Traits and Prosocial Behaviour in the General Population: Test of the Mediating Effects of Trait Empathy and State Empathic Concern

Cited by 46 publications

References 97 publications

Empathy Impairment in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Conditions From a Multidimensional Perspective: A Meta-Analysis

Empathy Impairment in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Conditions From a Multidimensional Perspective: A Meta-Analysis

Autistic traits and gender modulate emotion changes before and during the COVID-19 outbreak: a preliminary evidence based on quasi-experimental design

Molecular genetic associations between a prominent serotonin transporter gene polymorphism (5‐HTTLPR/rs25531) and individual differences in tendencies toward autistic traits and generalized internet use disorder in China and Germany

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