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Culture-Sex Interaction and the Self-Report Empathy in Australians and Mainland Chinese.

ABSTRACT: Empathy is the ability to understand and share other people's emotions. Researchers have debated whether Westerners and Asians differ in their self-report empathy. This study aimed to replicate a previously reported culture-sex interaction in self-report empathy using Australian and Mainland Chinese participants, to investigate the cultural differences in self-report empathy in each sex group, and to verify the moderated mediating effects of three empathy-related traits (i.e., independent self-construal, interdependent self-construal, and personal distress) on the cultural differences in self-report empathy in both sex groups. In this study, scores on two self-report questionnaires of empathy, namely, the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), were compared between 196 Australian Caucasian (101 males) and 211 Mainland Chinese (59 males) university students. Results first confirmed the significant culture-sex interaction and illustrated that the cultural differences in empathy scores were significant only for female (i.e., Australian females had higher scores than Mainland Chinese females) but not for male participants. Furthermore, results of moderated mediation analyses indicated that higher self-report empathy in both females and males was related to higher interdependent self-construal (exhibited by Mainland Chinese) and less personal distress (exhibited by Australians), and particularly in females, also related to higher independent self-construal (exhibited by Australian females). The current study is one of few studies that suggest cultural differences in empathy are dependent on the sex of the participant. Moreover, the current findings have added new insights into the explanation of cultural differences in empathy using personal distress and self-construal.

SUBMITTER: Zhao Q

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6422933 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BACKGROUND:In a recent study, we found associations of a common oxytocin receptor (OXTR) polymorphism with inter-individual differences in empathy, especially with emotional empathy in women. Many other studies found specific associations of oxytocin, arginine-vasopressin, serotonin and dopamine receptor gene polymorphisms with various aspects of trait empathy. As all these receptors belong to the guanine-binding protein (G protein) coupled receptor family, it is a reasonable assumption, that alterations in genes encoding G protein subunits also influence the signal transduction in empathy related circuits. However, to the best of our knowledge, these genomic variations have not yet been studied in genetic research on empathy. METHODS:Here, we analysed associations of a common polymorphism of the GNAS gene (C393T) in a previously characterized sample of 421 healthy blood donors (231 M, 190 F; age 18-74). The GNAS gene encodes the G protein adenylyl cyclase stimulator (G?s) G protein subunit, which activates cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent pathways by stimulating the adenylyl cyclase. Cognitive and emotional aspects of dispositional empathy were tested using Davis' Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). RESULTS:In the complete sample, associations of C393T genotype with IRI empathy scores, including cognitive empathy (p = 0.055) and perspective taking (p = 0.057) scores did not reach a level of significance. None of the IRI scores was near to being significantly associated with C393T genotype for men alone. In females, however, genotype was significantly associated with cognitive empathy (r = -.204, p = 0.005) and perspective taking (r = -.209, p = 0.004), accounting for 4.2% and 4.4% of variability. The association of genotype with perspective taking remained significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons (p = 0.045). The 393C-allele, which had been identified as a risk factor in several medical conditions such as hypertension, obesity and diabetes, was associated with higher cognitive empathy compared to the T allele in our sample. CONCLUSIONS:The results suggest a significant association of GNAS C393T genotypes with the cognitive empathic capacity of perspective taking. This association could only be found in female participants.

Project description:BackgroundBody image is a complex post-treatment concern among female patients with breast cancer, and various tools have been developed and applied to measure this multifaceted issue. However, these available tools were developed in other countries and only a few have been modified into Chinese versions. Furthermore, body-image evaluation instruments that are specific to Chinese mainland female patients with breast cancer have not been devised yet. Therefore, we developed the Body Image Self-rating Questionnaire for Breast Cancer for Chinese mainland female patients with breast cancer.MethodsWe performed two rounds of the Delphi technique and a cross-sectional pilot survey. Items were selected using a Likert scale (1-5) to determine ratings of importance (i.e., the significance of the item from experts' perspective; coefficients of variation ≤0.25), internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α ≥ 0.70), convergent validity (hypothesized item-subscale correlations ≥0.40), and discriminant validity (stronger correlations of the item with the hypothesized subscale than for other subscales). All decisions on items were made based on statistical analysis results, experts' recommendations, and in-depth discussion among researchers.ResultsTwenty-five eligible experts completed the two Delphi rounds (mean age: 42.20 ± 8.90 years). Over half the experts were professors (56%, n = 14) or worked as clinical staff (68%, n = 17). Twenty (mean age = 49.55 ± 10.01 years) and 50 patients (mean age = 48.44 ± 9.98 years) completed the first- and second-round survey, respectively. Over half the patients had a tertiary education level, were married, and were employed. Regarding the revised questionnaire (comprising 33 items across seven subscales), the expert panelists' ratings of each item met the criteria (Kendall's W = 0.238, p < .001). Five subscales had a Cronbach's α value over 0.60 (range: 0.62-0.69) and two subscales were over 0.80 (range: 0.84-0.88). All items satisfied the criteria for convergent and discriminant validity.ConclusionsThe findings of this study provide evidence of a suitable tool for body image evaluation among Chinese mainland female patients with breast cancer. Studies with larger sample sizes should be conducted to validate this questionnaire in this patient population.

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Culture-Sex Interaction and the Self-Report Empathy in Australians and Mainland Chinese.

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