Social Anxiety Moderates the Relationship Between Childhood Trauma and Cognitive Empathy

While there are many negative outcomes associated with childhood trauma, it may also be linked to adaptive outcomes. Evidence suggests, for example, that self-reported empathy levels positively correlate with childhood trauma (Greenberg et al., 2018; Lim et al., 20160). Social anxiety enhances awareness of surroundings. Because of this, the association between childhood trauma and self-reported empathy may be particularly strong for people with social anxiety, whose attention and sensitivity to others’ social cues is heightened (Tibi-Elhanany & Shamay Tsoory, 2011). 

We examined the potential moderating role of social anxiety in the relationship between childhood trauma and cognitive empathy in a diverse college sample (n =1,435; 37.4% White, 35% Black, 13.6% Asian, 6.8% Biracial/Multicultural, 5.9% other, .8% American Indian/ Native American, .6% Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander). Participants completed self-report measures that included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ; Bernstein et al., 1994) and a cognitive empathy task [Reading the Mind in the Eyes (MIE); Baron-Cohen et al., 2001]. We hypothesized that there would be a positive relationship between childhood trauma and cognitive empathy. We also hypothesized that this relationship would be stronger at high levels of social anxiety [Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE); Watson & Friend, 1969].

We entered cognitive empathy, social anxiety, and their interaction into a regression model. The overall model was significant (F(3, 1274) = 14.718, p < .001, R² = .034, f ² = .035). Consistent with hypothesis one, we found a significant association between childhood trauma and cognitive empathy  (p < .001, sr² = .033). However, contrary to our second hypothesis social anxiety was not a significant moderator (p > .05, sr² < .001). These findings are important because empathy is relevant in prosocial behaviors. Empathy is seen to be a motivator in behavior, linked to predictions of prosocial development. Researchers have found that beliefs about prosocial behavior are primarily based on levels of empathy, with high levels associated with prosocial influence (Bieberstein et al., 2021). Since adverse life experiences have a noteworthy link to increased cognitive empathy levels and childhood trauma is a common adverse life experience, understanding its link with empathy will help us understand interpersonal behavior.