@article{10272/25056,
year = {2025},
month = {2},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10272/25056},
abstract = {(1) Background: The literature to date has shown some contradictory findings
regarding the associations between empathy and mental health. Thus, the caring component
of the Positive Youth Development model has been related to more mental health
symptoms, while positive empathy seems to have a positive impact on psychological
adjustment. The present study aimed to analyze the associations between caring and
positive empathy with youth depression and anxiety, as well as examine gender differences.
(2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out by administering an online self-report
to a sample composed of 370 university students (67.2% women), aged 18–29 (M = 21.29,
SD = 3.61), enrolled across 10 universities in the Spanish region of Andalusia; (3) Results:
Women reported higher levels of the caring dimension of PYD, more positive empathy, but
more symptoms of depression and anxiety. Mediational analyses to explain the gender
differences in mental health concluded that (a) women reported more depression and anxiety
partly due to their higher scores in caring, and (b) despite women had more positive
empathy than men, this mechanism was only protective against anxiety in the subsample
of men; (4) Conclusions: The promotion of mental health in the university context should
address gender differences and the role of caring and positive empathy.},
organization = {This research and the APC were funded by Excellence Project of the Consejeria de Universidad, Investigació e Innovació of Junta de Andalucía (Spain), entitled Positive Youth Development in Andalusian University Students: Longitudinal Analysis of Gender Differences in Well-Being Trajectories, Health-Related Lifestyles and Social and Environmental Contribution, grant number PROYEXCEL_00303, awarded to D.G.-B.},
publisher = {MDPI},
title = {Differential Effects by Caring and Positive Empathy on Depression and Anxiety: Gender Differences in a Sample of Spanish University Students},
doi = {10.3390/psychiatryint6010017},
author = {Gómez Baya, Diego and Manrique Millones, Denisse and García, Arlen J. and López Bermúdez, Esther},
}