Latent Class Analysis of Students' Empathy and Decision-Making Skills

• In Event: International Perspectives of SEL Skills, Belongingness, and Assessment in Primary and Middle Schools

Abstract

This study aims to classify students into latent classes based on their empathy and decision-making skills and examine the impact of demographic characteristics on these classifications. Data were collected from 884 seventh-grade students across seven Turkish cities, representing various socio-economic levels. Latent class analysis (LCA) identified four distinct clusters: "Moderately Empathic Dependents," "Empathic Decision Makers," "Low Empathic Dependents," and "Medium Empathic Independents." The analysis showed that parental consultation in family decisions and discriminatory behaviors significantly influence class membership, with frequent consultation associated with the "Empathic Decision Makers" cluster and infrequent consultation or discriminatory behaviors linked to the "Low Empathic Dependents" cluster.

Authors

• Seher Yalcin, Ankara University

• Munevver Ilgun Dibek, TED University

• Cansu Ayan, Ankara University

• Neslihan Guney Karaman, Ankara University