The Uneasy Relationship between Violence and Lack of Empathy: What can be learned from Heart Rate Variability ?

Violence remains one of the most significant public health challenges of our time, affecting all countries and populations. Its pervasive nature has often led to a perception that violence is an unavoidable aspect of human behavior—something to be managed rather than prevented. However, this paradigm is shifting. Increasingly, criminal justice systems are collaborating with health professionals to conduct risk assessments that inform decisions about violence prevention, offender rehabilitation, and public safety interventions. Over the past two decades, research has emphasized the critical role of protective factors in violence risk assessment. Unlike traditional approaches that focus solely on risk, incorporating protective factors allows for the development of more balanced and effective prevention strategies by highlighting positive, evidence-based attributes of individuals. One such protective factor is empathy—the ability to understand and share another person's emotional state. Empathy deficits, particularly in affective and cognitive mentalizing abilities, have been linked to aggressive behavior and interpersonal violence. Conversely, enhanced empathy skills may act as a protective buffer against violent tendencies, offering promising avenues for intervention. This symposium brings together four contributors from diverse professional and cultural backgrounds to explore recent advances in the assessment and application of empathy, particularly in forensic populations and individuals with psychiatric disorders. We will discuss: 1. The empathy construct and its underlying mechanisms—exploring the theoretical and neurobiological foundations of empathy and its role in violence prevention. 2. Empathy measures and assessments—reviewing the latest tools and methods for evaluating empathy deficits in clinical and forensic contexts. 3. Innovative techniques in empathy research—highlighting cutting-edge approaches such as virtual reality and machine learning for empathy training and intervention. 4. Integrating diverse perspectives to improve psychological interventions—discussing interdisciplinary strategies for enhancing empathy-focused risk assessments and interventions. To foster engagement, participants will be encouraged to actively contribute through real-time polling and discussion, sharing their experiences and insights. This interactive format aims to bridge theory and practice, equipping attendees with knowledge of innovative approaches and interventions that can be adapted to diverse professional settings. By offering a multidisciplinary perspective on empathy as a protective factor, this symposium provides a forward-looking discussion that is directly relevant to violence risk assessment and prevention. It will appeal to APS members seeking practical, evidence-based strategies to address violence within their own contexts.