RT Journal Article
T1 Differential Effects by Caring and Positive Empathy on Depression and Anxiety: Gender Differences in a Sample of Spanish University Students
A1 Gómez Baya, Diego
A1 Manrique Millones, Denisse
A1 García, Arlen J.
A1 López Bermúdez, Esther
AB (1) Background: The literature to date has shown some contradictory findingsregarding the associations between empathy and mental health. Thus, the caring componentof the Positive Youth Development model has been related to more mental healthsymptoms, while positive empathy seems to have a positive impact on psychologicaladjustment. The present study aimed to analyze the associations between caring andpositive 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-reportto 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, butmore symptoms of depression and anxiety. Mediational analyses to explain the genderdifferences in mental health concluded that (a) women reported more depression and anxietypartly due to their higher scores in caring, and (b) despite women had more positiveempathy than men, this mechanism was only protective against anxiety in the subsampleof men; (4) Conclusions: The promotion of mental health in the university context shouldaddress gender differences and the role of caring and positive empathy.
PB MDPI
SN 2673-5318 (electrónico)
YR 2025
FD 2025-02
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/25056
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/25056
LA eng
NO Gómez-Baya, D., Manrique-Millones, D., García, A. J., & López-Bermúdez, E. (2025). Differential Effects by Caring and Positive Empathy on Depression and Anxiety: Gender Differences in a Sample of Spanish University Students. In Psychiatry International (Vol. 6, Issue 1, p. 17). MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychiatryint6010017
NO 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.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 1 jun 2026