The Role of Parents' Gender Role Perceptions in Predicting Psychological Resilience in Preschool Children: Exploring the Moderating Effect of Empathy

The present study aimed to examine the direct relationships between parents' gender role perceptions, empathy, and their children's levels of psychological resilience, as well as to investigate the moderating role of parents' empathy levels in the relationship between gender role perceptions and children's levels of psychological resilience. The study sample consists of 206 parents (196 mothers and 10 fathers) with children attending preschool. Participants were provided with measures of gender role perceptions, empathy, and psychological resilience along with a personal information form. The research was conducted within the framework of a correlational survey model. The findings indicated significant relationships between parents' gender role perceptions, empathy, and their children's levels of psychological resilience. However, the findings did not provide evidence for the moderating role of parents' empathy levels in the relationship between parents' gender role perceptions and their children's levels of psychological resilience. The results underscore the importance of considering the strong role of parents' gender role perceptions in their children's levels of psychological resilience. The research findings are discussed in the light of literature.