Perceived Empathic Self-Efficacy (PESE) refers to people’s beliefs in their ability to empathize with others, respond compassionately to their distress, and recognize the emotional impact of one's actions. Self-esteem (i.e., an individual's evaluation of their general worth) influences how people value themselves and their relationships with others. Individuals who report more stable self-esteem tend to experience more positive emotions and empathetic responses and demonstrate greater capacity for regulating emotions. The relationship between self-esteem and other-oriented capacities like PESE may operate through reciprocal mechanisms. Individuals who feel better about themselves may better attend to others' needs because their own needs are satisfied, freeing resources for empathic engagement. Conversely, empathic interactions can strengthen perceptions of being helpful, enhancing self-regard. However, most research examines these constructs as stable traits, not taking into account daily variations in self-worth, which may modify individuals' confidence in their empathic capacities, while successful empathic experiences may reciprocally increase momentary self-evaluations. Using daily diary data over 21 consecutive days and Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling (DSEM), this study examines within-person and between-person associations between daily self-esteem and daily PESE in a sample of 76 Italian young adults (18-33 years), exploring whether self-esteem functions as an antecedent or consequence of PESE at the daily level. Results showed a significant carry-over effect at the within-person level for both Self-esteem (β = .242, 95% CI [.170, .317]) and PESE (β = .206, 95% CI [.128, .289]), indicating the inertia of both variables from the previous day to the next one. We found a significant spill-over effect from daily Self-esteem to daily PESE at the within-person level (β = .090, 95% CI [.016, .154]), meaning that peaks of self-esteem on a given day predicted peaks of PESE on the subsequent day. We found that PESE and Self-esteem were also positively associated at the within-person level (r = .261, 95% CI [.198, .314]), meaning that peaks of Self-esteem were associated with peaks of PESE on the same day, and at the between-person level (r = .408, 95% CI [.106, .633]), indicating that on average, people who reported higher self-esteem levels also reported higher PESE levels.
Self-esteem and Perceived Empathic Self-Efficacy: Dynamics Relations in Italian Young Adults / Virzì, Alessia Teresa; Manfredi, Lucia; Gregori, Fulvio; Di Brango, Noemi; Barrero Toncel, Virginia Isabel; Contreras, Camila; Fu, Yuanhang; Emanuela Palladino, Benedetta; Zuffiano, Antonio. - (2025). ( The Human and Scientific Legacy of Albert Bandura at His Centenary: The Power of Beliefs, the Courage to Change Rome, Italy ).
Self-esteem and Perceived Empathic Self-Efficacy: Dynamics Relations in Italian Young Adults
Alessia Teresa Virzì;Lucia Manfredi;Fulvio Gregori;Noemi di Brango;Virginia Isabel Barrero Toncel;Camila Contreras;Yuanhang Fu;Antonio Zuffiano
2025
Abstract
Perceived Empathic Self-Efficacy (PESE) refers to people’s beliefs in their ability to empathize with others, respond compassionately to their distress, and recognize the emotional impact of one's actions. Self-esteem (i.e., an individual's evaluation of their general worth) influences how people value themselves and their relationships with others. Individuals who report more stable self-esteem tend to experience more positive emotions and empathetic responses and demonstrate greater capacity for regulating emotions. The relationship between self-esteem and other-oriented capacities like PESE may operate through reciprocal mechanisms. Individuals who feel better about themselves may better attend to others' needs because their own needs are satisfied, freeing resources for empathic engagement. Conversely, empathic interactions can strengthen perceptions of being helpful, enhancing self-regard. However, most research examines these constructs as stable traits, not taking into account daily variations in self-worth, which may modify individuals' confidence in their empathic capacities, while successful empathic experiences may reciprocally increase momentary self-evaluations. Using daily diary data over 21 consecutive days and Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling (DSEM), this study examines within-person and between-person associations between daily self-esteem and daily PESE in a sample of 76 Italian young adults (18-33 years), exploring whether self-esteem functions as an antecedent or consequence of PESE at the daily level. Results showed a significant carry-over effect at the within-person level for both Self-esteem (β = .242, 95% CI [.170, .317]) and PESE (β = .206, 95% CI [.128, .289]), indicating the inertia of both variables from the previous day to the next one. We found a significant spill-over effect from daily Self-esteem to daily PESE at the within-person level (β = .090, 95% CI [.016, .154]), meaning that peaks of self-esteem on a given day predicted peaks of PESE on the subsequent day. We found that PESE and Self-esteem were also positively associated at the within-person level (r = .261, 95% CI [.198, .314]), meaning that peaks of Self-esteem were associated with peaks of PESE on the same day, and at the between-person level (r = .408, 95% CI [.106, .633]), indicating that on average, people who reported higher self-esteem levels also reported higher PESE levels.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
