Change in empathic disequilibrium across childhood and associations with socioemotional difficulties

BackgroundEmpathy is an early-appearing, socioemotional capacity with emotional and cognitive components that develop from infancy onward. An imbalance between these components, termed empathic disequilibrium, is related to socioemotional difficulties in adulthood. However, the developmental trajectory of empathic disequilibrium has not been characterized, nor do we know if changes in empathic disequilibrium are associated with socioemotional difficulties. This study investigated developmental change in empathic disequilibrium in children aged 3 to 12 years and its associations with socioemotional outcomes.Methods303 children from the general population were assessed at three time points, each four months apart. Well-validated parent-reported measures of cognitive and emotional empathy, as well as socioemotional outcomes, including conduct problems, emotional difficulties, callous-unemotional traits, and prosocial behavior, were analyzed. Considering both within and between participant variability in age, we characterized typical empathic disequilibrium development. Then, we examined whether socioemotional strengths and difficulties at the last time point moderated this trajectory.ResultsEmpathic disequilibrium followed a developmental pattern shifting from emotional empathy dominance at age 3 years to equilibrium typically reached between ages 4.7 and 6.9. After this period, a trend toward cognitive empathy dominance emerged, which declined during early adolescence, following a non-linear pattern. Children with socioemotional difficulties at the final measurement point showed distinct developmental patterns of empathic disequilibrium. Specifically, children with high emotional problems, callous-unemotional traits, and low prosocial behavior were less likely to achieve empathic equilibrium by age 12, with those showing high conduct problems tending to reach equilibrium later than their peers.ConclusionsThis study illustrates how empathic disequilibrium develops from early childhood to early adolescence and how variations in this developmental path are associated with different socioemotional outcomes. These findings suggest that tracking empathic disequilibrium could provide insights for identifying children who may benefit from tailored intervention.