Bidirectional Relations Between Subjective Well-Being in School and Prosocial Behavior Among Elementary School-Aged Children: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

The development of prosocial behavior is a significant aspect of children’s social well-being. From the perspective of positive psychology, subjective well-being (SWB) in school is likely a particularly relevant construct in elementary school-aged children’s prosocial development. Research on the relation between SWB in school and prosocial behavior among elementary school-aged children is limited and the relation remains to be clarified using more stringent, longer-term longitudinal methodology and analyses. Our primary goal was to examine the longitudinal relations between SWB in school and prosocial behavior among elementary school-aged children in a longitudinal framework. A total of 634 Chinese elementary school-aged children (baseline Mage = 9.01) participated on three measurement occasions across 2 years at 12-month intervals. Data on children’s SWB in school and prosocial behavior was collected from participants’ self-reports. Longitudinal measurement invariance was tested for the scales. A series of three-wave autoregressive cross-lagged models were used to examine whether SWB in school predicted prosocial behavior or vice versa, and whether the pattern of relations between them was stable over time. Results revealed positive, bidirectional relations between SWB in school and prosocial behavior among elementary school-aged children, after controlling for gender, grade level, and parental education levels. This pattern of relations was stable over time. The relation between SWB in school and prosocial behavior is positive and bidirectional among elementary school-aged children. These results suggest the importance of comprehensive social-emotional interventions in promoting the positive development of elementary school-aged children.