The mechanisms through which the family music environment influences young children’s empathy: the mediating role of music emotional contagion and the moderating role of parent–child relationship quality

Objective To explore the psychological mechanisms underlying the association between the family music environment and young children’s empathy, with a specific focus on the mediating role of music emotional contagion and the moderating role of parent–child relationship quality. Methods A quantitative research design combining cross-sectional surveys and situational experiments was employed. A total of 368 parent–child dyads (children aged 3–6 years) were recruited from six public kindergartens across eastern, central, and western China. Measurements included the revised Family Music Environment Scale (FMES), Young Children’s Empathy Rating Scale (YCERS), Music Emotional Contagion Scale (MECS), and Parent–Child Attachment Scale (PCAS). Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0, AMOS 24.0, and Hayes’ PROCESS macro. Results (1) The family music environment, music emotional contagion, parent–child relationship quality, and children’s empathy were all significantly and positively correlated ( p < 0.01). (2) Statistical analysis indicated that music emotional contagion mediated the relationship between the family music environment and children’s empathy (indirect effect = 0.185, 95% CI [0.138, 0.239]). (3) Parent–child relationship quality did not significantly moderate the path from family music environment to music emotional contagion (interaction p > 0.05), although it exerted a significant main effect on music emotional contagion ( β = 0.295, p < 0.001). Conclusion The family music environment appears to promote children’s empathy not directly, but largely by activating the mechanism of music emotional contagion. This pathway remained robust across varying levels of parent–child relationship quality, suggesting that the family music environment may serve as a potential compensatory resource for fostering socio-emotional development in early childhood.