Unlike empathy, personal distress does not have to be congruent with the other's state, and often leads to a self-oriented, egoistic reaction to reduce it, by withdrawing from the stressor, for example, thereby decreasing the likelihood of prosocial behavior.
[4] In 1987, one study[5] conducted cross-sectional and longitudinal research on a community sample of over 400 adults and their children to examine the link between risk, resistance, and personal distress.
It can be stated risk factors consisted of negative life events and avoidance coping strategies and, for children, parental emotional and physical distress.
However, these findings also suggested that, in comparison to adults, children may be more resilient to past negative life events affecting their current or future levels of distress.
It can also be seen that there is a difference between how children and adults experience either personal distress or sympathy this is largely related to the level of development that the individual has achieved.