Toward a cohesive theory of correlates of hypnotic responsiveness in children: Child, parent, and environmental factors in relation to emotional empathy

It is well documented and researched that there are a great number of benefits and applications of hypnosis in the treatment of children with a variety of mental and physical health issues, including pain management, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, enuresis, asthma, and anxiety, to name a few. When reviewing the literature, however, it is clear that there is a lack of a cohesive theory of hypnotic ability in children. There have been studies that identify correlates, but none that tie all of the positive relationships together to explain the rationale behind the relationships. The present study attempted to directly identify correlates to hypnotic responsiveness in children, aged 6-9, through collecting data from both children and parents through a series of parenting and personality surveys filled out by parents, and using a hypnotic scale and empathy instrument for children, in order to test the hypothesis that there is an underlying empathic involvement that explains many of the factors related to child hypnotic ability. It was found that hypnotic ability in children correlates significantly with empathy in children, while not with parental absorption or parental empathy. This finding provides evidence for empathic involvement in hypnotic ability in children.