Publication year
2013
Citation Title
Adolescents’ empathy and prosocial behavior in the family context: A longitudinal study
Journal Name
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Journal Volume
42
Issue Number
12
Page Numbers
1858-1872
DOI
10.1007/s10964-012-9900-6
Summary
Children and adolescents' empathy and prosocial behaviors are important for their social competency. To explore these variables, adolescents completed questionnaires regarding parent behaviors, parent-child relationships, and their own prosocial behaviors. Results revealed that certain parent behaviors may promote adolescent empathy and prosocial behaviors through a balanced parent-child relationship.
Key Findings
High levels of parent solicitation (i.e., parent efforts to know children’s activities, locations, and friendships) and low levels of parent psychological control (i.e., parent behaviors that intrude upon children’s psychological autonomy) were associated with good parent-child relationships.
A balanced parent-child connectedness (i.e., a parent-child relationship that allows both closeness and autonomy) was related to adolescents’ empathy and prosocial behaviors.
Direct associations between parent behaviors and adolescent prosocial behaviors were not found.
Implications for Military Professionals
Educate military parents about parent behaviors that could increase the quality of parent-child relationships
Work with military parents to help them determine specific changes to current behaviors that may have a significant impact on child well-being
Implications for Program Leaders
Design workshops for military parents to increase their parenting skills and foster healthy parent-child relationships
Encourage military parents to increase parent solicitation and decrease psychological control
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend training for professionals who work with military families regarding the impact of parent-child relationships on children’s prosocial behaviors
Continue to support parenting education programs that aim to increase positive parenting in military families
Methods
The sample was selected from the Flourishing Families Project, which was a longitudinal study that studies families with adolescents.
Measures included parent behaviors (monitoring and psychological control), parent-child connectedness, and adolescent prosocial behaviors; all measures were reported by adolescents at three time points, respectively.
The associations among parent behaviors, parent-child connectedness, and adolescent prosocial behaviors were analyzed.
Participants
Participants were 335 married couples and their adolescent child (49% female).
The average age of the adolescents was 11.29 years (SD = 1.01, age range = 10-13 years) at the start of the longitudinal study.
The majority of the participants were White (88%), followed by Black (5%), Latino (1%), Asian-American (2%), and other (4%).
Limitations
All measures were self-reported by the adolescents, therefore the results may be biased by their perspectives.
All participating families were two-parent and the couples were mostly in long-term marriages, so the family structure composition of the sample is different from the composition of the general American population.
Parent behaviors, parent-child relationships, and adolescent prosocial behaviors were assessed at three different years, therefore the results may be inaccurate due to the large gaps in between.
Avenues for Future Research
Use measures from multiple informants, including adolescents and both of their parents
Increase the diversity of participants by not only recruiting high-functioning families, but also families that are distressed and unstable
Observe parent-child interactions in the home or naturalistic environment
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
Children's empathy and prosocial behavior play an important role in their social competence. Of the influential factors, research has demonstrated that parental behaviors and the quality of the parent-child relationship are important correlates of children's development of empathy and prosocial behavior. The current study examined the associations between different types of parental behaviors (i.e., parental knowledge, parental solicitation, and parental psychological control), "balanced connectedness" in the parent-child relationship, which allows for both closeness and autonomy, and empathy and prosocial behavior in adolescents. The participants were 335 married couples (more than 80 % European American) and their adolescent child (49.0 % female; 10-13 years). Data were collected at three time points for parental behaviors, balanced parent-child connectedness, and adolescents' empathy and prosocial behavior, respectively. The results of structural equation modeling suggested that adolescents' perceptions of parental solicitation and parental psychological control may be associated with their empathy and prosocial behavior through their perceived balanced connectedness with parents. These findings suggest that enhancing balanced connectedness in the parent-child relationship may contribute to promoting empathy and prosocial behavior in adolescents over time. Further, this study suggests that parental solicitation may play a role in adolescents' empathic and prosocial development, possibly depending on the quality of the parent-child relationship.
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