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Gender Differences in the Relationship between State and Trait Anxiety and Empathy

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Abstract

The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were administered to 124 (94 female, 30 male) undergraduate students. The female participants reported more empathy and trait anxiety than men, and there was a trend for a similar gender difference with state anxiety. Empathy was inversely related to both kinds of anxiety in women. No relationships between empathy and either type of anxiety were seen for the men. The lower empathy with increased anxiety was discussed in terms of a depletion of emotional resources.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available as they contain sensitive information but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, One University Place, Stamford, 06901, CT, USA

    Leslie Burton & Chinedu Nkwo

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  1. Leslie Burton
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  2. Chinedu Nkwo
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Correspondence to Leslie Burton.

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Burton, L., Nkwo, C. Gender Differences in the Relationship between State and Trait Anxiety and Empathy. Curr Psychol 41, 8368–8373 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03716-5

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