Although the role of empathy in reducing campus bullying has been receiving increasing attention, empirical research on the development of empathy and its delayed effects among college students is lacking. To examine the immediate and delayed effects of group activities on increases in empathy among college students, this study randomly assigned 90 first-year students from a Chinese university into control, intervention, and delayed intervention groups. The groups with interventions participated in multiple sessions of counselling activities, and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index-C scale was used as a pre-test, post-test, and re-test measure to assess empathy levels in each group. Additionally, interview transcripts were employed to verify the effectiveness of the study. The results showed that group activities were significantly effective in enhancing the level of empathy among college students. Furthermore, the effect of group activities in enhancing empathy levels among college students tended to diminish over time but was maintained at a relatively high level for a certain period. This finding reveals that the development of empathy requires ongoing attention and support. Future studies could further explore the effects of different types of interventions on empathy levels, and the durability and stability of delayed intervention effects can be investigated in long-term follow-up studies. These findings will contribute to the development of more effective strategies for preventing and intervening in campus bullying, thereby providing theoretical and practical support for more harmonious campus environments. © © 2025 Xu, Gong, Ye and Fu.
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