The Effect of Family Communication Patterns on Children's Empathy and Self-Control

The aim of the present research is to examine the relationship between pat-terns of communication (in the form of conversation) and conformity on the one hand and the empathy and self-control of children on the other. The sample comprises 348 students of third، fourth and fifth grades of prim-ary schools. Empathy scale (Eisen-berg، et al.، 1991)، family communica-tion patterns instrument (Fitzpatrick & Ritchie، 1994) and self- control rating scale (Kendall & Wi-lcox، 1979) were administered. These scales were completed by the children، their mothers and teachers، respectively. Factor analysis، itemtotal correlation and Cronbach alpha coeffi-cient reported acceptable validity and reliability of the measures. Results show that conversation was a positive and conformity was a negative predi-ctor of empathy and self-control. Girls and 4th and 5th grades students had significantly higher mean scores on empathy scale than boys and 3rd grade students، respectively.