Prediction of children's empathy-related responding from their effortful control and parents' expressivity

Carlos Valiente, Nancy Eisenberg, Richard Fabes, Stephanie A. Shepard, Amanda Cumberland, Sandra Losoya

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

117 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, the linear and interactive relations of children's effortful control and parents' emotional expressivity to children's empathy-related responses were examined. Participants were 214 children, 4.5 to 8 years old. Children's effortful control was negatively related to their personal distress and was positively related to their sympathy. Parents' positive expressivity was marginally negatively related to children's personal distress and was marginally positively related to children's dispositional sympathy. Parents' negative expressivity was positively related to children's personal distress, but primarily at high levels of children's effortful control. Moreover, parents' negative expressivity was negatively related to children's situational sympathy at low levels of effortful control but was positively related to children's dispositional sympathy at high levels of effortful control. There were also quadratic relations between the measures of parents' expressivity and children's empathy-related responses.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)911-926
Number of pages16
JournalDevelopmental psychology
Volume40
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2004

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Demography
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Life-span and Life-course Studies

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