Neuroticism Moderates the Relation Between Parenting and Empathy and Between Empathy and Prosocial Behavior

Links among neuroticism, inconsistent discipline, and empathy were assessed in a longitudinal study of adolescents. Mothers', but not fathers', inconsistent discipline predicted decreases in empathy 2 years later, but only for adolescents who were low in neuroticism. For those who were hig...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMerrill-Palmer Quarterly Vol. 62; no. 2; pp. 105 - 128
Main Authors Chaparro, Maria Paula, Grusec, Joan E.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Detroit Wayne State University Press 01.04.2016
Subjects
Adolescents
Antecedents
Authoritarianism
Behavior
Child discipline
Child Rearing
Children
Children & youth
Correlation
Discipline
Empathy
Fathers
Foreign Countries
Hypothesis Testing
Inhibition
Longitudinal Studies
Mothers
Parenting
Parenting Styles
Parents
Parents & parenting
Personality
Personality Measures
Personality Traits
Prosocial Behavior
Psychological Patterns
Questionnaires
Socialization
Statistical Analysis
Studies
Teachers
Teenagers
Temperament
Canada
New York
United States > US
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Summary:Links among neuroticism, inconsistent discipline, and empathy were assessed in a longitudinal study of adolescents. Mothers', but not fathers', inconsistent discipline predicted decreases in empathy 2 years later, but only for adolescents who were low in neuroticism. For those who were high, there was no effect of inconsistent discipline. Authoritarian parenting was not related to empathy, nor was there any interaction between neuroticism and authoritarianism. Neuroticism also moderated the relation between empathy and adolescent prosocial behavior, with empathy and prosocial behavior positively related for adolescents who were high in neuroticism but not related for those who were low in neuroticism. These findings shed light on the specificity of parenting antecedents of empathic behavior in adolescence as well as the role of personality in this relation.
ISSN:0272-930X
1535-0266
DOI:10.13110/merrpalmquar1982.62.2.0105