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The aim of the present study was to investigate how basic moral sensitivity in bullying, moral disengagement in bullying and defender self-efficacy were related to different bystander behaviors in bullying. Therefore, we examined pathways that linked students' basic moral sensitivity, moral disengagement, and defender self-efficacy to different bystander behaviors in bullying situations. Three hundred and forty-seven teenagers completed a bullying survey. Findings indicated that compared with boys, girls expressed higher basic moral sensitivity in bullying, lower defender self-efficacy and moral disengagement in bullying. Results from the SEM showed that basic moral sensitivity in bullying was negatively related to pro-bully behavior and positively related to outsider and defender behavior, mediated by moral disengagement in bullying, which in turn was positively related to pro-bully behavior and negatively related to outsider and defender behavior. What differed in the relations between outsider and defender behaviors was the degree of defender self-efficacy. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

The current study longitudinally examined adolescents' internalization of values in four domains (drug use, prosocial, school, friends), and how these values were differentially related to behaviors (delinquency, prosocial behavior, school engagement, and deviant peer association) as a function of proactive parenting. Participants included 335 adolescents (M age of child at Time 2 = 12.28, SD = 0.99, 51% female) and their parents. Analyses examined associations between adolescents' values at Time 3 and corresponding behaviors at Time 4, and the moderating role of proactive parenting (assessed at Time 2 using cluster analysis). Results suggested that adolescents with the most consistent value-congruent behavior had parents who used deference or reasoned deference as an approach to proactive parenting, highlighting the importance of autonomy supportive parenting in the encouragement of self-generated values and corresponding behaviors. Discussion focused on value-congruent behaviors and associations between values and behaviors across domains. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

This study examined the efficacy of a program for parents of young adolescents combining behavioral family intervention with acceptance-based strategies. 180 parents were randomly allocated to a 6-session group ABCD Parenting Young Adolescent Program or wait-list condition. Completer analysis indicated parents in the intervention reported significantly higher adolescent prosocial behaviors (p = 0.020), lower conduct problems (p = 0.048) and total difficulties (p = 0.041). These parents also reported lower stress associated with adolescent moodiness (p = 0.032), parent life-restriction (p less than 0.001), adult-relations (p less than 0.001), social isolation (p = 0.012), incompetence/guilt (p less than 0.001), lower stress in the parenting domain (p less than 0.001) and lower overall stress (p = 0.003) relative to the control condition following the intervention period. No other statistically significant differences were evident (p less than 0.05). Results of intention-to-treat analyses were similar. Greater reliable clinically significant change was also achieved for the intervention condition. Participants reported high satisfaction with all elements of the ABCD program. Results suggest the program may assist parents of young adolescents to promote or maintain protective factors in their families. Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ANZCTRN12609000194268. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

This study investigated whether family structure transition and low income are risk factors in the development of prosocial behavior. Models of young adults' prosocial behavior--charitable giving and volunteering--were estimated as functions of their family structure and income during the stages of childhood. Participants were a representative sample of 1011 American young adults. In the full sample, family structure transition during adolescence was negatively associated with subsequent charitable giving in young adulthood. Low income during adolescence was negatively associated with both giving and volunteering in young adulthood. European-American young men also exhibited a negative association between family structure transition during adolescence and subsequent volunteering. The results did not seem to describe African-American young adults. Keeping this qualification in mind, the results suggest that adolescence is a sensitive stage in the development of charitable giving and volunteering. (Contains 5 tables.)

This study examined the impact of various school-related factors on adolescents' depressive mood, including prosocial behavior, verbal aggression, and relationships with teachers. The data used in this study were collected in the context of a larger survey on victimization in secondary schools from the French Community of Belgium. Participants were 2896 secondary school students (1520 males; 1376 females) aged 12-18 years. Results showed that for both genders, the three strongest predictors of depressive mood were age, feeling of exclusion, and verbal aggression. This study focusing on school-related predictors of depressive mood confirmed the importance of the social context in school as a predictor of depression in both girls and boys. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.)

Little is known about whether ego identity statuses have the same developmental concomitants in different cultural contexts. Thus, 159 German and 158 Cameroonian Nso adolescents aged 15-18 were recruited to test if associations between identity and generativity (i.e. the desire to create a positive legacy) and prosocial behavior (i.e. helpful and supportive behavior), respectively, are comparable. In both cultural samples, only identity achievement was positively linked with generative concern and prosocial tendencies. Integrating these and previous findings on the association between prosocial behavior and generativity, a partial mediation of the relation between identity achievement and generative concern through prosocial tendencies was hypothesized and confirmed for both cultural groups. Thus, there is an equivalent association between identity achievement, prosocial behavior, and generative concern in adolescents with widely different cultural background. (Contains 4 tables.)

The relations between adolescents' habitual usage of media violence and their tendency to engage in aggressive and prosocial behavior in a school setting were examined in a cross-sectional study with 1688 7th and 8th graders in Germany who completed measures of violent media exposure and normative acceptance of aggression. For each participant, ratings of prosocial and aggressive behavior were obtained from their class teacher. Media violence exposure was a unique predictor of teacher-rated aggression even when relevant covariates were considered, and it predicted prosocial behavior over and above gender. Path analyses confirmed a direct positive link from media violence usage to teacher-rated aggression for girls and boys, but no direct negative link to prosocial behavior was found. Indirect pathways were identified to higher aggressive and lower prosocial behavior via the acceptance of aggression as normative. Although there were significant gender differences in media violence exposure, aggression, and prosocial behavior, similar path models were identified for boys and girls. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figures.)

