Abstract
We examined the association between multidimensional empathy, brain function, and mental fitness and identified correlates of mental fitness. In total, 146 female high school freshmen from a South Korean school participated in this cross-sectional study. Data were collected from March to April 2019, using a self-report questionnaire and quantitative electro-encephalographic data (QEEG). Instruments included the Interpersonal Reactivity Index and the Mental Fitness Scale, to access multidimensional empathy and mental fitness. Prefrontal cortex brain function was assessed with the brain quotient measure from the QEEG during free time after school. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis. Mental fitness had statistically significant relationships with multidimensional empathy (r = 0.36, p < 0.001) and brain quotient (r = 0.23, p = 0.005). Demographic factors affecting mental fitness included satisfaction with school life (β = 0.23, p = 0.001) and economic status (β = 0.17, p = 0.024). Factors from the subscales of multidimensional empathy included perspective taking (β = 0.26, p = 0.001), fantasy (β = 0.22, p = 0.004), and personal distress (β = −0.19, p = 0.010); and the brain function factor was brain quotient (β = 0.14, p = 0.038). The explanatory power of the model was 49.4% (F = 14.44, p < 0.001). There is a need for a concrete and objective understanding of mental fitness in adolescents to develop intervention programs for freshmen with various maladaptation problems.
Highlights
Adolescence is a transient period between childhood and adulthood during which young people experience significant physical and emotional transformations and prepare themselves for their social roles as adults [1]
This study differs from previous research, in that, it applied a more objective approach that overcomes the limitations of psychometric measurement. It sought to understand brain functions through quantitative electro-encephalogram (QEEG), which contribute to objectively understanding subjective perceptions and emotions closely associated with mental fitness and multidimensional empathy, by analyzing the differences in brainwave electrical signals [16]
The strength of this study was the investigation of correlates of mental fitness from multiple perspectives, with various QEEG-based brain function indices as physiological indicators, and the multidimensional factor of empathy measured with self-report questionnaires
Summary
Adolescence is a transient period between childhood and adulthood during which young people experience significant physical and emotional transformations and prepare themselves for their social roles as adults [1]. High school freshmen are subject to multiple burdens, such as rapid physical growth, exploring career paths, and adapting to a new environment in high school In this tough period of environmental adaptation, adolescents are biologically vulnerable to unstable or stressful events that affect their mental fitness. This study differs from previous research, in that, it applied a more objective approach that overcomes the limitations of psychometric measurement It sought to understand brain functions through QEEG, which contribute to objectively understanding subjective perceptions and emotions closely associated with mental fitness and multidimensional empathy, by analyzing the differences in brainwave electrical signals (i.e., differences in the α, β, δ, and θ waves emitted from the left and right hemispheres of the brain, when the brain cells communicate with each other) [16]. This study aimed to analyze multidimensional empathy, brain function, and mental fitness in female high school freshmen and to determine the correlates of their mental fitness based on multidimensional empathy and brain function
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