Does caring lead to more anxiety throughout the school year? Cross-lagged and random-intercept cross-lagged models

BACKGROUND: Contrary to the theoretical assumption that caring, as a combination of empathy and sympathy, enhances well-being, research has found a positive relationship between caring and anxiety. The study examines this relationship longitudinally in a sample of adolescents over one school year during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Grounded in the PYD perspective, the study uses a representative sample of Slovenian youth (n = 1770; 58.5% female). RESULTS: The results of the CLPM revealed: (i) a positive association between caring and anxiety through the school year, (ii) the stability of caring and anxiety across the school year, (iii) caring predicted anxiety across the school year, while anxiety predicted caring only from the start to the middle of the school year, and (iv) gender-specific findings. The results of the RI-CLPM assessing within-person fluctuations revealed: (i) a positive association between caring and anxiety in the middle of the school year, (ii) the carry-over of caring and anxiety from the middle to the end of the school year, (iii) no directionality, and (iv) no gender-specific findings. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support promoting caring alongside emotion regulation support from the beginning of the school year, with increased intensity in the middle of the school year.