TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessment of preschoolers' positive empathy
T2 - Concurrent and longitudinal relations with positive emotion, social competence, and sympathy
AU - Sallquist, Julie
AU - Eisenberg, Nancy
AU - Spinrad, Tracy
AU - Wilkens, Natalie
AU - Gaertner, Bridget M.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health awarded to Nancy Eisenberg and Tracy L. Spinrad. We express our appreciation to the families who participated in the study and to the many research assistants who contributed to this project. We also thank our project director, Anne Kupfer, and the numerous graduate students who have assisted with this project.
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - The purpose of this study was to examine a new measure of children's dispositional positive empathy (i.e., reactions to others' positive emotions) and its concurrent and longitudinal relations with positive emotion, social competence, and empathy/sympathy with negative emotions. At Time 1, 192 3.5-year-olds (88 girls) participated; at Time 2, 1 year later, 168 4.5-year-olds (79 girls) participated. Children's positive empathy was reported by mothers and observed in the laboratory at Time 2. Additionally, mothers, fathers, and non-parental caregivers completed questionnaires at Time 1 and Time 2 regarding children's positive emotion, empathy/sympathy, and social competence. Children's positive emotion was observed at both assessments. There was evidence of reliability of the new reported measure of positive empathy. Additionally, there were numerous positive relations between positive empathy and social competence and between positive empathy and empathy/ sympathy with negative emotions. This study provides unique insight into children's positive empathy and relations to socio-emotional functioning.
AB - The purpose of this study was to examine a new measure of children's dispositional positive empathy (i.e., reactions to others' positive emotions) and its concurrent and longitudinal relations with positive emotion, social competence, and empathy/sympathy with negative emotions. At Time 1, 192 3.5-year-olds (88 girls) participated; at Time 2, 1 year later, 168 4.5-year-olds (79 girls) participated. Children's positive empathy was reported by mothers and observed in the laboratory at Time 2. Additionally, mothers, fathers, and non-parental caregivers completed questionnaires at Time 1 and Time 2 regarding children's positive emotion, empathy/sympathy, and social competence. Children's positive emotion was observed at both assessments. There was evidence of reliability of the new reported measure of positive empathy. Additionally, there were numerous positive relations between positive empathy and social competence and between positive empathy and empathy/ sympathy with negative emotions. This study provides unique insight into children's positive empathy and relations to socio-emotional functioning.
KW - Empathy/sympathy
KW - Positive emotion
KW - Positive empathy
KW - Social competence
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U2 - 10.1080/17439760902819444
DO - 10.1080/17439760902819444
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:68249141277
SN - 1743-9760
VL - 4
SP - 223
EP - 233
JO - Journal of Positive Psychology
JF - Journal of Positive Psychology
IS - 3
ER -