Table 1.
Demographical and empathy variables.
| Males (n = 20) | Females (n = 22) | Test stat | p-value | Total sample (n = 42) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, median (IQR) | 22.5 (8.0) | 19.0 (2.0) | 150.5001 | 0.071 | 19.0 (5.0) |
| Education, years, median (IQR) | 13.5 (6.0) | 13.00 (2.0) | 184.5001 | 0.353 | 13.0 (4.0) |
| Vocabulary test∗, median (IQR) | 38.0 (8.0) | 38.0 (6.0) | 224.0001 | 0.714 | 38.0 (6.0) |
| TECA total score, mean (SD) | 114.2 (12.0) | 132.4 (13.4) | 4.6412 | <0.001 | 123.7 (15.6) |
| TECA total, low/high (%) | 10 (50.0) / 10 (50.0) | 6 (27.3) / 16 (72.7) | 0.204 | 0.116 | 16 (38.1) / 26 (61.9) |
| Perspective taking, mean (SD) | 31.4 (4.5) | 33.4 (4.3) | 1.4922 | 0.144 | 32.4 (4.4) |
| Perspective taking, low/high (%) | 8 (40.0) / 12 (60.0) | 6 (27.3) / 16 (72.7) | 0.515 | 0.293 | 14 (33.3) / 28 (66.7) |
| Emotional understanding, mean (SD) | 31.9 (5.7) | 35.6 (4.2) | 2.4402 | 0.019 | 33.9 (5.2) |
| Emotional understanding, low/high (%) | 9 (45.0) / 11 (55.0) | 7 (31.8) / 15 (68.2) | 0.527 | 0.288 | 16 (38.1) / 26 (61.9) |
| Empathic distress, mean (SD) | 19.5 (6.5) | 28.0 (5.7) | 4.4942 | <0.001 | 24.0 (7.4) |
| Empathic distress, low/high (%) | 16 (80.0) / 4 (20.0) | 13 (59.1) / 9 (40.9) | 0.190 | 0.129 | 29 (69.0) / 13 (31.0) |
| Empathic happiness, median (IQR) | 32.0 (7.0) | 36.5 (7.0) | 333.0001 | 0.004 | 34.0 (7.0) |
| Empathic happiness, low/high (%) | 11 (55.0) / 9 (45.0) | 9 (40.9) / 13 (59.1) | 0.537 | 0.273 | 20 (47.6) / 22 (52.4) |
1Mann-Whitney U-test; 2Student’s t-test; ∗Vocabulary subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV; SD, standard deviation; IQR, interquartile range; TECA, Test of Cognitive and Affective Empathy. Data are shown as mean (SD) for normally distributed quantitative measures; median (IQR) for non-normally distributed measures and as frequency (percentage) for categorical variables. Fisher’s exact test was used for categorical variables. Test stats are group comparisons between males and females.