A systematic review of studies on adolescent empathy in Hong Kong

Abstract

In this review, studies on empathy in Chinese adolescents captured by different scientific databases and websites of the government and non-governmental organizations were examined. In terms of topics on empathy in Chinese adolescents, the review showed that studies on the formation, predictors, effects, and intervention of empathy have been conducted. Besides adoption of Western theories, Chinese cultural perspectives were also used to examine Chinese adolescent empathy. Concerning the methodological features of the studies, while the sample size in most studies was large, convenience sampling was commonly used. Regarding assessment tools on empathy, it was found that most of the existing measures were translated measures with very few studies to develop indigenous Chinese measures. Directions for future studies are suggested.