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Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
The longitudinal interplay of affective and cognitive empathy within and between adolescents and mothers
Caspar J van Lissa1, Skyler T Hawk1, Minet de Wied1
1Department of Adolescent Development, Utrecht University.
Abstract:
This 4-year study examined longitudinal interplays between adolescents' and mothers' self-reported empathic concern (EC) and perspective taking (PT). We investigated (a) whether adolescents' EC predicted rank-order change in their PT over time, or vice versa; (b) whether mothers' empathy predicted relative increases in adolescents' empathy; (c) whether adolescent gender moderated the over-time links from mothers' to adolescents' empathy; and (d) whether the rank-order stability of EC and PT over time differed within and between respondents. Adolescents' EC positively predicted their PT over time, but not vice versa. Mothers' PT positively predicted adolescent PT over time for girls, but not for boys. The rank-order stability of adolescents' EC was greater than their PT. Maternal PT and EC were equally stable and were more stable than in adolescents. This study contributes the first empirical evidence that the developmental order of adolescents' empathy runs from affective to cognitive empathy, in contrast to prior theoretical and experimental literature that has emphasized the reverse direction. It further provides the 1st longitudinal evidence of intergenerational empathy transmission. These findings support the notion that adolescence is a developmentally sensitive period for PT.
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Cognitive Development During Adolescence
Empathy
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
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The Influence of Cognition on Affect
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