Abstract
College students’ prosocial behaviors have been shown to help them to attain honor, achieve happiness, and improve their social adaptation. This study was designed to examine the mediating roles of parent-child attachment and emotion regulation self-efficacy in the relationship between family socioeconomic status and prosocial behaviors. A survey was conducted among 458 college students randomly selected from six universities in two Chinese provinces characterized by a medium level of higher education development. The model was verified by structural equation modeling and mediation effect testing methods. The study revealed that family socioeconomic status had a positive effect on parent-child attachment and emotion regulation self-efficacy, but had no direct effect on the students’ prosocial behavior. Moreover, parent-child attachment and emotional regulation self-efficacy both mediated the influence of family socioeconomic status on the prosocial behavior of college students. Finally, family socioeconomic status affected the prosocial behavior of college students through the chain of parent-child attachment and emotional self-efficacy.
Highlights
Prosocial behavior, a concept often used in positive psychology, has been referred to as positive social behavior in the fields of social psychology and developmental psychology
The framework used—based on the combined effects of family socioeconomic status, parent-child attachment, and emotion regulation self-efficacy—extended cognitive theory to help explain the prosocial behavior of college students
H6: Family socioeconomic status influences the prosocial behavior of college students through the continuous mediation of parent-child attachment and emotion regulation self-efficacy
Summary
A concept often used in positive psychology, has been referred to as positive social behavior in the fields of social psychology and developmental psychology. The framework used—based on the combined effects of family socioeconomic status, parent-child attachment, and emotion regulation self-efficacy—extended cognitive theory to help explain the prosocial behavior of college students. This work demonstrated that positive parent-child attachment and emotion regulation self-efficacy could improve the prosocial behavior of college students. The family’s emphasis on parent-child attachment and the development and recognition of emotional regulation self-efficacy could help improve college students’ abilities to act with prosocial behaviors. These efforts could help to shape a healthier psychological atmosphere that would contribute to enhanced inner motivation and prosocial behaviors among college students.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
