Os efeitos do sexo como preditor das relações entre a empatia, o cuidado e a superproteção parental

Abstract

Empathy is an ability that allows individuals to understand other people’s intentions and feelings, and it is formed by the affective and the cognitive dimensions. Among the factors that influence empathy’s development, sex and perceived parental care and overprotection behaviors can be evidenced. The main objective of this research is to evaluate the relationship between empathy’s cognitive and affective dimensions and parental care and overprotection mediated by the effect of the participants’ and the caregivers’ sex by replicating an English study. The sample was formed by 477 participants and three instruments were used: Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), Escala Multidimensional de Reatividade Interpessoal (EMRI) and Quociente de Empatia (QE). Correlations, multiple linear regressions, t tests, ANOVAs, and multigroup confirmatory factor analysis were conducted. Male participants did not show any significate results between empathy’s dimensions and perceived parental behaviors. Perceived maternal care presented significate correlations and predictions with both empathy dimensions among female participants. Women reported higher levels of affective empathy than men, although EMRI was not a sex invariant instrument. The maternal care perceived by female participants seems to have influenced affective empathy’s development in both the present study and the original research, even though both studies have had divergent results regarding male participants. This study’s results infer that primary caregivers, especially mothers that have warm and care behaviors, tend to promote more empathy in their children.