Abstract
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.
Recommended Citation
Chaparro, Maria Paula and Grusec, Joan E.
(2016)
"Neuroticism Moderates the Relation Between Parenting and Empathy and Between Empathy and Prosocial Behavior,"
Merrill-Palmer Quarterly: Vol. 62:
Iss.
2, Article 1.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/mpq/vol62/iss2/1