The Relationship between Paternal Rearing Styles and Pro-Social Behavior of Chinese Lower-Division Undergraduate Students: The Mediating Role of Empathy and Mental Capital

Academy of Future Education, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, 215000, China

^* Corresponding author: Tianying.Chen22@student.xjtlu.edu.cn

Abstract

Research on the influencing mechanism between parenting styles and pro-social behavior still needs to be advanced. The purpose of the research is to examine how paternal rearing styles, empathy and psychological capital relate to the pro-social behaviors of Chinese lower-division undergraduate students. Four questionnaires were used to measure 488 Chinese lower-division undergraduate students. These were the Short-form Parenting Style Questionnaire in Chinese (S-EMBU-C), the Pro-Social Behavior Scale (Chinese version), The Interpersonal Response Pointer Scale (Chinese version), and the Positive Psychological Capital Questionnaire. The results found that: (1) Correlations between paternal rearing styles and empathy, psychological capital, and pro-social behavior of Chinese lower-division undergraduate students; (2) The mediating role of empathy and psychological capital between active paternal rearing styles and pro-social behavior was not significant; (3) Empathy and psychological capital mediated significantly between negative paternal rearing styles and pro-social behavior. The study fills gaps in previous research and guides schools and families, making it theoretically and practically significant.