01455nas a2200229   4500000000100000008004100001260007600042653002700118653002200145653002000167653001200187653001200199653001400211100002500225700002700250245006000277300001200337490000700349520084100356022001401197020001401211       2010                            d  c06/2010bSociedad Española para el Estudio de la Ansiedad y el Estrés10aadolescent development10aadult development10aage differences10aarticle10aEmpathy10alife span1 aBelén López-Pérez1 aIrene Fernández-Pinto00aAge differences in empathy: From adolescence to old age  a139-1500 v163 aChanges in empathy after adolescence have been hardly studied compared to previous years of the life span. The present paper aims to analyze age differences in empathy, considering this concept from a multidimensional approach. Two questionnaires were administered to 280 examinees assigned to different age groups: adolescence (16-19 years), early adulthood (20-30 years), middle adulthood (31-40 years), late adulthood (41-59 years) and old age (60-66 years). ANOVA analysis was used to compare possible differences among the different age groups. Results showed that the affective components of empathy tend to remain stable, although the cognitive components tend to decrease with age. These findings could be useful when designing intervention programmes, where each programme could be adapted to the specific needs of each person.  a1134-7937  a2174-0437