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The Relationship between Empathy and Attachment in Children and Adolescents: Three-Level Meta-Analyses

Author

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  • Xizheng Xu

    (School of Psychology, Central China Normal University (CCNU), Wuhan 430079, China
    Hunan Police Academy, Changsha 410138, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Zhiqiang Liu

    (School of Psychology, Central China Normal University (CCNU), Wuhan 430079, China
    Center of Students’ Psychological Development, Yancheng Polytechnic College (YCPC), Yancheng 224000, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Shaoying Gong

    (School of Psychology, Central China Normal University (CCNU), Wuhan 430079, China)

  • Yunpeng Wu

    (School of Teacher Education, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China)

Abstract

Empathy is one of the leading social abilities to understand or feel the emotions of other people. Attachment is thought to be a critical influential factor of empathy, as revealed by attachment theory and experimental studies, while empathy is also believed to facilitate the quality of attachment. Although many studies are conducted concerning the two subjects, the direction and magnitude of their relationship still remain unclear. In order to clarify the discrepant results in the previous study and explore the moderators in the empathy–attachment association, three-level meta-analyses were conducted in the present work. Based on 212 effect sizes from 59 samples in 50 studies with a total of 24,572 participants, random effect model analyses showed that empathy was insignificantly correlated with anxious attachment, significantly negatively correlated with avoidant attachment, and significantly positively correlated with secure attachment. The meta-analytic results indicated that children and adolescents with high secure attachment tend to show more empathy than those with low secure attachment. The meta-regression model revealed significant effects of the empathy dimension, culture, empathy measurement tools, and publication state. Additionally, implications and future directions for the empathy–attachment relationship were also discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Xizheng Xu & Zhiqiang Liu & Shaoying Gong & Yunpeng Wu, 2022. "The Relationship between Empathy and Attachment in Children and Adolescents: Three-Level Meta-Analyses," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1391-:d:734881
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    Cited by:

    1. Yangu Pan & Shuang Liang & Daniel T. L. Shek, 2022. "Attachment Insecurity and Altruistic Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: Mediating Effect of Different Dimensions of Empathy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-15, August.

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