CORRELATION OF EMOTIONAL EMPATHY WITH MENTAL HEALTH INDICATORS IN ADULTS TO DETECT PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING MARKERS

Emotional empathy is an important mechanism of social interaction, which plays a major role in the development of psychological resilience in adults. The aim of the study is to determine the relationship between emotional empathy and mental health indicators in adults to identify psychological distress markers. The study involved 164 adults, who were divided into three groups: volunteers (n=48), social workers (n=64), and a control group (CG) - adults with a low level of emotional stress in professional activities (n=52). The respondents were assessed using the Empathic Concern and Personal Distress (IRI) subscales, the HADS-A and HADS-D scales, the Stress subscale of the DASS-21 and WHO-5 screening tools. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation, and multiple regression analysis were used. The study established relationships between components of emotional empathy and mental health indicators in adults with different levels of emotional involvement in socially oriented activities. Social workers had the highest levels of anxiety, depression, and stress, while the CG demonstrated the highest level of well-being. Personal distress was a stable predictor of anxiety (β=0.52, p<0.001) and a decrease in well-being (β=-0.46, p<0.001). Empathic concern positively correlated with psychological well-being. Volunteers occupied an intermediate position between social workers and specialists with a low level of emotional load. Components of emotional empathy have a differentiated impact on the mental health of adults. Personal distress is a potential marker of psychological distress and requires correction by support programmes. Further research may focus on the development and testing of psychological screening models and preventive programmes aimed at reducing the level of personal distress and supporting empathic concern in volunteers and social workers.