Catálogo de Investigaciones 2017-2018

CATÁLOGO DE INVESTIGACIONES | AÑO ACADÉMICO 2017-2018 53 Correlational Study Between Empathy Indicators and Anxiety The purpose of this research was to establish the influence between empathy indicators and anxiety in Hispanics. Study Design: This investigation is a non-experimental correlational study. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index and the Beck Anxiety Inventory where used to measure each variable. A total number of 151 participants were recruited via email. Participants were Hispanics, in the age range of 21 through 65. They were able to access the instrument through an online Google Form application. The data collected was analyzed using the program IBM SPSS Statistics 24. The main hypothesis was that empathy indicators are influenced by the anxiety level. Supplementary hypotheses were: (1) There is a variation in empathy indicators due to: (a) the biological gender; (b) cultural identity among Hispanics; and (c) age. Results demonstrated that: (1) the main hypothesis was accepted; high levels of anxiety negatively influence empathy indicators; and (2) there is a variation in the scores of empathy indicators among biological gender and age range. Just one hypothesis was rejected; there was no correlation between empathy indicators and cultural identity. Conclusion: (1) High levels of anxiety negatively influence empathy because empathy requires sensitivity to another’s needs, while anxiety is a pre-occupation with the self. (2) The correlations between age range and the main variables suggest that there might be something else affecting these empathic indicators as people get older. These findings may justify the study of neurological pathways of these variables to further understand the adaptive response of the human being. (3) Cultural identity is an important variable because of the diversity it involves. Even though there was no correlation between empathy indicators and cultural identity, it would be interesting to study cultural identity and the diversity in anxiety management. krystal a. camacho báez investigación especial en ciencias mentor: dra. marisol camacho santiago cultural identity empathy indicators anxiety hispanics