Rejection Sensitivity, Empathy, and Romantic Relationships

Abstract

Is there any connection between sensitivity to rejection and empathy? Previous research has shown that high levels of rejection sensitivity can lead to issues in forming and maintaining healthy romantic relationships. Empathy, on the other hand, has been found to improve relationship quality and lead to less destructive behaviors in relationships. The primary goal of this study was to find the correlation, if any, between rejection sensitivity and empathy. Such a link may provide insight into why highly rejection-sensitive people often encounter issues in their romantic relationships. Reasoning that relationship issues faced by those with high levels of rejection sensitivity may be due to a low level of trait empathy, we hypothesized that there would be a negative correlation between rejection sensitivity and trait empathy. The findings from this study did not support this hypothesis, as we instead found a positive correlation between rejection sensitivity and trait empathy. However, when each subscale of empathy was examined, it was found that this relationship was entirely driven by a positive correlation between the personal distress subscale and rejection sensitivity. Therefore, findings of this study suggest that those who are highly rejection-sensitive also experience high levels of personal distress empathy. This personal distress could be a possible reason for the relationship difficulties faced by those who are rejection sensitive.