This study's aim was to search for the appropriate functional form of the effect of proximal cumulative contextual risk (PCCR), measured with number of adverse life events experienced in the last 6 months, on adolescent psychopathology and prosocial behavior, measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The study sample was 171 year ten (aged 14-15) adolescents from predominantly socio-economically disadvantaged families in the UK. Adjustment was made for parental education, and for child's age, gender, and academic achievement, which was measured with results in Standard Attainment Tests in English, mathematics and science taken in the previous year. PCCR predicted total difficulties, emotional symptoms, conduct problems and hyperactivity. The relationship between PCCR and total difficulties and emotional symptoms was non-quadratic; the PCCR/externalizing problems relationship was quadratic. The findings highlight the importance of considering both outcome specificity and non-linear patterns of associations when modelling cumulative contextual risk effects on adolescent psychopathology. (Contains 3 tables.)

Youth participation in civil society and political life is increasingly recognised to be an important development objective. Nonetheless, research that sheds light on the extent to which youth participate in these arenas, and the factors that facilitate or inhibit such participation remain limited in most developing countries including India. Drawing on data from a representative survey of young people in the state of Maharashtra, India, this paper explores the extent of and the factors associated with youth participation in civil society, their adherence to pro-social values, and their participation in political processes. Findings suggest that for many youth, particularly for young women, opportunities to engage in civil society and political life are limited, and that pro-social values are not uniformly observed. Findings underline the importance of education, agency and close parental interaction in facilitating youth participation in civil society and political life and their expression of pro-social values. (Contains 5 tables.)

Gratitude was examined among 154 students to identify benefits from its experience and expression. Students completed measures of subjective well-being, social support, prosocial behavior, and physical symptoms. Positive associations were found between gratitude and positive affect, global and domain specific life satisfaction, optimism, social support, and prosocial behavior; most relations remained even after controlling for positive affect. Gratitude demonstrated a negative relation with physical symptoms, but not with negative affect. Relational fulfillment mediated the relation between gratitude and physical symptoms. Gratitude demonstrated strong relations with the following positive affects: proud, hopeful, inspired, forgiving, and excited. The relation between gratitude and family support was moderated by gender, indicating that boys, compared with girls, appear to derive more social benefits from gratitude. Strengths, limitations, and implications are discussed. (Contains 2 figures and 5 tables.)

The present study examined the validity of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES) [Jolliffe, D., & Farrington, D. P. (2006a). Development and validation of the Basic Empathy Scale. "Journal of Adolescence," 29, 589-611; Jolliffe, D., & Farrington, D. P. (2006b). Examining the relationship between low empathy and bullying. "Aggressive Behavior," 32(6), 540-550.] and found further evidence for the scale's good psychometric properties. The BES was administered to a sample of 655 Italian adolescents to examine the generalizability and reliability of its factor structure. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed a reasonable data fit with the two hypothesized BES domains of Cognitive Empathy and Affective Empathy. Scale reliability was also satisfactory, showing good internal consistency. Lastly, BES scores were significantly associated with other empathy questionnaire scores (the Interpersonal Reactivity Index and Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale) and with a scale measuring prosocial behavior. Research and practice implications are discussed. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)

Emerging adulthood has been characterized as an age of possibilities that involves heightened identity exploration and risk-taking. Although some scholars have investigated the relation between identity status and risk behaviors in emerging adulthood, less attention has been paid to the relation between identity status and prosocial orientations. Thus, the current study examined how emerging adults' engagement in positive behaviors (i.e., prosocial tendencies, internalization of values, religiosity) varied as a function of identity status and gender. Results indicated that emerging adults who were in identity diffusion reported fewer prosocial tendencies, lower scores on internalization of values and lower religiosity, but emerging adults who were experiencing moratorium reported prosocial tendencies and levels of religiosity as frequently as emerging adults who had reached identity achievement. Also, young women reported higher levels of emotional and altruistic prosocial tendencies, higher levels of internalization of values, and higher levels of religiosity than did young men. The discussion focuses on emerging adulthood as a period of possibilities and exploration for not only risk behaviors, but prosocial behaviors as well. (Contains 3 tables.)

This study investigated to what extent team membership predicts on- and off-field antisocial and prosocial behavior in (pre)adolescent athletes. Effects of team-membership were related to characteristics of the team environment, such as relational support from the coach towards team members, fair play attitude and sociomoral reasoning within the team, and sociomoral climate. The sample consisted of N=331 male soccer players. Multilevel analyses revealed that 21% of the variance in off-field antisocial behavior, and 8% and 14% of the variance in on-field antisocial and prosocial behavior, respectively, could be attributed to characteristics of the sporting environment, including relational support from the coach, exposure to high levels of sociomoral reasoning about sports dilemmas, and positive team attitude toward fair play. The results highlight the importance of contextual factors in explaining both antisocial and prosocial behavior in adolescent athletes and emphasize the role of organized youth sports as a socialization context.

The literature on participant roles in bullying lacks empirical studies that seek to explain what differentiates defenders from outsiders (or passive bystanders). The present study tested a conceptual model in which two personal characteristics of early adolescent students (empathy and perceived social self-efficacy) were considered as possible determinants of their participant behavior in bullying episodes. A total of 294 Italian early adolescents (mean age=13.3 years, range: 12-14) participated in the study. The structural equation modeling showed that high levels of empathic responsiveness were positively associated with both active defending and passive bystanding behavior, as assessed through peer nominations. In contrast, high levels of social self-efficacy were associated with helping behavior, whereas low levels of social self-efficacy were associated with passive bystanding behavior. Results are discussed in terms of theoretical and practical implications for researchers and educational practitioners.

