Prosocial Behavior during Adolescence

Abstract

Prosocial behaviors are an aspect of adolescents' positive development that has gained greater attention in the developmental literature since the 1990s. In this article, the authors review the literature pertaining to prosocial behaviors during adolescence. The authors begin by defining prosocial behaviors as prior theory and empirical studies have done. They describe antecedents to adolescents' prosocial behaviors with a focus on two primary factors: socialization and cultural orientations . Accordingly, the authors review prior literature on prosocial behaviors among different ethnic/cultural groups throughout this article. As limited studies have examined prosocial behaviors among some specific ethnic groups, the authors conclude with recommendations for future research.