EFFECTIVENESS OF EMPATHY TRAINING IN REDUCING AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR AND INCREASING SOCIAL INTIMACY OF STUDENTS IN IRAN

Improvement of social and interpersonal relationships through decreasing aggressive behavior and increasing intimacy can contribute to personal maturity and growth. In this regard, the objective of this study is to examine effectiveness of empathy training on reduction aggressive behavior and increase in social intimacy of students.his is an experimental study with pretest-posttest plan. Statistical population of study consisted of all first-grade high school students in Urmia, Iran in 2016. Of students who had obtained high score of Aggression Questionnaire and diagnosed as aggressive students by teachers, 50 members were chosen using convenience method. Test group members were taught empathy skill through 10 sessions and control group were waiting. Both groups filled out Aggression Questionnaire of Bus-Perry and Miller Social Intimacy Scale at base stage and after treatment. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS22 software and ANCOVA test.The results showed that there was a significant difference between aggression and social intimacy level between two test and control groups after empathy training program (P<0.05)Empathy skill training has led to reduced aggression and increased social intimacy among students.

Empathy, Aggression, Social Intimacy, Students