Data from 520 British secondary school age children were used to explore determinants of and mental health outcomes (measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) from their non-resident fathers' relationships (child-reported father's involvement and frequency of contact) with them. Frequency of contact was negatively related to time elapsed since parents separated, and was higher if fathers were single than partnered. Compared to White, non-White adolescents reported lower frequency of father's contact but not lower father's involvement. Father's involvement was related positively to mother's involvement and negatively to interparental conflict. As a whole, non-resident father's involvement and frequency of contact did not improve the regression models predicting children's total difficulties or pro-social behaviour. Even after controlling for other factors non-resident father's involvement did not predict child's difficulties or pro-social behaviour, although frequency of contact was negatively associated with child's emotional symptoms. Neither child's ethnicity or gender nor mother's partner status moderated the link between child's mental health outcomes and non-resident father's involvement or frequency of contact.

This study examined the relationship of overt and relational victimization to social anxiety, loneliness, and prosocial behaviours in a sample of female adolescents. The Social Experience Questionnaire, Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents, and Asher Loneliness Scale were administered to 561 girls in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades of an urban parochial high school. Consistent with prior work, overt and relational victimization were positively associated with fear of negative evaluation, social avoidance of general and new situations, and loneliness. In addition, prosocial behaviours from peers moderated the effects of relational victimization on loneliness. Implications of these findings for the role of peer victimization and prosocial behaviours in female relationships are discussed.

Adolescents' friendship quality and observed emotional expression with their best friends were predicted from reports of their mother's interpersonal relationships, specifically the quality of her marriage and social network. Two models, Attachment Theory and Social Learning Theory, explaining these relationships received support. (BF)

Data from a sample of 673 Chinese adolescents lent support to the hypothesis that concepts of success or achievement goals affect both inclination to and the actual performance of prosocial acts. Sex differences and grade differences in the relationship between conceptions of success and prosocial and antisocial behaviors were found. Discusses implications of these findings. (MKA)

