Empathy and Offending, a Study About the Role of Cognitive and Affective Empathy in Sexual Violence

Empathy deficits are common among offenders, including those with sexual offenses. While empathy is not a major risk factor for sexual offending, it is linked to other risk factors like offense-supportive attitudes and hostility. Research often fails to differentiate between cognitive (understanding emotions) and affective (emotional resonance) empathy, hindering identification of specific empathy impairments in offenders. This study examines cognitive and affective empathy in Dutch males with sexual offenses (N = 33), violent offenses (N = 30), and the general population (N = 91). Using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and considering impulsivity as a covariate, the study found that sexual offenders had higher levels of both cognitive and affective empathy compared to violent offenders. However, only affective empathy differed significantly from the general population, with sexual offenders showing higher levels. The study suggests nuanced empathy deficits in sexual offenders, though self-reporting may have influenced results.