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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENTING STYLES AND PROSOCIAL / ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR OF ADOLESCENTS

Poster · July 2018

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.16669.82404

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Agnieszka Lasota
Pedagogical University of Cracow
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 Agnieszka Lasota www.lasotaagnieszka.pl
CODE: 103.19
Department of Psychology Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland email: alasota@up.krakow.pl

INTRODUCTION METHODS
EMPATHY TOOLS:
The ability to read, recognize, interpret and feel the emotions and states of other people and the RESPONDENTS:
ability to react adequately. It is most commonly tested by the self-report method and its two
dimensions are analyzed and interpreted: cognitive aspect and the emotional aspect (Davis 1994, IRI (Davis, 1994) 280
EMPATHY Polish students School:
Hoffman 2001).
Biological-chemical profile (25.7%)
Matchematics profile (27.4%)
AGGRESSION General profile (46.9%)
Age:
Buss and Perry (1992) considered that both physical and verbal aggression indicate a behavioral PERSPECTIVE EMPATHIC PERSONAL 16 – 18 years
FANTASY Sex:
component of human behavior. Anger is combined with a physiological stimulation and therefore TAKING CONCERN DISTRESS (M = 17.09, SD = 0.68) 53.5 % women
reflects the emotional component of behavior. Hostility (feelings of regret, resentment, and 46.5 % men
injustice) represents the cognitive component of behavior.
Buss Perry Aggression Questionnaire (1992)
 There are many studies on the search for the association between social behavior and empathy. AGGRESSION
The study of adolescents indicates the existence of a negative relationship between the level of
empathy and aggressive actions (Miller, Eisenberg 1988, Garaigordobil 2009).
 Studies of Kaukiainen et al. (1999) confirm the negative relationship between empathy and PHYSICAL VERBAL ANGER HOSTILITY
direct aggression understood as a behavioral dimension. AGGRESSION AGGRESSION
 The studies of Italian school children also confirm the existence of a relationship between
empathy and aggressive behavior, but only in boys (Albiero & Lo Coco 2001).
RESENTMENT
 Many studies indicate the existence of the positive relationship between empathy of parents SUSPICION
Polish scale KPR-Roc (Plopa, 2008) AND ENVY
and their children (Eisenberg et al. 1992, Eisenberg, Fabes et al. 1991). PARENTAL
 Literature has shown also that parent - adolescent relationship and antisocial behaviors of ATTITUDES
children are strongly related (Crocetti et al. 2016; Arim et al. 2011).

AIM OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between parental attitudes and ACCEPTANCE REQUIREMENTS AUTONOMY INCONSISTENCY PROTECTING
empathy and aggression of their adolescent children.

R E S U LT S
The results of these studies show that there is a relationship between parental attitudes and levels of prosocial behavior (empathy) and antisocial behavior (aggression) in their children

Boys Girls Perspective taking (PT) ability in boys positively correlated with the attitude of acceptance of both parents
and the attitude of mothers’ autonomy. Negatively, it correlates with negative parental attitudes, too many
0.37 - 0.53
ACCEPTANCE 0.21 PERSPECTIVE ACCEPTANCE PERSPECTIVE
0.38
TAKING
- 0. 32
TAKING demands on both parents and inconsistency of father towards the boy. In girls, PT correlates only with the
0 .2 - 0.
29
0.3
8 attitudes of mothers: negatively with acceptance and autonomy, while positively with demands and
1
AUTONOMY - 0.3
2
AUTONOMY 0.3
2 inconsistencies in their behavior.
0.22 - 0 . - 0 .3 5
19
The empathic concern (EC) of boys has a positive connection with the autonomy and acceptance of
-0
.4 9
-0
.2 5
- 0.2
mothers but negative with the autonomy and acceptance of fathers. In girls, the attitude of mothers’
REQUIREMENTS EMPATHIC 0
CONCERN
REQUIREMENTS EMPATHIC
CONCERN acceptance and autonomy and the fathers’ acceptance negatively correlates with EC. The more freedom
.32
and independence given to daughters by their parents, the less emphatic the girls are.
-0 -0
.3
-0

0 .2 3
.4

INCONSISTENCY 3
1

INCONSISTENCY
0.2
The father’s attitudes have stronger impact on the third factor of empathy – personal distress (PD) than
3
0.
28 the mother’s ones. PD of boys correlates positively with the requirements and protection of the mothers;
PERSONAL
0.26
however negatively with the acceptance and autonomy of the fathers. In girls, only negative attitudes of
PROTECTING PERSONAL
DISTRESS PROTECTING DISTRESS fathers have a positive relationship with PD. The higher level of requirements and inconsistency in father's
mother behavior, the higher level of personal distress in a daughter.
mother
father
father

Fig. 1. A visualisation of the dependencies between parental attitudes and empathy of adolescents.

Boys Girls Boys Girls

5 ANGER ANGER 0.4 7 ANGER ANGER
-0.4 5
-0.4 7
0 .3 4
- 0. 2

6
-0.35 0 .3 REQUIREMENTS
ACCEPTANCE ACCEPTANCE REQUIREMENTS
PHYSICAL AGGRESSION PHYSICAL AGGRESSION PHYSICAL AGGRESSION PHYSICAL AGGRESSION
21
20 0.
26

- 0.
0.