Introduction: In a diverse society, individuals often need to make prosocial decisions toward others who vary on a range of intertwined social identities. Adolescence is a prime time to promote intergroup prosociality due to identity salience during this developmental stage. In this study, our goal was to develop and provide initial validation, of a novel measure on intergroup prosocial behavior considering gender and race/ethnicity. Method: We used two independent samples of early adolescents (N1 = 118, Mage = 12.21 years, 55% boys, 59% White collected nationally in the United States.; N2 = 133, Mage = 12.77, 51.1% boys, 77% White collected locally in Arizona). Results: Using the data from Sample 1, Exploratory Factor Analyses revealed a two‐factor solution capturing intergroup prosociality and personal distress. Confirmatory Factor Analyses with data from Sample 2 confirmed the factor structure. The reliability of intergroup prosociality was acceptable. Prosociality subscale was positively correlated with adolescents' empathy, sympathy, compliant, emotional, dire, and anonymous prosocial behaviors indicating convergent validity and negatively correlated with adolescents' public prosocial behavior indicating discriminant validity. Further, we examined whether youth engage in differential intergroup prosocial behavior using both variable‐centered and person‐centered approaches, combining data from Samples 1 and 2. While adolescents did not engage in differential intergroup prosocial behavior, Latent Profile Analyses revealed five distinct profiles of early adolescents' intergroup prosociality. Overall, this study advances research on youth's intergroup prosociality across two intersectional social identities, moving beyond the conceptualization of single social identities in intergroup research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prior research findings are mixed regarding whether prosocial behavior is positively or negatively related to socioeconomic status and its correlates, such as economic pressure. This may be due to the lack of considerations for the type of prosocial behavior. Aims: In this study, we aimed to examine how six types of prosocial behavior (i.e., public, anonymous, compliant, emotional, dire, and altruistic) are related to economic pressure among early adolescents. We hypothesized that family economic pressure would be associated with each type of prosocial behavior in differing ways. Materials & Methods: Participants were 11–14 years old (N = 143, Mage = 12.2 years, SDage = 0.87, 63 boys, 1 trans‐identified boy, 55 girls), early adolescents and their parents. Among them, 54.6% were non‐Hispanic/Latinx (NH/L) White, 23.8% were NH/L Black, 11.2% were NH/L Asian, 2.1% were NH/L Multiracial, and 8.4% were Hispanic/Latinx. Parents reported family economic pressure and adolescents' six types of prosocial behavior. Results: Path analysis revealed that economic pressure was negatively associated with emotional and dire prosocial behavior over and above age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Family economic pressure was unrelated to public, anonymous, compliant, and altruistic prosocial behavior. Discussion: These findings show some support for the Family Stress Model, such that economic stress might hinder youth's prosocial development. At the same time, youth may have similar levels of certain types of prosocial behavior regardless of their family's economic pressure. Conclusion: This research provided insight into the complex relation between economic pressure and youth's prosocial behavior which varies depending on the type of behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Relationships with companion animals have been associated with higher levels of prosocial behavior and lower levels of socioemotional difficulties for children and adolescents. Companion animals may be supportive of developing prosocial behavior in youth through practice with positive social interactions and the development of empathy and reciprocity skills. The goal of this study was to use a person‐centered approach to investigate if living with a pet (including pet species) is associated with profiles of adolescent peer social behaviors (i.e., prosocial, aggressive), and size of their peer network. Methods: This study used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study®, a large, nationally representative data set of American adolescents. Results: In a cross‐sectional sample of 5218 adolescents, we found that youth clustered into four different distinct profiles of peer social behavior. Female youth living with dogs were less likely to be in the High Aggression profile as compared to youth without pets or youth with other types of pets. However, having a pet was not associated with whether youth were in the profiles characterized by prosocial behaviors or size of peer network. Conclusions: Overall, future research should explore how gender intersects with companion animal interactions—both in terms of frequency of interactions as well as relationship quality/emotional attachment—as well as examine these relationships over time to assess causality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Despite much cross‐sectional research linking prosocial behavior and meaning in life, few studies have investigated the longitudinal relationship between these two constructs. The article examines the bidirectional longitudinal association between prosocial behavior and meaning in life among junior high school students. Methods: A prospective design was adopted, incorporating three measurement occasions (with approximately 6‐month intervals, from 2020 to 2021). Data were collected from 764 students (mean age = 12.46, SD = 0.64 years, and 51.4% girls). All participants responded to a questionnaire survey that included the Chinese Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ‐C) and Prosocial Tendencies Measure (PTM‐C). Cross‐lagged panel models were used to analyze the data. Results: (1) Prosocial behavior predicted positively the presence of meaning over time and vice‐versa. (2) There was no bidirectional association between the search for meaning and prosocial behavior. (3) There was no gender difference in the bidirectional relationship between meaning in life and prosocial behavior. Conclusions: These findings suggest that educators should highlight the presence of meaning in adolescent life education from a long‐term perspective and encourage students to engage in more prosocial activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: It has been argued that moral identity can be conceptualized as implicit and automatic or explicit and controlled dualities of cognitive information processing. In this study, we examined whether socialization in the moral domain may also exhibit a dual process. We further tested whether parenting that is warm and involved may play a moderating role in moral socialization. We assessed relations between mothers' implicit and explicit moral identity, warmth and involvement, and the prosocial behavior and moral values of their adolescent children. Methods: Participants were 105 mother–adolescent dyads from Canada, with adolescents between 12 and 15 years of age and 47% girls. Mothers' implicit moral identity was measured using the Implicit Association Test (IAT), adolescents' prosocial behavior was measured using a donation task, and the remaining mother and adolescent measures were self‐reported. Data were cross‐sectional. Results: We found that mothers' implicit moral identity was associated with adolescents' greater generosity during the prosocial behavior task, but only when mothers were warm and involved. Mothers' explicit moral identity was associated with adolescents' more prosocial values. Conclusions: Moral socialization may occur through dual processes, and as an automatic process may only take place when mothers are also high in warmth and involvement, setting the conditions for adolescents' understanding and acceptance of the moral values being taught and ultimately their automatic morally relevant behaviors. Adolescents' explicit moral values, on the other hand, may be aligned with more controlled, reflective socialization processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In this study, we examined the relationship between prosocial behavior and school bullying victimization in children and adolescents. We also tested the mediating effects of peer alienation and student–teacher closeness, as well as the moderating effect of the educational stage. Methods: In total, 538 children and adolescents were recruited from three suburban schools in Beijing, China (252 boys, 286 girls; mean age = 12.47; 237 elementary school students, 101 middle school students, and 200 high school students). The participants were asked to complete the measures of prosocial behavior, peer alienation, and student–teacher closeness at the initial time point and reported school bullying victimization 3 months later. Results: We found that prosocial behavior was directly and negatively associated with traditional bullying victimization (i.e., physical, nonphysical, and relational); however, it had no direct association with cyberbullying victimization. Prosocial behavior was indirectly associated with school bullying victimization (except in the relational dimension) via peer alienation, but no indirect effect of student–teacher closeness was found. Besides, the associations between prosocial behavior, peer alienation, student–teacher closeness, and bullying victimization were found equally among elementary, middle, and high school students. Conclusions: The findings suggest that prosocial behavior is an important factor associated with decreased school bullying victimization, and peer relationships play a mediating role in this association. Our study extends the current understanding of prosocial behavior primarily as a consequence of child and adolescent development to an antecedent (of school bullying victimization), which contributes to a more comprehensive view of prosocial behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although prior research shows supportive evidence that parental practices are associated with adolescents' prosocial behaviors, limited evidence exists on the effects of parents' use of social and material rewards on distinct forms of prosocial behaviors, and the mediating effects of sociocognitive and socioemotive traits in these relations. Aims: The present study was designed to examine the longitudinal relations among parents' use of social and material rewards, youth prosocial traits, and prosocial behaviors. Materials & Methods: Participants were 417 adolescents (M age = 14.70 years; 225 girls) from Valencia, Spain who completed surveys on parents' use of social and material reward practices, prosocial moral reasoning, empathic concern, and six types of prosocial behaviors. Results: Path analyses showed that parents' use of social rewards was indirectly, positively related to emotional, dire, altruistic, public (negatively), and compliant prosocial behaviors via empathic concern. The use of social rewards was also indirectly positively linked to altruistic prosocial behaviors via both empathic concern and prosocial moral reasoning. In contrast, parents' use of material rewards predicted less prosocial moral reasoning, which in turn, was linked to more altruistic, prosocial behaviors. Discussion and Conclusions: The implications for parental socialization and self‐determination theories of prosocial and moral development are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study explored the general tendencies and heterogeneous developmental trajectory of prosocial behavior and predictors., Method: The present study conducted latent growth model and growth mixture model analyses in a sample of 814 students (M age  = 13.79 years old at baseline; 57% girls) from economically disadvantaged families, classified as being below the local income threshold in China, with four follow-up surveys administered during the following 2 years., Results: The general tendency in the developmental trajectory of prosocial behavior showed a linear decrease. A gender difference in initial levels was observed, with girls showing a higher initial level of prosocial behavior than boys. Family functioning, subjective support, and support utilization significantly affected the intercept, but objective support significantly negatively affected the slope. Heterogeneity in the development of prosocial behavior was best classified with a 3-class solution, including C1 (Rapid-decrease, 10.6%), C2 (Medium-stable, 42.5%), and C3 (High-increase, 46.9%). The patterns of prosocial behavior development in economically disadvantaged children with higher family functioning were more likely to be in the High-increase Class than in the Rapid-decrease Class., Conclusion: The present study revealed an average decline in the trajectories of prosocial behavior development in economically disadvantaged children. However, it also captured heterogeneous developmental trajectories. Furthermore, the study revealed that family functioning, subjective support, and support utilization all served as protective factors for prosocial behavior among economically disadvantaged children., (© 2024 Foundation for Professionals in Services to Adolescents.)

