The immediate and delayed effects of group activities on Chinese college students’ empathy: a longitudinal tracking study
Although the role of empathy in reducing campus bullying has been receiving increasing attention, empirical research on the development of empathy and its delayed effects among college students is lacking. To examine the immediate and delayed effects of group activities on increases in empathy among...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1505333/full |
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| author | Chuang Xu Chuang Xu Wenting Gong Jian-Hong Ye Jian-Hong Ye Fangyu Fu |
| author_facet | Chuang Xu Chuang Xu Wenting Gong Jian-Hong Ye Jian-Hong Ye Fangyu Fu |
| author_sort | Chuang Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although the role of empathy in reducing campus bullying has been receiving increasing attention, empirical research on the development of empathy and its delayed effects among college students is lacking. To examine the immediate and delayed effects of group activities on increases in empathy among college students, this study randomly assigned 90 first-year students from a Chinese university into control, intervention, and delayed intervention groups. The groups with interventions participated in multiple sessions of counselling activities, and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index-C scale was used as a pre-test, post-test, and re-test measure to assess empathy levels in each group. Additionally, interview transcripts were employed to verify the effectiveness of the study. The results showed that group activities were significantly effective in enhancing the level of empathy among college students. Furthermore, the effect of group activities in enhancing empathy levels among college students tended to diminish over time but was maintained at a relatively high level for a certain period. This finding reveals that the development of empathy requires ongoing attention and support. Future studies could further explore the effects of different types of interventions on empathy levels, and the durability and stability of delayed intervention effects can be investigated in long-term follow-up studies. These findings will contribute to the development of more effective strategies for preventing and intervening in campus bullying, thereby providing theoretical and practical support for more harmonious campus environments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-71d03a4209704a2bad41b8eb21f596bb |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-71d03a4209704a2bad41b8eb21f596bb2025-08-20T03:48:27ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-05-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15053331505333The immediate and delayed effects of group activities on Chinese college students’ empathy: a longitudinal tracking studyChuang Xu0Chuang Xu1Wenting Gong2Jian-Hong Ye3Jian-Hong Ye4Fangyu Fu5School of Marxism, Hunan Institute of Technology, Hengyang, ChinaFaculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaSchool of International Studies, Hunan Institute of Technology, Hengyang, ChinaFaculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaNational Institute of Vocational Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaSchool of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Hunan Institute of Technology, Hengyang, ChinaAlthough the role of empathy in reducing campus bullying has been receiving increasing attention, empirical research on the development of empathy and its delayed effects among college students is lacking. To examine the immediate and delayed effects of group activities on increases in empathy among college students, this study randomly assigned 90 first-year students from a Chinese university into control, intervention, and delayed intervention groups. The groups with interventions participated in multiple sessions of counselling activities, and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index-C scale was used as a pre-test, post-test, and re-test measure to assess empathy levels in each group. Additionally, interview transcripts were employed to verify the effectiveness of the study. The results showed that group activities were significantly effective in enhancing the level of empathy among college students. Furthermore, the effect of group activities in enhancing empathy levels among college students tended to diminish over time but was maintained at a relatively high level for a certain period. This finding reveals that the development of empathy requires ongoing attention and support. Future studies could further explore the effects of different types of interventions on empathy levels, and the durability and stability of delayed intervention effects can be investigated in long-term follow-up studies. These findings will contribute to the development of more effective strategies for preventing and intervening in campus bullying, thereby providing theoretical and practical support for more harmonious campus environments.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1505333/fullcollege studentsgroup activitiesempathyimmediate effectsdelayed effects |
| spellingShingle | Chuang Xu Chuang Xu Wenting Gong Jian-Hong Ye Jian-Hong Ye Fangyu Fu The immediate and delayed effects of group activities on Chinese college students’ empathy: a longitudinal tracking study Frontiers in Psychology college students group activities empathy immediate effects delayed effects |
| title | The immediate and delayed effects of group activities on Chinese college students’ empathy: a longitudinal tracking study |
| title_full | The immediate and delayed effects of group activities on Chinese college students’ empathy: a longitudinal tracking study |
| title_fullStr | The immediate and delayed effects of group activities on Chinese college students’ empathy: a longitudinal tracking study |
| title_full_unstemmed | The immediate and delayed effects of group activities on Chinese college students’ empathy: a longitudinal tracking study |
| title_short | The immediate and delayed effects of group activities on Chinese college students’ empathy: a longitudinal tracking study |
| title_sort | immediate and delayed effects of group activities on chinese college students empathy a longitudinal tracking study |
| topic | college students group activities empathy immediate effects delayed effects |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1505333/full |
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