After a review of the literature on the social information processing and empathy deficits among aggressive children and adolescents, 148 students in a training school for severe, chronic delinquents were divided into four groups based on their level of empathy and aggression. Scores from the Interpersonal Reactivity Index and the Student Behavior Rating Scale were utilized to assign the students to one of the four groups. To discriminate between the groups, social information processing deficits were measured by the Interpersonal Problem Solving Measure which examines the four information processing steps proposed by Dodge. This study found that significant differences existed between the groups only when the subjects were grouped on the basis of their empathy scores. Those subjects low in empathy exhibited deficits in Goal Selection (Step 2 - Interpretation) and Best Solution (Step 4 - Response Search) of Dodge's model. Both the cognitive (Perspective-Taking) and affective (Empathic Concern) components of empathy were found to be important in this relationship. Dodge's "hostile attributional bias" was not found. The results of the study underscore the importance of the construct of empathy in the treatment of aggressive youth. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-09, Section: B, page: 4130. / Major Professor: Wallace A. Kennedy. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77276 |
| Contributors | Phelps, Suzann Claire., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 78 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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