Abstract

This cross-sectional retrospective study analyzed secondary data from the PESCOMSE project, comprising 2,961 Colombian students (children: n = 1,228; adolescents: n = 1,733). Social-emotional competencies (SEC) and empathy were measured with the COMSE-N (44 items) and COMSE-A (81 items) questionnaires. Multifactorial ANOVAs—using Welch or Tukey/Games-Howell corrections as appropriate—examined the impact of SEC levels, gender and grade on empathy. Structural Equation Modelling (JASP 0.18.3) assessed latent relationships. Among children, self-efficacy and optimism were the strongest predictors, and the model explained 66 % of empathy variance (? self-efficacy = 0.52; ? optimism = 0.34). Among adolescents, trust, self-efficacy, and prosocial behavior dominated, accounting for 75 % of variance (? trust = 0.57). Girls consistently showed higher empathy. Findings reveal developmental shifts in the predictive architecture of empathy and underscore the need for stage-specific interventions: boosting self-efficacy/optimism in childhood and fostering trust/prosocial in adolescence. Results inform evidence-based socio-emotional curricula and violence-prevention policies in Latin American schools.