The Longitudinal Relationship Between Media Violence and Empathy: Was It Sympathy All Along?

Figures & data

TABLE 1 Means, Standard Deviations, and Bivariate (Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal) Correlations Between Model Variables.

	Mean (SD)		Cross-sectional correlations						Longitudinal correlations
	T1	T2^b	1	2	3	4	5	6	MVT1 with outcomeT2	MVT2 with outcomeT1
1. MV	4.82 (7.73)	6.52 (10.15)**	.61**	–.12**	–.07	–.10**	–.026	–.21**	–	–
2. AE	2.30 (0.78)	2.47 (0.77)**	–.10**	.53**	.41**	.55**	–.06*	.37**	–.08*	–.34**
3. CE	3.28 (0.77)	3.25 (0.80)	–.09**	.47**	.57**	.41**	–.09**	.11**	–.07*	.00
4. S	3.22 (0.75)	3.57 (0.75)**	–.14**	.48**	.55**	.55**	–.06	.26**	–.17**	–.09**
5. NVM	15.71 (14.09)	13.28 (12.74)**	–.11**	–.03	–.06	–01.	.46**	.08*	–	–
6.Sex^a	–	–	–.42**	.25**	.20**	.27**	–.04	1	–	–

Note. Media violence and overall media exposure scores reflect hours of exposure per week. The AMES subscales ranged from 1 (never) to 5 (always); cross-sectional correlations between variables at for T1 are presented above the diagonal; cross-sectional correlations for T2 below the diagonal; correlations in the diagonal are stability coefficients.

*p < .05, **p < .01.

^a1 = boys, 2 = girls.

^bPaired sample t tests were used to test differences in means of T1 and T2. MV = media violence, AE = affective empathy, CE = cognitive empathy, S = sympathy, NVM= nonviolent media.

FIGURE 1 Statistical model for the longitudinal relationship between media violence and empathy/sympathy. Affective empathy, cognitive empathy, and sympathy are included as latent constructs. Covariates (i.e., gender and nonviolent media) were included at both time waves. The bolded lines represent the causal paths of interest. Paths from media violence T1 to empathy and sympathy scales at T2 represent the “desensitization hypothesis.” Paths from the empathy and sympathy scales at T1 to media violence at T2 represent the “selection hypothesis.”