Investigation of the Effect of Keeping Pets at Home and Playing Musical Instruments on the Empathetic Tendencies of Children

The present study was carried out to investigate the empathetic tendencies of children with regard to keeping a pet at home and playing a musical instrument. The study was carried out with a total of 139 children, 72 girls and 67 boys, attending the third-fourth and fifth grades of a foundation primary school located in the city center of Denizli in Turkey. In the study, a Personal Information Form as developed by the researchers was used with an aim to obtain information about the child and family, and the "KA-Sİ Empathetic Tendency Scale for Children and Adolescents - Children's Form" was used in order to determine the empathetic tendency of children. Parametric (t-Test, One-Way Variance Analysis (ANOVA) and non-parametric (Mann-Whitney, Kuruskal Wallis) tests were applied based on whether the data demonstrated a normal distribution or not, in order to determine if the empathetic tendencies of children differ by the variables of keeping a pet and playing a musical instrument at home. As a result of the research; it was found that the variables of keeping a pet at home and playing a musical instrument were associated with a significant difference in the mean scores of children's empathetic tendency (p <0.05).Children can be given responsibilities about keeping pets, which makes important contribution to empathetic skill; children can be oriented to musical activities in line with their interests, and studies can be conducted with an aim to raise awareness of parents and the close environment.