Factors impacting the experience of empathic distress in social anxiety: a path analysis approach

• Published in: The Journal of social psychology Vol. 162; no. 1; pp. 57 - 70
• Main Authors: Cosmoiu, Ana, Nedelcea, Cătălin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Routledge 02-01-2022; Taylor & Francis Inc
• Subjects: alexithymia; Anxiety; Anxiety - psychology; difficulty identifying feelings; emotion regulation; Emotional regulation; Emotions; Empathy; expressive suppression; Humans; Indirect effects; Measurement; Path analysis; personal distress; Psychological distress; Social anxiety; Structural equation modeling; Structural models; Young Adult; Young adults; difficulty identifying feelings; emotion regulation; alexithymia; expressive suppression; personal distress; Social anxiety
• ISSN: 0022-4545; 1940-1183
• DOI: 10.1080/00224545.2021.2003284

Personal distress is a manifestation of empathy characterized by a tendency to respond to others' difficulties by increasing one's distress. Previous work on socially anxious individuals has shown mixed results, consistent with a model of social anxiety symptomatology characterized by increased personal distress in empathy eliciting situations, which is driven by emotional dysregulation. The current study aimed to test a serial mediation model to uncover the role of emotional dysregulation in the relationship between social anxiety and empathic distress. 330 young adults were included in the sample. Social anxiety symptomatology, difficulty identifying one's feelings, expressive suppression, and empathic distress were analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling. Measurement and structural models were supported by data, with social anxiety exhibiting direct and indirect effects on empathic distress. Results also suggest that expressive suppression exhibits a negative effect on the distress exhibited in empathy eliciting situations, which brings forth relevant theoretical and clinical implications.