Abstract

AGNIESZKA, Lasota; KATARZYNA, Tomaszek  and  SANDRA, Bosacki. Empathy, Resilience, and Gratitude - Does Gender Make a Difference?. Anal. Psicol. [online]. 2020, vol.36, n.3, pp.521-532.  Epub Dec 21, 2020. ISSN 1695-2294.  https://dx.doi.org/10.6018/analesps.36.3.391541.

Past research shows most women report higher levels of empathy and gratitude than men. Although studies show relations among resilience, gratitude, and empathy, little is known on the influence of gender on the links among. The present study examined the individual differences and relations among adults’ levels of empathy, gratitude, and resilience, particularly how gender influences such relations. Secondly the mediation role of resilience was tested on the associations between empathy and gratitude. Participants were 214 Polish (104 women) self-identified adults, aged from 18 to 55 years old (M = 28.29 years, SD = 11.19), who completed online self-report measures of empathy (QCAE scale), gratitude (GRAT scale), and resilience (SPP-25 scale). The cross-sectional study was used to get the data. The results show that females scored higher in empathy and gratitude than males, but males reported higher levels of resilience than females. Openness to new life experiences (resilience dimension) emerged as the strongest predictor for gratitude in both groups. Resilience also served as a mediator between empathy and gratitude and this differed according to self-identified gender. Implications for gendered developmental research in positive psychology are discussed.

Keywords : gratitude; empathy; resilience; gender differences.

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