Introduction: This longitudinal study designed and tested the validity of a new measure of prosocial risk taking - risks that individuals take in order to help others.Methods: The sample was racially and ethnically diverse adolescents in the rural Southeastern United States (N = 867; Mage = 12.82 years, 10-14 years at Wave 1; 50% Girls, 33% White non-Latinx, 27% Latinx, 20% Black, 20% Mixed/Other race/ethnicity). Adolescents completed self-report measures of the new prosocial risk-taking scale at baseline and one- and two-year follow-ups.Results: Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated excellent model fit with a 6-item single factor score. Further, the scale demonstrated good test-retest reliability at one and two-year follow ups. The scale also demonstrated convergent validity, such that prosocial risk taking was positively correlated with prosocial tendencies, empathy, and sensation seeking, and negatively correlated with negative risk-taking behavior and risk tolerance. Finally, we found significant differences by race/ethnicity (but not by gender) in prosocial risk taking, which were not attributable to measurement invariance, and should be interpreted in the context of ongoing societal inequalities between youth.Conclusions: The new Prosocial Risk-Taking Scale yielded reliable scores in our sample. It may be used in future research to investigate individual differences in adolescents' prosocial risk taking, developmental change in prosocial risk taking, and the significance of prosocial risk taking for adolescents' emotional and social adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although empathy has been found to be related to prosocial behaviour, little is known about the longitudinal links between these two concepts during early adolescence, a unique window into developmental changes on empathy and prosocial behaviour considering the physical, cognitive, socio-emotional and contextual changes occurring during this period. Even though changes in adolescent empathy have been associated to changes in adolescent prosocial behaviour, studies examining this link on the within-person level are lacking. The present study investigated the within-adolescents longitudinal relations among empathy and prosocial behaviour.Methods: 383 French adolescents (MageT1 = 12.15, 50.4% male) reported on their empathy and prosocial behaviour each year across three years. In order to disentangle between-adolescent differences from within-adolescent processes, Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models were applied.Results: At the between-person level, there was a strong positive association between empathy and prosocial behaviour. At the within-person level, adolescents who reported more empathy than usual reported higher than usual prosocial behaviour one year later.Conclusions: Adolescents with higher empathy compared to their peers tended to be those who reported higher prosocial behaviour. Changes in empathy within-adolescents were related to later within-adolescents' change in prosocial behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The term contribution is a key feature of approaches to positive youth development but has yet to be adequately defined. The purposes of this study were to identify properties that underlie contribution and to establish a theoretical definition of the construct., Methods: A two-phase scoping review was conducted. The first phase involved the systematic search, selection, and analysis of studies from which six properties of contribution were identified and a preliminary theoretical definition was constructed. In the second phase expert judges rated the degree to that the proposed definition and the six properties of contribution fit with their conceptualization of the construct on a 6-point scale., Results: Mean ratings for the definition and the six properties ranged from 5.05 to 5.70. Judges' ratings for the overall definition of contribution and the six properties were evaluated using Aiken's content validity coefficient (V). All V coefficients ranged in size from 0.81 to 0.94 and were statistically significant (p's < .01) indicating that the definition of contribution and the corresponding six properties fit well with experts' conceptualizations of the construct., Conclusion: This study provides a theoretical definition of contribution that will serve as a foundation upon which future research in the area of positive youth development can build., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Adolescence published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for Professionals in Services to Adolescents.)

