Empathie en agressie bij 6- en 7- jarige kinderen met gedragsproblemen en/of ADHD. Een longitudinaal onderzoek

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to gain insight into the relationship between empathy and aggression in 6- and 7- year old children with behavioral problems. Research has demonstrated a negative relationship between empathy and aggression in older children within a normal population. Whether this relationship also applies to younger children from a clinical population has not been thoroughly researched and may be more difficult to establish given the limited variation and spread. The present study is unique because it uses a young population (age 6- and 7- years) from a clinically referred group of children with diagnosis of ADHD and/or ODD, and because it is a longitudinal study of the same group over a longer period. The final sample comprises 84 children (average age 6.92 years). Intelligence, aggression and empathy were first measured (T1) through respectively the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IIINL), and the completion of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Teacher Report Form (TRF) and Griffith Empathy Measure (GEM) by parents as well as by teachers. A follow-up similar measurement (T2) for aggression was conducted one year later. Multiple regression analyses (SPSS) were used to determine a relationship between the independent variables (gender, intelligence, level of aggression and empathy) and the dependent variable (aggression). Results show a negative relationship between empathy and level of aggression at T1, and indicated that aggression at T1 significantly predicted the level of aggression at T2. This is in line with prior research conclusions for children within a normal population. It has not been demonstrated in this study that empathy has a predictive value in addition to the stability of aggression. Several limitations have been identified in this study, potentially impacting on the interpretation of the results, and suggestions for further investigation have been made.