Relationships Between Age, Gender, Familiarity with Mental Illness, Openness, and Empathy Toward Individuals with Mental Illness

Abstract

Empathy is a fundamental component in social cognition and prosocial behaviour (Sommerlad et al., 2021). The aim in this study was to investigate the relationships between empathy toward individuals with mental illness and age, gender, familiarity with mental illness, and openness. Specifically, four hypotheses were tested: (1) Empathy toward individuals with mental illness will be related to age, with higher empathy noted in the youth and young adult age groups compared to older adults; (2) empathy toward individuals with mental illness will be related to gender, with females showing higher empathy than males; (3) empathy toward individuals with mental illness will be positively related to familiarity with mental illness; and (4) empathy toward individuals with mental illness will be positively related to openness. To test these hypotheses, a variety of questionnaires were used to measure participants’ empathy levels toward mentally ill individuals, familiarity with mental illness, the personality trait of openness, and demographic variables including age and gender. Using Pearson correlations and one-way ANOVAs, significant positive relationships were found between empathy toward individuals with mental illness and the constructs of gender and familiarity. A significant negative relationship was found between empathy toward individuals with mental illness and openness. Results concerning the relationship between empathy toward individuals with mental illness and age were inconclusive. Findings from this study can be intentionally directed toward creating an informed world which provides equal opportunity for all individuals.