Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of empathy training as an intervention program on bullying exercised by six graders in primary schools. The study, carried out as a true experimental design, used two experiment groups and two control groups. The subjects were 38 students exercising bullying. The study used Child Form of Bully and Victim Determination Scale and Empathy Index for Children as data gathering tools. As data analysis tool, repeated measures of ANOVA was used to analyze time and intervention effects of empathetic skills and bullying behaviors of the participants. The study found that bullying behaviors of the participants in the experiment group decreased significantly when compared to the subjects in the control group. The study also found that the levels of emphatic skills of the participants in the experiment group increased significantly compared to the participants in the control group.
1. Introduction
In the present study, the effectiveness of empathy training as an intervention program on bullying behaviors exercised by six graders in primary schools was investigated. The task was accomplished by using two experiment groups and two control groups in the form of a true experimental design. Much of literature on empathy among children and adolescents dwells on behavioral outputs of empathy. In some of these studies, participants' levels of empathy reveal a positive and supporting role on pro-social behaviors and social abilities (Barr and Higgins-D'Alessandro, 2007 and Heran, 2005). Still some others show a negative relationship between bullying, cyber bullying and violent behaviors (Ang and Goh, 2010, Munoz et al., 2011, Nguyen et al., 2011 and Yeo et al., 2011) and disruptive behaviors and crime-involvement (De Kemp et al., 2007, DeWied et al., 2005 and Jolliffe and Farrington, 2007) and antisocial aptitudes (Schaffer, Clark, & Jeglic, 2009). Given the positive role of empathy on pro-social and other positive behaviors, researchers have also conducted many experimental studies on how to improve empathy among children and adolescents (Eslea and Smith, 1994, Heran, 2005, Kalliopuska and Ruokonen, 1993, O'Moore and Minton, 2005 and Pecukonis, 1990). In these studies, it is reported that empathy training increase bullying behaviors and improve empathetic and social abilities. However, we can say that these experimental studies, both in number and in quality, are not sufficient and they do not cover the updated data. Therefore, this experimental study intends to deal with the relationship between empathy training and decreasing bullying behaviors among school-children using some very updated data.
3. Results
Investigation of the effect of empathy training on bullying behaviors of school children carried out with repeated measure ANOVA. Multivariate analysis yielded significant interaction effect, F(2/35) = 168.60, (Wilks' lambda .09), p < .001, as well as main effect of time of measurement, F(2/35) = 226.48, (Wilks' lambda .07), p < .001. As given in Fig. 2, intervention group made significant decrease on bullying behaviors as a result of empathy training, and the magnitude of change continued on follow-up measures.
Time and intervention interaction on empathetic skills.
Fig. 2.
Time and intervention interaction on empathetic skills.
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Repeated measure ANOVA is performed to test the time and intervention effects on empathy and bullying behaviors. Empathy training as the intervention program in this study revealed significant effect on students' empathic behaviors at the end of the intervention and on follow-up, F(2/35) = 333.64, (Wilks' Lambda .05), p < .001. As seen in Table 3, intervention group as compared to control group tend to be more empathetic on post intervention and follow-up (Table 4).
Table 3.
Repeated measure ANOVA results on bullying behaviors.
Effect Wilks' lambda F df p η2
Time .07 226.48 2/35 .001 .93
Time ∗ intervention .09 168.60 2/35 .001 .91
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Table 4.
Repeated measure ANOVA results on empathetic skills.
Effect Wilks' lambda F df p η2
Time .03 518.75 2/35 .001 .97
Time ∗ intervention .05 333.64 2/35 .001 .95
