Defense Date
2-18-2013
Graduation Date
Spring 2013
Availability
Immediate Access
Submission Type
dissertation
Degree Name
PhD
Department
School Psychology
School
School of Education
Committee Chair
Kara McGoey
Committee Member
Laura Crothers
Committee Member
James Schreiber
Committee Member
Kimberly Blair
Keywords
Behavior, Empathy, Family factors, Preschool, Psychopathology
Abstract
In the current literature base of social-emotional development in early childhood there exists a paucity of research of empathy development due to the complicated nature of empathy in young children. The present study utilizes a preexisting dataset from a local therapeutic preschool program, and its methods include visual analysis, correlations, and independent samples t-tests. Results of the present study found that clinical behavior patterns negatively correlate with empathy development. Further, statistically significant group differences exist in affective empathy for children whose parents have a mental health diagnosis. However, results regarding adaptive skills were not found to be statistically significant. The present study contributes and expands the current literature base by exploring empathy development among a clinical sample of preschool-age children. The present study is also unique in its incorporation of specific family factors.
Format
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Venesky, L. (2013). An Exploration of the Development of Empathy in a Clinical Sample of Preschoolers in Relation to Child and Family Factors (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1307