Parent-child relationship quality and emerging adult internalizing and externalizing problems: empathy as a pathway

A key facet of socioemotional development is the ability to practice prosocial behavior. Prior research has emphasized the role parenting has in developing this skill from early childhood to adolescence. However, the continuity of this relationship during the complex developmental period of emerging adulthood is understudied. The current study examined the indirect effects of mothers’ and fathers’ relationship quality on internalizing and externalizing problems via empathy for emerging adult women and men. Participants (N = 469) were college-attending emerging adults (aged 18–25) who reported on their current parent-child relationship quality, empathy, and psychopathology. Partially consistent with hypotheses, a direct effect between paternal parent-child relationship quality and empathy in women and men was found; however, a significant direct effect between maternal parent-child relationship quality and empathy occurred only in women. There was a significant direct effect between empathy and internalizing/externalizing problems in women and men. For women, maternal and paternal relationship quality had indirect effects on internalizing and externalizing problems via empathy. However, an indirect effect in men was demonstrated only for paternal relationship quality on externalizing problems. Implications include how fostering healthy parent-child relationships might impact display of prosocial behaviors in adulthood, which is essential for developing and maintaining healthy relationships throughout the lifespan.