Exploring the Role of Empathy in the Association Between Early Life Adversity and Antisocial Behavior

Abstract

Early life adversity (ELA) refers to stressful childhood experiences such as neglect, abuse, and violence exposure that can profoundly shape behavior. While ELA is consistently linked to antisocial behavior (e.g., aggression, delinquency), the role of empathy in this connection is unclear. Empathy, the ability to understand and resonate with others’ thoughts and emotions, is theoretically linked to antisocial behavior, but empirical work has produced mixed findings. We explore mediation and moderation frameworks to explain the ELA-antisociality link. Using an online sample of 165 adults, we examine three ELA dimensions (unpredictability, threat, and deprivation) and their association with antisocial behavior and empathy through an ecologically valid empathic accuracy task. We also compare this naturalistic measure of empathy with a popular self-report measure of empathy. Results did not support mediation with either operationalization of empathy (i.e., task or self-report), with no direct effects of ELA on empathy or of empathy on antisocial behavior. Empathic accuracy, however, moderated the association between antisocial behavior and both unpredictability and deprivation in childhood. At low levels of empathic accuracy, there was a significant link between adversity and antisocial behavior (unpredictability β = 0.38, p < 0.001, deprivation β = 0.41, p < 0.001). Empathic accuracy did not moderate an association between threat adversity and antisocial behavior. Notably, across all moderation models, associations were non-significant when the self-report measure of empathy was used. Findings suggest that empathy skills protect against antisocial behavior in the context of unpredictability and deprivation, highlighting the importance of considering dimensions of ELA and ecologically valid, naturalistic empathy measures. Understanding how variations in empathic abilities within ELA dimensions influence antisocial behavior has implications for targeted interventions and promoting emotional well-being in individuals exposed to adversity.