The Influence of children and parental empathy and parental prosocial behavior on children Altruistic and Public prosocial behaviors

MARÍA CRISTINA RICHAUD; BELÉN MESURADO

París

Simposio; 28th International Congress of Applied Psychology; 2014

In this study we are interested in analyzing the links of parental variables and children empathy with prosocial behavior, and especially in the unique contribution of the different aspects of these parental variables: perceived parental empathy and perceived parental prosocial behavior, and children empathy to children?s altruism and public prosocial behavior. Finally, we will analyze separately the parental variables for mother and father based on evidence about differences in involvement and practices between both parents. The sample was 289 middle class children, aged 10 to 16 (M = 12.8, SD = 1.41), of both sexes (172 boys and 117 girls), from primary and secondary schools of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Children perception of parents? prosocial behavior dimensions, and especially father altruism, exceeded children perception of parental empathy dimensions and children empathy, in terms of strength of prediction of children?s altruism.The overall prediction equation for public prosocial behavior was significant, F(10, 279) = 19,898; p = .000), explaining 42% of the variance in children?s public prosocial behavior, with the children perception of parental empathy explaining 17% of variance, in block 1, children empathy explaining only an additional 1% of the variance, and children perception of parental prosocial behavior explaining the remaining 24%. Parental prosocial behavior, specifically public prosocial behavior by the father exceeded parental and children empathy.