Adolescent boys showing empathy likely to have more female friends: Australian study

Teenage boys who outwardly show empathy attract more female friends than boys who are low in cognitive empathy, a landmark study has revealed on Thursday.

The Australian Research Council, in collaboration with the Australian Catholic University (ACU), studied the extent to which adolescent males and females choose empathic classmates as friends, and found that boys who showed empathy attracted, on average, 1.8 more female friends than boys who were not empathic.

The ACU studied 1,970 Australian high school students aged between 16 and 17, and found girls were more likely to select empathic boys as friends over boys who didn't display empathy, but girls who show empathy were no more likely to attract more friends of the opposite sex.

Professor Joseph Ciarrochi said that adolescents who surrounded themselves with empathic friends were much more likely to feel supported in their relationships, hence why males are often thought of as more independent and closed-off, as they're no more or less likely to choose empathic female friends.

"Empathy was linked to more supportive friendships for both males and females," Ciarrochi said in a statement on Thursday.

Ciarrochi said that surrounding oneself with friends who are likely to develop intrapersonal skills, learning and growth are important for adolescents,

"This research suggests it is critical to identify and teach young people the skills they need to develop supportive friendships," Ciarrochi said.

"Our study provides a contextual understanding of the role of empathy in selecting and maintaining friendships." Endit