Peer Relations and Empathy in Adolescence: Individual and Contextual Contributors
Chair(s): Carla Martins (School of Psychology, Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), University of Minho, Braga, Portugal)
Peers play a crucial role in adolescence, shaping social development, self-identity, and emotional well-being. Indeed, peer relationships become very significant as adolescents seek validation and acceptance from them. In turn, empathy is a socio-cognitive process that goes through an important development during adolescence, significantly impacting social functioning, emotional well-being and resilience. Finally, disruptions of the attachment process during early years can have major effects on neural development and emotional regulation skills.
This symposium presents results from three studies, two of which longitudinal, that aim to offer insights into emotional and socio-cognitive skills relevant for peer relations and empathy in adolescence. Presentation 1 focuses on individual and relational correlates of empathy in a large sample of 14- to 19-year-olds. Results revealed that sex, mentalization, emotion regulation skills, and relationships with peers based on acceptance and communication predict adolescents’ cognitive and affective empathy. Presentation 2 offers evidence of longitudinal links between mentalization and emotion regulation skills at preschool and better relationship quality with peers in adolescence. Both theory of mind and emotion regulation and recognition at preschool age are related to higher communication and proximity with peers, as well as higher mutual acceptance and comprehension in adolescence. Finally, presentation 3 seeks for potential roots of emotional regulation and rejection sensitivity in early life adversity in a sample of institutionally reared adolescents. Preliminary results indicate that institutionalized adolescents react more negatively to distress and social exclusion images than normative controls. Besides, they also showed higher sensitivity to social rejection at younger ages, particularly in the anxiety components related to expecting rejection. Taken together, these presentations provide evidence for the role of early and concurrent emotion regulation and mentalization in adolescents’ peer relations and empathy.
Presentations of the Symposium
Empathy in adolescence: How do sociocognitive, emotional, and relational dimensions impact its development?
Carolina Aparício Araújo1, Carla Martins1, Jean-Louis Nandrino2
1School of Psychology, Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, 2Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000 Lille, France
Empathy, the ability to perceive and be sensitive to others’ emotional states, undergoes an important development throughout adolescence. This cross-sectional study explores empathy's individual and relational correlates in 14- to 19-year-olds. To date, 508 participants have been collected (199 boys; Mage = 16.21, SD = 0.94). Preliminary analyses revealed that empathy was positively correlated to age, and girls exhibited greater cognitive and affective empathy scores. The latter were significantly related to mentalization abilities. Conversely, only affective empathy was negatively correlated with self-other distinction. Regarding emotion regulation strategies, cognitive and affective empathy were negatively linked with emotional suppression; cognitive empathy was also positively associated with cognitive reappraisal. Higher cognitive and affective empathy were associated with higher communication and acceptance and lower rejection in the relationship with peers. Higher cognitive empathy was also associated with a parental parenting style characterized by the higher promotion of autonomy and greater knowledge of mothers about their children.
A regression model revealed that mentalization related to self and others, motivation to mentalize, and acceptance in peers’ relationships were significant predictors of cognitive empathy. On the other hand, mentalization related to self and others, self-other distinction, emotional suppression, and communication, acceptance, and rejection in peers’ relationships significantly predicted affective empathy. Being a girl was a significant predictor of both.
Results highlight the key role of mentalization abilities, emotion regulation strategies, and the relationship with peers in empathy development during adolescence. Finally, sex differences hint at the need to explore the possibility of empathy being impacted differently in teenage girls and boys.
The impact of mentalization and emotion regulation on the quality of relationships with peers: from preschool to adolescence
Carla Martins1, Carolina Aparício Araújo1, Ana Osório2, Joana Baptista3, Liliana Capitão4, Karyn Doba5, Jean-Louis Nandrino5
1School of Psychology, Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, 2Graduate Program on Human Developmental Sciences and Mackenzie Center for Research in Childhood and Adolescence, Center for Biological and Health Sciences – Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil, 3Iscte-University Institute of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal, 4Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory, Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), University of Minho, Braga Portugal, 5Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, F-59000 Lille, France
The developmental trajectories of mentalization and emotion regulation, from preschool age to adolescence, and their links with the quality of relationships with peers are complex. Mentalization refers to how we think about ourselves, about other individuals and their behavior, and how we interpret that information and behave accordingly. There is evidence that its rapid development during preschool age and further sophistication in adolescence bring advantages to everyday social situations, including better peer relationships. In parallel, emotion regulation abilities - the processes involved in how emotions are experienced, managed, and expressed in different situations - develop substantially from preschool to adolescence. In particular, a heightened emotional salience of peers is observed in adolescence, as regulating emotions is essential for adaptative functioning, playing a crucial role in establishing fulfilling relationships with others. This presentation investigates how these domains interact during development and explores their impact on adolescents’ relationships with peers in a longitudinal sample of 30 adolescents who were first assessed during preschool. Preliminary results reveal a longitudinal link from preschool age to adolescence for mentalization skills but not for emotion regulation. Both theory of mind and emotion regulation and recognition at preschool age are related to mentalization at 17 years of age. Furthermore, adolescents with a history of better theory of mind and greater emotion regulation in preschool report higher communication and proximity with their peers, as well as higher mutual acceptance and comprehension at 17 years of age.
Emotion regulation and rejection sensitivity in adolescents: is there an impact of early life adversity?
Natividade S. Couto Pereira1, Inês Carvalho2, Marlene Nogueira1, Sónia Sousa1, Isabel Soares3, Adriana Sampaio1, Ana Raquel Mesquita4
1Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory, Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), University of Minho, Braga Portugal, 2School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, 3School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal ; ProChild CoLAB, Portugal, 4ProChild CoLAB, Portugal
Early life adversity (ELA) impacts neural development, predisposing individuals to lifelong mental health issues. Investing in mental health is crucial for public health, human rights, and socio-economic growth, and early, personalized interventions are crucial to take the field forward. Long-term institutional care for young people under protective judicial measures, although necessary, is currently insufficient to provide children and adolescents with the necessary social and affective support, leading to maladaptive emotional regulation strategies that significantly impact development and overall health. Institutionalized adolescents show atypical brain activity and connectivity, particularly in the limbic system, indicating accelerated and abnormal maturation that may underlie these issues. Our study aimed to uncover how ELA impacts brain development and behavior in institutionally reared adolescents. Participants, aged 14 to 21 years old, either institutionalized or controls, performed an emotional regulation task inside a Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner, in order to analyze their patterns of brain activation and connectivity related to emotional regulation strategies. In addition, we studied aspects of rejection sensitivity, a personality aspect related to emotional and behavioral problems, such as mood disorders and aggressive behavior, using the Portuguese versions of the Children and Adult Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaires (CRSQ and ARSQ). Our preliminary results indicate that institutionalized adolescents reacted more negatively to distress and social exclusion images than controls. They also showed higher sensitivity to social rejection at younger ages, particularly in the anxiety components related to expecting rejection. These findings support the need for tailored interventions to address the emotional and neurological challenges faced by institutionally reared adolescents. By advancing our understanding of how ELA shapes brain development and behavior, this research may contribute to the development of evidence-based strategies to mitigate the long-term effects of adversity in vulnerable populations.
