International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12

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 Volume 13, Issue 1 (January 2026), Pages: 65-73

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 Original Research Paper

Parental empathy and behavior: A study on discipline, punishment, and psychological control

 Author(s): 

 Huong Thi Nguyen 1, Hang Thi Minh Ly 2, Thanh Le Tran 3, Hien Thi Nguyen 1, Hoang-Duc Nguyen 1, *

 Affiliation(s):

  1Faculty of Social Work, University of Labour & Social Affairs, Hanoi, Vietnam
  2Department of General Education and Teacher Training, Academy of Journalism and Communication, Hanoi, Vietnam
  3Department of Training Management and Advanced Training, People’s Security Academy, Hanoi, Vietnam

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 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3625-3912

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2026.01.007

 Abstract

Parenting behaviors strongly influence children’s emotional, cognitive, and social development. Parental empathy, including cognitive empathy, emotional resonance, and emotional dissonance, shapes disciplinary practices and parent–child relationships. This study examines levels of parental empathy and parenting behaviors in the areas of discipline, punishment, and psychological control, and explores how emotional and cognitive involvement in parenting affects disciplinary approaches and family interactions. Data were collected from 349 parents using validated instruments, including the Emotional and Cognitive Empathy Scale and the Parenting Behavior Scale–Short Form with the Psychological Control Scale. Descriptive statistical analyses showed that parents mainly used non-aggressive discipline methods (M = 1.61, SD = 0.85) and reported high emotional resonance (M = 2.15, SD = 0.54). Punitive behaviors were rare (M = 0.47, SD = 0.49), while psychological control was used at a moderate level (M = 0.56, SD = 0.53). Emotional resonance was positively associated with positive parenting behaviors, and cognitive empathy showed a moderate relationship with constructive disciplinary practices. Overall, the findings highlight the important role of parental empathy in promoting effective parenting and healthy family dynamics, while also indicating that the use of psychological control and lower levels of cognitive empathy remain areas for improvement.

 © 2025 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

 Parental empathy, Parenting behaviors, Discipline practices, Psychological control, Parent–child relationship

 Article history

 Received 25 July 2025, Received in revised form 25 November 2025, Accepted 14 December 2025

 Acknowledgment

No Acknowledgment. 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Ethical considerations

This study was conducted in accordance with internationally accepted ethical standards for research involving human participants. All participants were fully informed about the purpose of the study, the voluntary nature of their participation, and their right to withdraw at any time without penalty. Informed consent was obtained electronically prior to data collection. Participants were assured of anonymity and confidentiality, and no identifying information was collected.

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

 Nguyen HT, Ly HTM, Tran TL, Nguyen HT, and Nguyen HD (2026). Parental empathy and behavior: A study on discipline, punishment, and psychological control. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 13(1): 65-73

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 Figures

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 Tables

  Table 1  Table 2  Table 3

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