Language proficiency, perspective taking and the empathic understanding of Hispanic bilingual children
Abstract
The present study investigated the effects of bilingualism on empathic understanding and perspective-taking ability of 71 Hispanic bilingual children. The subjects were students from a suburban, Hudson Valley region of New York State. Students were categorized as balanced bilingual, Spanish dominant, or English dominant based on demonstrated proficiency (Fluent) on the Woodcock-Muños Language Survey. Bryant's Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents was used to assess level of empathic understanding and a perspective-taking task designed for this specific the study assessed perspective-taking skills. The results indicated no significant differences between the language groups on empathic understanding or perspective-taking skill. Results were discussed in relation to characteristics of the sample and factors related to the acquisition of perspective taking and empathic understanding. Recommendations were made for future research.
Subject Area
Cognitive therapy|Bilingual education|Multicultural education|Social psychology
Recommended Citation
Rodriguez, Maria Dolores, "Language proficiency, perspective taking and the empathic understanding of Hispanic bilingual children" (1999). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI9947864.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI9947864
