Changes in empathy in young people
When people are feeling happy, upset or even angry, we try to understand their feelings by putting ourselves in their shoes. Often, the other person's feelings can also inspire your sympathy. This is known as empathy. Empathy is an important quality which makes us less inclined to get into an argument or become aggressive and more inclined to help others.
Differences between boys and girls
Research conducted by Dr Jolien van der Graaff and her colleagues has demonstrated that our ability to empathise with others is still very much under development during secondary school, with marked differences between boys and girls. Girls not only show more empathy than boys, but also appear to develop this capacity more quickly. While girls are increasingly able to see things from another person's point of view from the first year of secondary school, in boys this capacity only starts to grow a few years later. Furthermore, whereas girls continue to be good at empathising with others throughout the secondary school period, the researchers observed a dip in boys' ability to do so around the age of 15.
Dr Van der Graaff and her team are investigating the role that young people's relationships with their parents and peers play in these changes in empathy. They are also examining the relationship between boys' empathy skills and how well they function within their family, at school and in society.