Introduction: The detrimental effect of economic strain on adolescent behavioral development is well established, but the mechanisms explaining this relationship are less known. This study aims to explore the psychosocial factors operating as pathways connecting economic strain to adolescent antisocial and prosocial behaviors, and examine whether these effects differ by gender.Methods: The sample includes 1280 adolescents from middle and high schools in Hebei province, China (Mean age = 15.68 years; 52.6% girls), collected by a multi-stage cluster random sampling. Multi-group structural equation modeling is adopted for data analysis.Results: Social bonds partially mediate the relationship between economic strain and adolescent antisocial behavior, and empathy fully mediates the relationship between economic strain and prosocial behavior after controlling for gender, age, household registration, and subjective socioeconomic status. In terms of gender differences, boys display more antisocial behaviors and less prosocial behaviors compared with girls. Significant gender differences are also found in the effect of economic strain on adolescent social behavior.Conclusions: This study contributes to current knowledge by revealing the psychosocial mechanisms between economic strain and adolescent antisocial/prosocial behaviors. Findings highlight the gender differences in behavioral development among Chinese adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Couched in Positive Youth Development (PYD) theory and relevant empirical work, this study investigated bidirectional associations between intentional self-regulation and prosocial behavior toward strangers from age 12 to age 18.Method: Participants included 500 adolescents (52% female, 77% European American; age Time 1 = 12 years, Time 2 = 14 years, Time 3 = 16 years, Time 4 = 18 years) from the Northwestern United States. Adolescents self-reported on their intentional self-regulation and prosocial behavior toward strangers across four time points. A random-intercept cross-lagged panel model (RICLPM) was estimated in order to assess bidirectionality while avoiding conflating intra- and inter-individual variability.Results: Results revealed intentional self-regulation and prosocial behavior toward strangers were bidirectionally related during early adolescence (i.e., from age 12 to 14). During mid-to-late adolescence (i.e. age 14 to 18), prosocial behavior toward strangers facilitated intentional selfregulation, whereas intentional self-regulation did not drive the development of prosocial behavior toward strangers.Conclusions: Findings indicate that early adolescence may be a particularly plastic developmental period in terms of PYD. Findings also suggest that investigations of relations between adolescents' personal assets and contribution factors merit further scholarly attention. Several directions for future research are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis investigating the consistency and strength of relations between prosocial behavior, externalizing behaviors, and internalizing symptoms from preadolescence (i.e., 1-9 years) to late adolescence (i.e., 19-25 years). This study directly addresses inconsistencies and gaps in the available literature by providing the field with a detailed, synthesized description of these associations.Method: Fifty-five studies met the inclusion criteria, containing 742 independent correlational effect sizes. Statistical information and other study information was coded and entered into Comprehensive Meta-analysis III software, which was used to analyze results.Results: Results showed that higher levels of prosocial behavior were significantly associated with lower levels of externalizing behaviors, as expected. Additionally, more reported prosocial behavior was related to less reported internalizing symptoms. Follow-up analyses revealed specific relationships between prosocial behavior and aggression, deviant peer association, risky sexual behavior, substance use, delinquency/general externalizing behavior, depression, and general internalizing behaviors (i.e., emotional problems, negative emotionality). A variety of moderators of these associations were considered, including age and sex.Conclusions: Findings are discussed in the context of the broader research literature, weaknesses in the field are noted, and numerous meaningful directions for future research are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Identifying protective factors against internalizing behaviors during adolescence is a public health priority, as rates of depression and anxiety are rising. As such, the purpose of this study was to examine whether prosocial engagement toward strangers and family members is protective against depressive and anxiety symptoms, and whether this link is mediated by character strengths (i.e., hope, persistence, gratitude, and self-esteem).Method: The sample consisted of 500 US adolescents (52% female; 66% European American; 33% from single-parent families). Data across three consecutive yearly waves were utilized in the current study (Mage Time 1 = 13.32).Results: Results of a longitudinal structural equation model revealed prosocial behavior toward strangers and family members were differentially related to character strengths, and that prosocial behavior toward strangers was indirectly associated with depressive symptoms via self-esteem.Conclusion: Taken together, findings extend the Developmental Cascades model and suggest that prosocial behavior and character strengths protect against depressive symptoms during the adolescent period. Findings are discussed in the context of relevant research and theory, and implications for future research and intervention programs are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The present study examined the efficacy of the universal prevention version of the Coping Power Program in reducing behavioral and emotional problems and in promoting prosocial behaviors in middle-school classrooms.Methods: The study used a randomized control study design; and the sample included 839 middle-school Italian youths (411 males), attending 40 middle-school classrooms. The students were in seventh or eighth grade, and they had an average age of 13.24 years (SD = .65; range 12-14 years). Ninety students were Africans, the rest were Caucasian. Teachers and parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, before and after intervention. We used the 24-session universal prevention adaptation of Coping Power, which aims to improve children's emotional regulation and social problem-solving skills.Results: Linear mixed models and effect sizes indicated that behaviors improved as a result of the Coping Power intervention. Specifically, the program was effective in reducing internalizing problems and increasing prosocial behaviors.Conclusions: The Coping Power Universal effectively adapts an existing evidence-based program, and is believed to be a useful strategy also to improve social emotional skills in middle-school students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS; Crocetti, Rubini, & Meeus, 2008) is a self-report scale that can be applied to measure three identity processes (commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment) in specific domains. The current study was aimed at testing the applicability of the U-MICS in two new languages: Arabic and Hebrew. Specifically, we (a) tested the fit of the three-factor structure; (b) examined measurement invariance of the Arabic and Hebrew versions; and (c) investigated convergent validity by relating the identity processes (commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment) to multiple indicators of psychosocial adjustment (self-esteem, prosocial behaviors, and delinquency).Methods: Participants were 314 Arab and 386 Jewish adolescents living in Israel (N = 770; 54.7% girls; Mage = 13.79, SDage = 0.51, age-range = 12-15). Assessments of identity processes, self-esteem, and delinquency were collected using self-report measures, while