Family Communication Patterns, Sympathy, Perspective-Taking, and Girls’ Thoughts About Interpersonal Violence

Abstract

This self report online study explored the process of moral reasoning about interpersonal violence by considering the roles of family communication patterns, mediated by sympathy and perspective-taking (PT) in girls ages 6–16 (N = 253). Using structural equation modeling, findings suggest that families where conversation communication plays a central role nurture abilities to sympathize and PT. Further, younger girls tend to be driven by sympathy, which shifts to PT as they age. These abilities positively correlate with thoughts about interpersonal violence as wrong whether “justified” and independent of severity. Error correlations infer that, at some level, “justified” violence is acceptable and, to a lesser degree, the severity of the violence plays a role in moral reasoning about violence, thus suggesting complex thought.