The influence of individuals diagnosed with Autism on their siblings’ level of empathy and pro-social behaviour

Parfenov, Raluca-Maria and Bedwell, Stacey A. (2020) The influence of individuals diagnosed with Autism on their siblings’ level of empathy and pro-social behaviour. PsyPAG Quarterly (114). pp. 27-34. ISSN 1746-6016

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Abstract

Sibling relationships are a primary source of intrapersonal and interpersonal development (Knott, Lewis, & Wiliams, 1995). Based on social learning theory (Bandura, 1971), McHale, Updegraff and Feinberg (2016) stated that individuals with autistic siblings develop strong empathetic feelings and pro-social behaviours towards them. The current study is the first one to analyse the influence of neurotypical individuals and individuals diagnosed with Autism on their siblings’ levels of empathy and pro-social behaviour towards others. One hundred and twenty-three adult participants, with either neurotypical (N = 71) or autistic siblings (N = 52), completed two questionnaires, the Empathy Quotient (Baron-Cohen & Wheelwright, 2004) and the Helping Attitude Scale (Nickell, 1998). As hypothesized, the participants with siblings diagnosed with autism presented higher levels of both empathy and pro-social behaviour towards others.

Item Type:	Article
Dates:	Date Event 27 January 2020 Accepted 1 March 2020 Published Online
Subjects:	CAH04 - psychology > CAH04-01 - psychology > CAH04-01-01 - psychology (non-specific)
Divisions:	Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences > College of Psychology
Depositing User:	Stacey Bedwell
Date Deposited:	31 Jan 2020 11:08
Last Modified:	11 Jun 2024 13:03
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/8820

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