prosocial behaviors were measured through peer nominations.Results: The results highlighted that (a) the three-factor model fit the data excellently in the total sample as well as in Arab and Jewish samples; (b) hierarchical levels of measurement invariance (configural, metric, and scalar), as well as invariance of covariances, could be clearly established; and (c) convergent validity was demonstrated by showing meaningful associations between identity processes and indicators of psychosocial functioning.Conclusions: This study indicates that the U-MICS is a reliable instrument for assessing identity processes in Arabic and Hebrew-speaking adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Early adolescence is a developmental period in which peer victimization, bullying, relational aggression, and social exclusion are particularly prominent. As these behaviors have long-term implications for children, in this study, we investigated early variations of prosocial behaviors as one of the critical precedents that shape youth's subsequent peer relational outcomes. Specifically, we identified different profiles of prosocial behaviors in middle childhood (Grade 4) and related these profiles to peer relationships in early adolescence (Grade 6).Method: Using longitudinal data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 914; 52% girls), a three-step latent profile analysis was conducted on Grade 4 prosocial behaviors, which were then related to Grade 6 teacher- and student-rated peer relationships (e.g., relational aggression).Results: Four patterns of prosocial behaviors emerged: low prosocial (18%), high prosocial (67%), primarily friendly (8%), and primarily kind (7%). These four patterns of prosocial behaviors were differentially related to later problematic peer relationships: Low prosocial youth demonstrated the most problematic peer relationships (Mdiff = 0.36-0.93, all p < .001). Primarily friendly (but not kind) youth displayed more general and relational aggression (Mdiff = 0.22, SE = 0.07, p = .002; and Mdiff = 0.18, SE = 0.06, p = .006, respectively).Conclusion: Both low prosocial and primarily friendly youth are at risk for displaying peer-related problems; interventions that build prosocial behaviors in youth with a low prosocial or primarily friendly profile may help prevent problematic peer relationships at early adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: School-based bullying is an omnipresent problem, but is less frequent when bystanders are inclined to defend victims. This makes it important to focus on motivation to intervene in bullying.Methods: 202 students (Mage = 16.44 years, 52% boys) from public Swedish high schools participated in a vignette experiment. Students were randomized to one of two vignettes (victim belonging to/not belonging to ingroup). Self-report measures of motivation to defend and trait anxiety were used.Results: Participants reported more autonomous motivation when the victim belonged to the ingroup and more extrinsic motivation when the victim did not belong to the ingroup. Trait anxiety interacted with the manipulation: bystanders high in anxiety reported low levels of autonomous motivation when the victim did not belong to the ingroup and low levels of extrinsic motivation when the victim belonged to the ingroup.Conclusions: Findings suggest that anti-bullying-programs should focus on how defender motivation is influenced by the way in which victim ingroup status is perceived and address the bystander's level of anxiety as this interacts with such perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Literature on adolescent prosocial behavior (PB) has grown tremendously since the development of The Prosocial Tendency Measure-Revised (PTM-R), which includes subscales assessing different types of PB. However, findings of gender differences are inconsistent across studies. Thus, we computed meta-analyses to examine gender differences in adolescents' PB. Further, we examined the moderating roles of type of PB, and various sample (i.e., mean age, gender composition, ethnic composition) and study (i.e., reporter type, measurement form, reliability) characteristics in gender differences in PB.Methods: Using online databases (e.g., ProQuest), journal article references, and conference programs, we identified a total of 46 records from 32 studies (215 effect sizes, N = 12,024) across the globe that had measured adolescents' (age 10-18; 51% male) PB using the PTM-R or the PTM.Results: Gender differences in the PB were small to medium in magnitude (ds ranged from 0 to 0.35) for absolute gender differences (i.e., overall magnitude of gender differences regardless of which gender was higher). There were larger gender differences for gender-typed prosocial behaviors (e.g., altruistic, d = 0.35) than gender-neutral behaviors (e.g., anonymous, d = 0.03). The type of PB (i.e., altruistic, compliant, public, emotional, dire, anonymous) and region (i.e., European, U.S., traditional cultures, Asian) and were significant moderators.Conclusions: Although males and females generally are more similar than different in their prosociality, it is important to consider the type of PB when examining gender differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Although peers' acceptance of aggression is a major risk for the development of aggressive behavior, not all individuals who are situated within an aggression approving peer group engage in aggression. The present longitudinal study examined prosocial behavior as a moderator of the link between peers' acceptance of aggression and individual physical aggression.Methods: The study used two waves of data of a large longitudinal study conducted in Germany. Self-reports of 1663 male and female children and adolescents aged between 10 and 20 years were used as measures for physical aggression, peers' acceptance of aggression, and prosocial behavior.Results: Latent moderated structural equation modeling revealed significant main effects of peers' acceptance of aggression at T1 and prosocial behavior at T1 on aggressive behavior at T2. Most importantly, a significant interaction between both constructs indicated that the increase in individual aggression with peers' acceptance of aggression depended on participants' level of prosocial behavior. Applying the Johnson-Neyman technique, peers' acceptance of aggression was found to promote aggression only for participants with low levels of prosocial behavior, but not for moderately or highly prosocial individuals.Conclusions: The findings suggest that prosocial behavior has the propensity to attenuate the negative effect of peers' acceptance of aggression in the etiology of physical aggression in childhood and adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Experiencing relational victimization (e.g., peer exclusion, untrue rumors) during adolescence can have negative social-emotional consequences, including increased antisocial behavior and substance use. The negative impact of relational victimization may be lessened by spending time with supportive, prosocial peers.Methods: This study examined the concurrent and predictive associations between relational victimization and peer affiliates' prosocial behaviors in 244 predominately African American adolescents (ages 13-14) living in U.S. urban neighborhoods. Questionnaires were collected every six months for two years. Overt victimization was controlled for in the analysis and the moderation of gender and antisocial behaviors were tested.Results: Peer affiliates' prosocial behavior was stable across the two years. Relational victimization was not associated with peers' prosocial behavior at baseline or across time. Gender did not moderate the association between relational victimization and peers' prosocial behavior. Moderating effects were found for antisocial behavior; relational victimization was positively associated with peer affiliates' prosocial behavior but only for adolescents who were low on antisocial behavior at baseline.Conclusions: For African American youth, efforts