The Effects of Empathy Training Program on the Enhancement of Empathy and Bullying's Degree for Bullies

공감향상훈련이 집단따돌림 가해아동의 공감과 가해정도에 미치는 효과

  • Published : 2005.01.21

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an empathy training program on the empathy and bullying's degree for bullies. The research hypotheses set to achieve this goal were as follows. 1. An experimental group that gets empathy training might make a better improvement in empathy immediately after the training than a control group that doesn't, and the effect of the training might last till eight weeks later. 2. An experimental group that undergoes empathy training might show a more significant decrease in bullying's degree for bullies immediately after the training than a control group that doesn't, and the effect of the training might last till eight weeks later. The subjects in this study were 20 children who were designated as bullies when 40 fifth graders from Y Elementary school and 31 children from S Elementary school in the city of T, south Gyeongsang province, took K-PNI. Those children were asked to tell about who were attackers and who were victims, and 10 children each were selected from the two elementary schools as bullies, who were respectively selected as an experimental group and a control group. The empathy training program used in this study was prepared by modifying the empathy training programs developed by Shin Gyeong- il(1994). That program was prepared to be appropriate at fifth grader level. To assess how much the selected children bullied their peers, Kim Seok-jin(1999)'s School Bullying Inventory was utilized. Besides, Song Ho-yeon's revised version to assess the change of counselee empathy was employed. In order to analyze the resulte, ANOVA was implemented. The conclusions obtained from the results and discussion of this study are as follows. First, the empathy training program was effective in changing the empathy of the bullies for the better, and their improved empathy remained the same eight weeks later. Second, the empathy training program had an effect in reducing bullying's degree for bullies, and there was no change in their reduced bullying's degree eight weeks later. Third, the empathy training program served to change their neglecting/ ostracizing and ridiculing/teasing behaviors. And the retention test that was implemented eight weeks later showed the effect of training remained unchanged. Fourth, the empathy training program was effective in changing their cursing/threatening actions according to the posttest results, but the retention test showed that its effect didn't keep on. Fifth, the empathy training program didn't bring any changes to their robbing/striking actions either immediately after the training or eight weeks later.

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