Though limited, research also suggests that adolescents high in emotional regulatory ability also exhibit higher levels of empathy over time. Longitudinal research conducted by Murphy et al. (1999) found, among the 65 fifth- and sixth-graders sampled, that those youth rated as high in regulatory abilities were more likely to exhibit or use empathic responses with peers, as measured six years later. Murphy et al. (1999) concluded that, throughout development, regulatory abilities most likely prevent adolescents from becoming overwhelmed when they experience another's distress; this allows them to focus on the other's distress rather than their own.