The Relationship between Empathy and Antisocial-Prosocial Behaviours in Youth Field Hockey Players

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the prosocial and antisocial behaviours of youth field hockey players and their empathy skills, and also the effect of empathy on these behaviours. The sampling group of the study was comprised of 110 youth hockey players at the age of 13-18 chosen from various clubs throughout Turkey. Interpersonal reactivity index (IRI) and prosocial and antisocial behaviour scale (PABSS) in sport were used. Variance analyses, correlation, One-way Anova and Tukey tests were used. It was found that female had higher mean scores in the dimensions of perspective taking, fantasy and emphatic concern as the sub-dimensions of empathy compared to male players; female players also exhibited prosocial behaviours against their opponents at a higher level compared to male ones; as for females, they exhibited antisocial behaviours against the team and the opponent at a higher level compared to females.