title: Examining empathy and its association with aggression in young Western Cape children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In a context of disturbing rates of violent crime, this pilot study initiated examination of the association between empathy and aggressive behaviour in young Western Cape children. Establishing which empathy measures are appropriate for our context was a primary concern.
  
  
  METHODS
  To capture various aspects of empathy in young children we adopted a multi-method approach. We examined empathy scores in 65 lower middle socio-economic status (SES) English-speaking Grade 1 pupils (6.0-8.0 years old) and their association with aggressive externalising behaviour.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parent report measures of callous-unemotional traits and aggression performed well, however, the Griffith Empathy Measure, a well-established parent report scale, proved problematic. Empathy scores, particularly those for callous-unemotional traits, were associated with aggression. We also found several associations between aspects of empathy, consistent with the international literature. Cognitive empathy, as measured by first-order false belief reasoning, was not well established, suggesting that other more complex social cognitive tasks were inappropriate for this age group in our context.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The association between empathy and aggression warrants further investigation in this context. Appropriate measures for the South African context must be utilised.
authors.affiliation: a Applied Cognitive Science and Experimental Neuropsychology Team, Department of Psychology , University of Cape Town , South Africa.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Malcolm-Smith
authors.affiliation: b Department of Psychology , University of Cape Town , South Africa.
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Woolley
authors.affiliation: c Safety and Violence Initiative, Department of Psychology , University of Cape Town , South Africa.
authors.forename: Catherine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Ward
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D004644:Emotions; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D002666:Psychology, Child; D013019:South Africa