<![CDATA[Empathy skills in children aged 5–6 years constitute a fundamental foundation for social-emotional development and are substantially influenced by the quality of parenting within the family environment. However, empirical evidence regarding the comprehensive influence of Baumrind’s three parenting styles on children's empathy remains limited. This study aimed to analyze the effects of authoritative (democratic), authoritarian, and permissive parenting styles on the empathy skills of children aged 5–6 years in Surabaya City using a quantitative causal-comparative (ex post facto) approach, as parenting variables cannot be manipulated experimentally. A total of 380 parents were selected using simple random sampling. Data were collected using the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire–Short Form (PSDQ-SF) and the Empathy Questionnaire (EmQue) Parents Report, and subsequently analyzed using multiple linear regression preceded by classical assumption tests, the F-test, and the t-test. The findings revealed that the three parenting styles simultaneously exerted a significant influence on children's empathy (F = 19.234; p < 0.001). Partially, authoritative parenting demonstrated a significant positive effect (B = 0.400; p < 0.001), authoritarian parenting showed a significant negative effect (B = –0.250; p < 0.001), whereas permissive parenting did not exhibit a statistically significant effect (p = 0.304). The regression model explained 13.3% of the variance in children's empathy (R² = 0.133), indicating that the model's explanatory power remains relatively limited, with most of the variance attributable to other factors beyond parenting styles. These findings confirm that authoritative parenting is the strongest positive predictor in fostering empathy development among early childhood children.]]>
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