Efectos de las prácticas parentales en la empatía y la conducta prosocial de preadolescentes

Aim: to analyze the effects of parenting practices on empathy and prosocial behaviors of tweens. Method: 204 Mexican preteens of between 10 and 13 years of age (M = 11.49, DE =. 739) participated in the study; the multidimensional scale of empathy (Diaz-Loving, Andrade, & Nadelsticher, 1986), the scale of parental prosocial practices and the scale of prosocial conduct towards pairs (Zacarias-salinas, 2014) were applied. Models of paths were traced in order to analyze data. Results: the affection and the parental communication have direct effects in the empathic compassion, and this one, in turn, affects the prosocial conduct. The use of rewards and physical punishments as parental practices has not shown direct effects in the empathy nor in the prosocial conduct. Conclusion: the parental actions affect the development of the prosocial trends of their children.