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2022•Developmental PsychologyRequires access

With a little help from my empathic friends: The role of peers in the development of empathy in adolescence.

Marta Miklikowska, Lauree Tilton‐Weaver, William J. Burk

Open publisher page 34 citations

Abstract

= .49; 55% females) examined longitudinal associations between youth friendships and empathy. The results showed that adolescents befriended peers with similar levels of empathy and that, controlling for the initial similarity in empathy, youth who had more empathic friends increased in empathy over time compared with youth with less empathic friends. These selection and influence effects were comparable for the affective and cognitive empathy components (i.e., empathic concern and perspective taking). These results provide strong evidence for the role of friendships in the development of empathy. They underscore the importance of peer-based, social-emotional programs to foster adolescent empathy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

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= .49; 55% females) examined longitudinal associations between youth friendships and empathy. The results showed that adolescents befriended peers with similar levels of empathy and that, controlling for the initial similarity in empathy, youth who had more empathic friends increased in empathy over time compared with youth with less empathic friends. These selection and influence effects were comparable for the affective and cognitive empathy components (i.e., empathic concern and perspective taking). These results provide strong evidence for the role of friendships in the development of empathy. They underscore the importance of peer-based, social-emotional programs to foster adolescent empathy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

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OpenAlex reports 34 citations for this work. Citation counts describe recorded attention and do not establish research quality.

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Available abstract

= .49; 55% females) examined longitudinal associations between youth friendships and empathy. The results showed that adolescents befriended peers with similar levels of empathy and that, controlling for the initial similarity in empathy, youth who had more empathic friends increased in empathy over time compared with youth with less empathic friends. These selection and influence effects were comparable for the affective and cognitive empathy components (i.e., empathic concern and perspective taking). These results provide strong evidence for the role of friendships in the development of empathy. They underscore the importance of peer-based, social-emotional programs to foster adolescent empathy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Key concepts: Empathy, Psychology, PsycINFO, Empathic concern, Context (archaeology), Perspective-taking, Developmental psychology, Personal distress

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With a little help from my empathic friends: The role of peers in the development of empathy in adolescence. — Research Paper | ScholarLens