Empath or Trauma Response?

Are you an empath or trauma responses being expressed from childhood? In recent years there are a number of people that have identified themselves as empaths that express an attitude of superiority to those who are not empaths. They think they are "special". I find this troubling on multiple levels. An empath is not something that you train or study to become, it is typically a response to childhood trauma and heightened sense of vigilance. Is experiencing a challenging childhood a reason to feel superior to others?