The Effects of Parent-Child Communication and Empathy on the Friendship Qualities of School-aged Children

Abstract

Objective The purpose of this study is to examine the direct effects of parent-child communication, and its indirect effect through empathy, on the friendship qualities of school-aged children. Methods Participants in this study were 290 children (5th and 6th graders) in Seoul, In-cheon, and Chung-nam Province. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires regarding parent-child communication, empathy, and friendship quality. Data were analyzed by t-test, correlations, and SEM using SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 21.0. Results Neither father-child nor mother-child communication had direct effects on friendship quality. However, mother-child communication had an indirect effect on friendship quality, mediated by empathy. Multigroup analyses revealed that there were significant gender differences in the direct and indirect effects. For boys, mother-child communication directly influenced friendship quality, while father-child communication had an indirect effect on friendship quality, mediated by empathy. For girls, on the contrary, mother-child communication had an indirect effect through empathy on friendship quality. Conclusion The results of this study emphasize that boys’ and girls’ communication with fathers and mothers has different effects on their friendship qualities. These findings have implications for future research and practices by emphasizing the importance of parent-child communication and empathy when designing programs for improving friendship qualities in children. Keywords: parent-child communication, empathy, friendship quality, peer relationships