Does childhood abuse really reduce empathy?:Internal working models of attachment as a mediator

Abstract

People that grow up in environments of maltreatment often have problems in their interpersonal relationships, and the lack of empathy could be a background factor in their difficulties. However, the results of recent studies have questioned this contention, and therefore, more detailed investigations are required. Experiences of maltreatment are known to negatively influence attachment, which is required to foster empathy. Therefore, we investigated the influence of maltreatment experiences on empathy via internal working models of attachment from a cognitive-emotional perspective and differences in the orientation of empathy. A questionnaire survey was conducted with university students (N=278). Results of structural equation modeling of their responses indicated that experiences of maltreatment increased self-oriented empathy through negative attachment-anxiety (model of the self). Moreover, such experiences reduced other-oriented empathy through attachment-avoidance (model of other). These results suggest that those growing up in environments of maltreatment not only lack empathy but are also unbalanced.