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The Relationship Between Parental Variables, Empathy and Prosocial-Flow with Prosocial Behavior Toward Strangers, Friends, and Family

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Abstract

The goal of this study was to explore the relationship between two different aspects of the parent–child relationship (parental challenge and authoritative parental style) and empathy as well as prosocial flow with prosocial behavior toward strangers, friends, and family. The participants were 422 young adults who were enrolled in undergraduate social responsibility courses at a University. The results show that the combination of parental support and parental challenge has an important influence on prosocial flow and on positive behavior such as prosocial behavior toward friends and family, but no influence on that toward strangers. Moreover, in the same way, empathy and prosocial flow promote prosocial behavior toward these three targets. The interpretations of these findings are delineated in the discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Tte. Gral. Perón 2158, 1040, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Belén Mesurado & María Cristina Richaud

  2. Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Belén Mesurado

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  1. Belén Mesurado
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  2. María Cristina Richaud
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Correspondence to Belén Mesurado.

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Mesurado, B., Richaud, M.C. The Relationship Between Parental Variables, Empathy and Prosocial-Flow with Prosocial Behavior Toward Strangers, Friends, and Family. J Happiness Stud 18, 843–860 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-016-9748-7

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