Relations Between Parental Discipline, Empathy-Related Traits, and Prosocial Moral Reasoning

Abstract

The current study explored how parental inductions and punitiveness were related to the prosocial moral reasoning through perspective taking and sympathy. Data were collected from three ethnic groups: 106 European American, 202 Mexican American, and 196 Taiwanese fifth and sixth graders (approximately 50% girls). Using structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, the results generally indicated that the relation between parental inductions and prosocial moral reasoning was partially mediated by perspective taking and sympathy, and that punitiveness had direct relations to prosocial moral reasoning. Furthermore, some ethnic group differences were found such that Taiwanese early adolescents reported less parental inductions and weaker effects of parental punitiveness than early adolescents from the United States. Discussion focuses on the socialization of prosocial moral reasoning across cultural groups.