Age differences in empathy: From adolescence to old age

Changes 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.