to reduce relational aggression and increase peer support in prosocial activities prior to adolescence may be useful for preventing social-emotional problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Introduction Prior research has shown that classmates' behavior serves as a descriptive norm for adolescents' individual behavior. While earlier studies primarily focused on negative peer influence, classmates' prosocial behavior might be associated with positive individual development. We hypothesized more classroom-level prosocial behavior predicts a lower likelihood of future antisocial behavior of individual students over and above the effect of classmates' antisocial behavior. We further assumed this effect is mediated by adolescents’ attitudes toward antisocial behavior. Methods To test our hypotheses, we used three data collection points from a longitudinal study among lower secondary school students in Switzerland (N = 864; mean age at T1: 13.81 years; male gender: 52%). Participants completed self-reported assessments on prosocial behavior, antisocial behavior, and antisocial attitudes. Data were analyzed using multilevel models. Results Results indicated higher levels of prosocial behavior among classmates predict lower levels of individual students' future antisocial behavior. However, the effect of classmates’ prosocial behavior was not mediated by individual attitudes toward antisocial behavior. Conclusions While in the context of antisocial behavior the peer group is often assumed a risk, our results indicate that school peers can also exert positive influence. Hereby our finding of an effect of prosocial peer norms over and above antisocial peer norms suggests that building up prosocial behaviors in the classroom may be a promising approach for the prevention of antisocial behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peer victimization is one of the most prominent problems during adolescence. Research has distinguished aggressive and non-aggressive victims; however, there are still significant drawbacks in understanding the social and family functioning of these different groups of victimized adolescents. This study aimed to compare social behavior and perceived attachment security to parents of Portuguese adolescents, classified as aggressive victims, non-aggressive victims and non-victims. The sample consisted of 222 adolescents (115 boys, 107 girls) who completed the Kerns Security Scale and the Extended Class Play, to assess perceived attachment security and social behavior, respectively. Controlling for age and sex, aggressive victims and non-aggressive victims differed in anxious withdrawal but shared a similar profile in peer exclusion and prosocial behavior. Only aggressive victims reported lower attachment security to mother and father when compared to non-victims. These findings underline that victimized adolescents constitute a heterogeneous group in terms of their social and family functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to test a longitudinal model that analyses the direct effect of negative emotions (anger, depression and anxiety, wave 1) on prosocial and aggressive behaviour (wave 2) in adolescents. And the indirect effect of negative emotions (wave 1) on prosocial and aggressive behaviour (wave 2) through regulatory emotional self-efficacy. Data was obtained from 417 adolescents in a two-wave longitudinal study (225 girls, M age = 14.70 years) from schools located in Valencia, Spain. SEM was employed to explore longitudinal models. The results showed that anger had a direct relationship with prosocial behaviour and aggression, measured two years later. However, the depression and anxiety states did not predict prosociality and aggressiveness. The mediation role of regulatory emotional self-efficacy between negative emotion and behaviours was only partially confirmed. Finally, only the perception of self-efficacy in expressing positive affect is related to prosociality and aggressiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examines the short-term changes and longitudinal relations between adolescents' materialism and prosocial behavior toward family, friends, and strangers over a year. A total of 434 Chinese adolescents (mean age at Time 1 = 11.27; 54% girls) participated in the two time points. From 6th grade to 7th grade, boys' and girls' materialism increased, whereas their prosocial behavior toward family, friends, and strangers declined, despite the stable trend in boys' prosocial behavior toward strangers. Furthermore, a cross-lagged model was conducted and the results showed that, adolescent materialism was associated longitudinally with decreased prosocial behavior toward friends and strangers, but not toward family. However, earlier prosocial behavior toward family, friends, and strangers were not associated with subsequent adolescent materialism. The findings point toward an understanding of materialism as a precursor rather than an outcome or byproduct to prosocial behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the current study was to examine the links among parenting practices (i.e., use of social and material rewards), sociocognitive and socioemotive traits (i.e., perspective taking, prosocial moral reasoning, and empathic concern), and prosocial behaviors among adolescents in a low-income, Midwestern community. Participants were 311 adolescents (M age = 16.10 years; range = 14-19 years; 58.7% girls; 82.7% White; 13.6% Latino). The results demonstrated that social rewards were positively associated with perspective taking, empathic concern, and prosocial moral reasoning, which were each associated with multiple forms of prosocial behaviors. Material rewards were negatively associated with prosocial moral reasoning and empathic concern. There were also direct links between material and social rewards and prosocial behaviors. Discussion will focus on the intervening role of social cognitions and emotions in explaining links between parenting practices and low-income adolescents' prosocial behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined age-trends and longitudinal bidirectional relations in self-esteem and prosocial behavior toward strangers, friends, and family over a four-year time period (age 11 to 14). A total of 681 adolescents were recruited in the United States (51% girls, 28% single parent families). A longitudinal panel model was conducted and the results showed that adolescent self-esteem was associated longitudinally with subsequent prosocial behavior toward strangers, and earlier prosocial behavior toward strangers promoted subsequent self-esteem. There were no such bidirectional relations between self-esteem and prosocial behavior toward friends and family. Findings also highlight the complexity of adolescent development of selfesteem and the multidimensional nature of prosocial behavior. Discussion focuses on understanding the dynamic interplay between adolescent selfesteem and prosocial behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study sought to address gender differences in prosocial behavior by creating and validating a multidimensional measure of prosocial behavior that more fully captures the ways that men help others. The new measure is directed toward family, friend, and strangers, and has five factors: defending, emotional support, inclusion, physical helping, and sharing. In Study 1, CFA analyses performed on a sample of 463 emerging adults online (mean age 23.42) revealed good model fit and divergent validity for each of the five factors. Study 2 replicated the analyses on a sample of 453 urban adolescents in the Northwest (mean age 18.37). Results established that all factors had good model fit, construct validity, and convergent validity. The discussion focuses on implications of this measure for future prosocial research including an increased diversity in how people (particularly men) help others and developmental differences toward different targets of prosocial behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]