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

Raluca-Maria Parfenov, Stacey A. Bedwell

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    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.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)27-34
    Number of pages8
    JournalPsyPAG Quarterly
    Issue number114
    Publication statusPublished (VoR) - 1 Mar 2020

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