Proceedings of the Positive Psychology 2.0 International Conference 2025 (PP 2.0 2025)

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Youths’ Interpersonal Relationships: The Roles of Empathy and Spirituality

Authors
Ka-yi Chow1, Raymond Chi-fai Chui1, *
1Department of Social Work, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, HKSAR, China
*Corresponding author. Email: cfchui@hksyu.edu
Corresponding Author
Raymond Chi-fai Chui
Available Online 29 December 2025.
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-954-4_18How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Interpersonal relationships; Empathy; Spirituality
Abstract

This study examines the impact of spirituality and empathy on interpersonal relationships among Hong Kong youth, addressing two research questions: (1) What is the relationship of spirituality and empathy with interpersonal relationships? (2) Will empathy mediate the relationship between spirituality and interpersonal relationships? A quantitative study was conducted with 203 participants aged 15–24 (mean age = 19.7; 72.4% female; 62.1% with bachelor’s degrees) using validated scales (the Spirituality Scale, the Interpersonal Assessment Scale and the Empathy Scale). The results showed that spirituality is positively related to empathy (β = 0.16, p = 0.02) and that empathy is positively related to interpersonal relationships (β = 0.20, p = 0.01). However, spirituality has a direct negative relationship with interpersonal relationships (β = -0.28, p = .02). The direct negative effect overshadows the indirect positive effect, resulting in a negligible overall impact of spirituality on interpersonal relationships (β=-.13, p=.05). The findings clarify the complicated effects of spirituality on youth social well-being, while highlighting the importance of promoting empathy to enhance youth interpersonal relationships. These results inform interventions aimed at fostering healthier relationships among post-pandemic youth.

Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the Positive Psychology 2.0 International Conference 2025 (PP 2.0 2025)
Series
Atlantis Highlights in Social Sciences, Education and Humanities
Publication Date
29 December 2025
ISBN
978-94-6463-954-4
ISSN
2667-128X
DOI
10.2991/978-94-6463-954-4_18How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Ka-yi Chow
AU  - Raymond Chi-fai Chui
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/29
TI  - Youths’ Interpersonal Relationships: The Roles of Empathy and Spirituality
BT  - Proceedings of the Positive Psychology 2.0 International Conference 2025 (PP 2.0 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 243
EP  - 249
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-954-4_18
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-954-4_18
ID  - Chow2025
ER  -