The Buffering Role of Community Self-Efficacy in the Links between Family Economic Stress and Young Adults’ Prosocial Behaviors and Civic Engagement

Abstract

The goal of the current study was to examine the predictive role of economic stress and community self-efficacy on prosocial behaviors toward friends and strangers, and civic engagement. In addition, we considered the multiplicative effects of economic stress and community self-efficacy on these distinct types of prosocial behaviors (different targets of prosocial behaviors). The sample consisted of 202 young adults (M age = 20.94 years; 76.5% women; 67.5% reported identifying as racially White; 7.7% Black; 5.7% Asian; 5.5% Native; 13.6% other and included groups such as Mestizo, mixed race, and Mexican) who reported on their economic stress, community self-efficacy, and tendencies to engage in prosocial behaviors toward friends and strangers as well as civic engagement. The results demonstrated that economic stress was not directly associated with prosocial behaviors or civic engagement. Community self-efficacy was positively associated with civic engagement and prosocial behaviors toward both friends and strangers. The interaction term was positively associated with prosocial behaviors toward friends. Discussion focuses on the critical role of community self-efficacy as a buffer against stress and as a predictor of multiple forms of prosocial behaviors.