0. 2
-0.4 6
-0.2 8
2
0.32
-0.38 VERBAL AGGRESSION -0. VERBAL AGGRESSION VERBAL AGGRESSION VERBAL AGGRESSION
30
AUTONOMY INCONSISTENCY INCONSISTENCY
0.2

AUTONOMY
-0

4
.2
5

-0.3 0.2
4 -0 2
.21 0.
HOSTILITY HOSTILITY HOSTILITY 7 HOSTILITY
32 - 0.2
-0

-0.
0.
.4

37
43
5

-0
.2 26
6 -0.
-0. 0.
0.2

mother 24 mother 33
-0

PROTECTING
7

father father PROTECTING - 0.29

.1
9

RESENTMENT RESENTMENT RESENTMENT RESENTMENT

0 .2
4
0 .2
- 0 0.25
-0

- 0.
.20
.25

20

mother mother
SUSPICION SUSPICION father SUSPICION father SUSPICION

Fig. 2. A visualisation of the dependencies between positive parental attitudes and aggression of adolescents. Fig. 3. A visualisation of the dependencies between negative parental attitudes and aggression of adolescents.

Anger in boys correlates negatively with the autonomy and acceptance of both parents and positively with Hostility (H) and resentment (R) in boys negatively correlate with the acceptance and autonomy of
inconsistency and demand of mother and father. Anger in girls is only related to fathers' attitudes. The both parents and positively with the requirements of both parents. In addition, there is a positive
acceptance and autonomy of fathers against daughters correlates negatively with the girls' anger. The relationship between H and R and the inconsistency of mothers. There is a negative relation between
requirements and inconsistency of fathers, however, have a positive relationship with anger in girls. hostility and resentment in girls and: acceptance of both parents, the autonomy, and protection of the
father.
High level of acceptance and autonomy of fathers reduces physical aggression (PA) of their teenage
daughters. Protection of the mothers positively interacts with physical aggression of boys.
There is a positive connection between the suspicion (S) of the boy and demand and protecting of the
Mothers' attitudes are more strongly correlated with verbal aggression (VA) in adolescent boys and girls than mother and the negative correlation with the acceptation of the father. Maternal attitudes have a
fathers. Acceptance and autonomy of mothers have a negative relationship with the verbal aggression of their stronger bond with the S of girls than paternal ones. The suspicion in the girl has a positive
sons. On the other hand, the requirements and inconsistencies of mothers have a positive reciprocal relation relationship with the acceptance and autonomy of the mother, and the negative with the
with VA. The more fathers to accept and protect their children, the less verbal aggression in boys. In girls, requirements and the protection. The lack of acceptance and protection of fathers against their
otherwise, the more accepting the mother's attitude is, the greater the verbal aggression of the daughters. daughters is positively related to being suspicious of kindness shown by others.
Perhaps we deal with parents in a very indulgent way.

CONCLUSIONS
REQUIREMENTS - M & F Polish research confirms that both mother and father play important role in shaping
PROTECTING - M
Aggression ACCEPTANCE - M & F
appropriate social skills of their child but there is a different relationship between REQUIREMENTS - F Aggression ACCEPTANCE - F

INCONSISTENCY - M & F
Boys AUTONOMY - M & F parenting styles of mother and father and behavior of a child. INCONSISTENCY - M & F Girls AUTONOMY - F
Parental attitudes Parental attitudes Parental attitudes Parental attitudes

The mothers’ attitudes strongly influence the level of aggression of their sons but the fathers’ attitudes When both parents are inconsistent and have excessive requirements, then their attitude is
strongly influence on the aggression of their daughters. The more acceptance and autonomy of both parents positively correlated with the level of sons’ aggression, but only negative attitudes (requirements
the less aggression in son’s behavior, but only acceptance and autonomy of father is associated with a lower and inconsistency) of fathers have influence on the aggression of their daughters.
aggression of the daughter.
REFERENCES
Albiero, P., Lo Coco, A. (2001). Designing a method to assess empathy in Italian children. In A. Bohart, D. Stipek (Ed), Constructive and Destructive Behavior. Implications for Family, School & Society (pp. 205–223). Washington, DC: APA. Arim RG, Dahinten VS, Marshall SK, Shapka JD. An examination of the reciprocal relationships between adolescents' aggressive behaviors and their perceptions of
parental nurturance. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 2011; 40: 207 – 220. Buss, A.H., Perry, M. (1992). The Aggression Questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, (3), 452-459. Crocetti E, Moscatelli S, Van der Graaff J, Keijsers L, van Lier P, Koot HM, et al. (2016) The Dynamic Interplay among Maternal Empathy, Quality of Mother-Adolescent Relationship, and
Adolescent Antisocial Behaviors: New Insights from a Six-Wave Longitudinal Multi-Informant Study. PLoS ONE 11(3):e0150009. Davis. M. H. (1983). The effects of dispositional empathy on emotional reactions and helping: A multidimensional approach. Journal of Personality. 51, 167–184. Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R., Carlo, G., Troyer, D., Speer, A., Karbon, M., & Switzer, G. (1992). The relations
of maternal practices and characteristics to children’s vicarious emotional responsiveness. Child Development, 63, 582-602. Eisenberg, N., Fabes, R., Schaller, M., Carlo, G., & Miller, P. (1991). The relations of parental characteristics and practices to children's vicarious emotional responding. Child Development, 62(6), 1393-1408. Garaigordobil M., (2009). A Comparative Analysis of Empathy
in Childhood and Adolescence: Gender Differences and Associated Socio-emotional Variables, International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 9, 2, s. 217-235. Hoffman ML. (2001). Toward a comprehensive empathy-based theory of prosocial moral development. In A. Bohart, D. Stipek (Ed). Constructive & Destructive Behavior: Implications for Family, School, & Society, (pp. 61–86),
Washington, DC: APA. Kaukiainen A, Björkqvist K, Lagerspetz K, Österman K, Salmivalli C, Rothberg S, Ahlbom A. (1999). The relationships between social intelligence, empathy, and three types of aggression. Aggressive Behavior, 25, 81–89. Miller PA, Eisenberg N. (1988). The relationship of empathy to aggressive and externalizing/antisocial behavior. Psychol Bul.,103, 324–344.
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