Unveiling multi-level determinants on empathy among Chinese primary and secondary school students: evidence from SSES 2019

Empathy has attracted more and more attention among scholars, whereas potential determinants on the empathy of primary and secondary school students have been rarely discussed in Chinese context. The present study, utilizing a hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis, investigated the multi-level determinants on empathy of Chinese primary and secondary school students (N = 6,926) based on the 2019 Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES) data. At student-level, the results displayed that mental well-being, global mindedness, teacher-student relations, peer relations, and sense of belonging are positively associated with empathy, while parent-child conflict and bullying victimization have no significant effect on empathy. In terms of demographic variables, it revealed that girls are more empathetic than boys, whereas immigrant background and socio-economic status (SES) have no significant impact on empathy. At school-level, the findings revealed that empathy is positively related to school average SES but negatively relevant to teacher disruptive behaviours, with an insignificant link to promotion of social and emotional skills. Additionally, it demonstrated that 10-year-old students have a higher level of empathy than 15-year-old students. The findings were discussed in light of Chinese educational and cultural context.