Associations between alcohol consumption and empathy in a non-clinical sample: drinking motives as a moderator.

Autor: Baltariu IC; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, Groningen, The Netherlands. i.c.bulai@rug.nl.; Department of Psychology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Iași, Romania. i.c.bulai@rug.nl., Enea V; Department of Psychology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Iași, Romania., de Jong PJ; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, Groningen, The Netherlands., Aan Het Rot M; Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Scientific reports [Sci Rep] 2024 May 14; Vol. 14 (1), pp. 10993. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 May 14.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-59233-x
Abstrakt: People consume alcohol for multiple reasons. Negative motives are often associated with alcohol-related problems. These problems might be explained by negative effects of high alcohol consumption on empathy. Past studies have associated alcohol use disorder (AUD) with reduced cognitive and affective empathy. Few studies have focused on non-clinical samples and considered behavioral empathy. We examined the links between alcohol consumption and multiple aspects of empathy, and if these links were moderated by negative drinking motives. We collected online data of 520 unselected individuals. All completed the AUD Identification Test (AUDIT) and a Drinking Motives Questionnaire. Affective and cognitive empathy were assessed using the Empathy Quotient. Behavioral empathy was assessed by asking participants how likely they would help the person in each of 24 scenarios involving pain. Helping others in pain was positively predicted by affective and cognitive empathy. Higher AUDIT scores were associated with helping others less, particularly among participants who scored higher on drinking to cope with negative affect. People who drink more and do so to cope with negative affect appear to have less behavioral empathy. This supports the view that negative drinking motives contribute to AUD risk.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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