Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society (한국산학기술학회논문지)

The Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society (한국산학기술학회)
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The relationship between emotional empathy and depression: Focused on the mediating effect of self criticism

정서공감과 우울의 관계: 자기비난의 매개 역할을 중심으로

  • Choi, Hyera (Department of Counseling Psychology, Seoul Cyber University) ;
  • Han, Sumi (Department of Counseling Psychology, Seoul Cyber University) ;
  • Kim, Hwan (Department of Counseling Psychology, Seoul Cyber University)
  • 최혜라 (서울사이버대학교 상담심리학과) ;
  • 한수미 (서울사이버대학교 상담심리학과) ;
  • 김환 (서울사이버대학교 상담심리학과)
  • Received : 2017.10.10
  • Accepted : 2018.02.02
  • Published : 2018.02.28
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Abstract

While depressives tend to be preoccupied with their own grief and the negative aspects, they might lack the capacity to interact with outside world. With the intention to determine whether depressives might have certain characteristics regarding empathic behavior, as behavior is highly based on responsiveness to others, we examined the relationship between emotional empathy and depression. In addition, we examined the mediating effect of self-criticism on the relationship between emotional empathy and depression. Data was collected from 146 online university students and analyzed using the correlation and multiple regression model. Results showed that perspective taking, which is the cognitive aspect of empathy, was negatively correlated with depression. Concerning the emotional aspects of empathy, both empathic responding and empathic concern were negatively correlated with depression, while personal distress was positively correlated with depression. Regression results, which set the empathy related variables as predicting variables, found perspective taking decreased depression, and personal distress enhanced depression. In addition, personal distress showed significant enhancing effect on depression and was completely mediated by self-criticism. With the result, implications and limitations of this study were discussed.

우울한 사람들은 슬픔에 빠져 있고 부정적인 측면에 대해 반추하므로 외부를 향한 관심이나 반응성은 저하되는 경향이 있다. 타인에 대한 관심과 반응성을 기반으로 하는 행동이라 볼 수 있는 공감에 있어서 우울한 사람이 어떠한 특성을 보일지에 대한 의문을 가지고, 본 연구에서는 146명의 온라인 대학생들로부터 자료를 얻어 공감과 우울의 관계에 대해 살펴 보았다. 상관분석 결과, 공감의 인지적 측면인 조망수용은 우울과 부적상관을 나타냈고, 공감의 정서적 측면 중 공감적 반응과 공감적 관심 역시 우울과 부적 상관을 나타냈다. 그러나 또 다른 정서 공감의 지표인 개인적 고통의 경우 우울과 정적상관을 나타냈다. 공감 관련 변인들을 예측변인으로 설정한 회귀분석에서는 조망수용이 우울에 부적 영향을, 개인적 고통이 우울에 정적 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 개인적 고통이 자기비난을 매개로 하여 우울에 영향을 미친다는 가설을 다중회귀분석과 Sobel 검사를 통해 확인해 보았는데, 자기비난은 개인적 고통의 정적 효과를 완전 매개하는 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 결과를 바탕으로 본 연구의 함의와 제한점에 대해 논하였다.

Keywords

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