The relationship between 215 9- to 12-yr.-olds' empathy and their parents' empathy was studied with the Mehrabian and Epstein emotional empathy scale (1972). The expected positive correlation did not appear consistently in all sex and age groups, nor did the mothers' predominant role in socialization of empathy. Mothers were emotionally more empathetic than fathers, girls more empathetic than boys. The Finnish fathers' role in acquisition of empathy by children seems evident. Partial correlations did not change the impression of the relationship between the empathy scores of parents and children after eliminating effects of different social background factors.
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