Perceived Parental Acceptance and Emotional Empathy among University Students in Korea

Abstract

Drawing from a sample of 725 respondents, the hypothesis was tested that the level of emotional empathy reported by university students in Korea is positively associated with the extent to which youths perceive themselves to have been accepted by their parents in childhood. The question was also explored whether variation in the level of boys' versus girls' emotional empathy was associated with differences in maternal versus paternal acceptance. Results showed that the level of daughters' (but not sons') emotional empathy varied directly with the level of perceived maternal acceptance, whereas the level of sons' (but not daughters') emotional empathy varied directly with the level of perceived paternal acceptance. Moreover, daughters (but not sons) who perceived themselves to have been rejected by their mothers (but not fathers) tended to be significantly less emotionally empathic than did daughters who perceived themselves to have been accepted by their mothers.