Empathy and Offending,a Study About the Role of Cognitive and Affective Empathy in Sexual Violence

Abstract

Empathy deficits are common among offenders, including those with sexual offenses. While empathy is not a major risk factor for sexual offending, it is linked to other risk factors like offense-supportive attitudes and hostility. Research often fails to differentiate between cognitive (understanding emotions) and affective (emotional resonance) empathy, hindering identification of specific empathy impairments in offenders. This study examines cognitive and affective empathy in Dutch males with sexual offenses (N = 33), violent offenses (N = 30), and the general population (N = 91). Using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and considering impulsivity as a covariate, the study found that sexual offenders had higher levels of both cognitive and affective empathy compared to violent offenders. However, only affective empathy differed significantly from the general population, with sexual offenders showing higher levels. The study suggests nuanced empathy deficits in sexual offenders, though self-reporting may have influenced results.

Plain language summary

Understanding Empathy in Sexually Violent Offenses

Empathy problems are often observed in people with a history of criminal behavior, including sexual offenses. However, research suggests that lacking empathy is not a major cause of sexual offending. Instead, it is linked to other factors that increase risk, like having attitudes that support offenses or being hostile. Most studies do not separate two types of empathy: cognitive empathy (understanding others’ emotions) and affective empathy (feeling emotional resonance). Without this distinction, it is hard to pinpoint what kind of empathy issues exist in offenders, particularly those with sexual offenses. This study examined the role of these two types of empathy in three groups: men convicted of sexual offenses, men convicted of violent offenses, and men from the general population. Researchers measured empathy levels using a specific questionnaire and adjusted for impulsivity. The results showed that men with sexual offenses had higher levels of both cognitive and affective empathy compared to those with violent offenses. When compared to the general population, they only scored higher on affective empathy. This suggests that empathy issues in sexual offenders are more complicated than they might seem. However, the fact that the data came from self-reports may have influenced the findings.