Cross-Cultural Perspectives on the Role of Empathy during COVID-19’s First Wave

• Author(s): Butovskaya, Marina L. ; Burkova, Valentina N. ; Randall, Ashley K. ; Donato, Silvia ; Fedenok, Julija N. ; Hocker, Lauren ; Kline, Kai M. ; Ahmadi, Khodabakhsh ; Alghraibeh, Ahmad M. ; Allami, Fathil Bakir Mutsher ; Alpaslan, Fadime Suata ; Al-Zu’bi, Mohammad Ahmad Abdelaziz ; Biçer, Derya Fatma ; Cetinkaya, Hakan ; David, Oana Alexandra ; Dural, Seda ; Erickson, Paige ; Ermakov, Alexey M. ; Ertuğrul, Berna ; Fayankinnu, Emmanuel Abiodun ; Fisher, Maryanne L. ; Hromatko, Ivana ; Kasparova, Elena ; Kavina, Alexander ; Khun-Inkeeree, Hareesol ; Koç, Fırat ; Kolodkin, Vladimir ; MacEacheron, Melanie ; Maruf, Irma Rachmawati ; Mesko, Norbert ; Mkrtchyan, Ruzan ; Nurisnaeny, Poppy Setiawati ; Ojedokun, Oluyinka ; Adebayo, Damilola ; Omar-Fauzee, Mohd S. B. ; Özener, Barış ; Ponciano, Edna Lúcia Tinoco ; Popov, Igor V. ; Rizwan, Muhammad ; Sabiniewicz, Agnieszka ; Spodina, Victoriya I. ; Stoyanova, Stanislava ; Tripathi, Nachiketa ; Upadhyay, Satwik ; Weisfeld, Carol ; Yaakob, Mohd Faiz Mohd ; Yusof, Mat Rahimi ; Zinurova, Raushaniia I.
• Date: 2021
• Persistent ID: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/104761
• Origin: Estudo Geral - Universidade de Coimbra
• Subject(s): COVID-19; Empathy; Interpersonal Reactivity Index;; Individualism; Power Distance; Human Development Index; Infectious Disease Vulnerability Index; Cross-cultural
• Document Type: Journal article
• Language: English

Description

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread throughout the world, and concerns about psychological, social, and economic consequences are growing rapidly. Individuals’ empathy-based reactions towards others may be an important resilience factor in the face of COVID-19. Self-report data from 15,375 participants across 23 countries were collected from May to August 2020 during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, this study examined different facets of empathy—Perspective-Taking, Empathic Concern, and Personal Distress, and their association with cross-cultural ratings on Individualism, Power Distance, The Human Development Index, Social Support Ranking, and the Infectious Disease Vulnerability Index, as well as the currently confirmed number of cases of COVID-19 at the time of data collection. The highest ratings on Perspective-Taking were obtained for USA, Brazil, Italy, Croatia, and Armenia (from maximum to minimum); on Empathetic Concern, for the USA, Brazil, Hungary, Italy, and Indonesia; and on Personal Distress, from Brazil, Turkey, Italy, Armenia, Indonesia. Results also present associations between demographic factors and empathy across countries. Limitations and future directions are presented.