Prosocial Development Research Articles

Impact of Tweens’ (Ages 8–12) Leadership Experience Over Other Children as Children Shepherds in House Church Ministries on Their Self-Concept Development as They Build Up the Body of Christ

This qualitative study is designed to explore how tween (ages 8–12) children shepherds in house church ministry develop their positive self-concept, through their helping leadership experience over other children. The purpose of the current study is articulated in the following three research questions: (a)What is the influence on self-concept development? (b) What environment/relational factors impact self-concept? (c) What is the influence of systematic support on tweens’ leadership experience? A total of 30 children shepherds participated in in-depth interviews ( n = 30); 27 children shepherds’ parents participated in the short surveys ( n = 27): seven ministers/volunteers participated in unstructured interviews ( n = 7) from five different local churches with the house church ministry in Texas and California. There are seven emerging themes implicating that children shepherds in the tween period could develop their positive self-concept along with the development of sociability, pro-sociality, and proactivity. Children shepherds’ holistic self-concept development is brought up by the social-emotional and programmatically practical support from church ministry. At the same time, this development can potentially influence their successful social adjustment in the faith community so that they can contribute to building up the body of Christ as members of the church in return. Furthermore, these findings extend their implications to examine the possibility of building up a novel model for the new era of children's ministry— Ministry by Children as children lead the ministry with their active participation and holistic dedication to their faith community.

No strong evidence for universal gender differences in the development of cooperative behaviour across societies.

Human cooperation varies both across and within societies, and developmental studies can inform our understanding of the sources of both kinds of variation. One key candidate for explaining within-society variation in cooperative behaviour is gender, but we know little about whether gender differences in cooperation take root early in ontogeny or emerge similarly across diverse societies. Here, we explore two existing cross-cultural datasets of 4- to 15-year-old children's preferences for equality in experimental tasks measuring prosociality (14 societies) and fairness (seven societies), and we look for evidence of (i) widespread gender differences in the development of cooperation, and (ii) substantial societal variation in gender differences. This cross-cultural approach is crucial for revealing universal human gender differences in the development of cooperation, and it helps answer recent calls for greater cultural diversity in the study of human development. We find that gender has little impact on the development of prosociality and fairness within these datasets, and we do not find much evidence for substantial societal variation in gender differences. We discuss the implications of these findings for our knowledge about the nature and origin of gender differences in cooperation, and for future research attempting to study human development using diverse cultural samples. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cooperation among women: evolutionary and cross-cultural perspectives'.

Preliminary Examination of the Reliability and Validity of the Teacher Rating Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment for Preschool and Kindergarten Children

Prosocial behaviors in preschool and kindergarten are associated with student well-being and positive school outcomes. A teacher rating scale focused on young children’s social strengths can provide educators with important information for supporting children in their classroom with social instruction and intervention. The purpose of this study was to examine the technical adequacy of a teacher rating scale developed expressly to measure prosocial development in young children, the Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment (SSCSA). Using data from a sample of preschool- and kindergarten-aged children in inclusive classrooms, analyses examined the reliability and validity of the SSCSA. Results provided evidence of internal consistency and strong test-retest reliability over two weeks. Analyses of concurrent validity with criterion measures showed strong positive correlations with subscales of social skills and moderate to strong negative correlations with subscales of problem behaviors. Overall, findings provided initial evidence that supports ongoing evaluation of the technical adequacy of the SSCSA.

Associations between maternal apology, parenting, and child internalizing, externalizing and prosocial behaviors

Although mistakes are inevitable in parenting, parental apology is largely unexplored in developmental literature. The current study aimed to characterize associations between parent apology, parenting behaviors, and internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behaviors during the middle childhood period. Participants were 177 mothers of school-aged children. Parenting behaviors, maternal proclivity to apologize, and child behaviors were measured via maternal report. Participants were also asked to model a written apology, and responses were coded for apology effectiveness. Maternal proclivity to apologize was positively associated with involvement, positive parenting, and child prosocial behaviors and negatively associated with inconsistent discipline and child internalizing behaviors. Proclivity to apologize predicted child prosocial behaviors beyond general parenting behaviors. Apology effectiveness was inversely related to inconsistent discipline, positive parenting, and child externalizing behaviors. These preliminary findings show distinct associations between maternal apology components and parenting and child behaviors. Discussion is framed around implications for parenting interventions and prosocial development.

Supporting Pro-Social Development of 60-66 Month Aged Children with the Drama Method

The purpose of this study is to reflect the effectiveness of a drama education program, identify the pro-social behaviour level of children, and determine the effects of the drama education program on the pro-social behaviours of children. In this study, experimental method with the pre-test, post-test retention control group design is adopted. General information form and a Collaboration-Cooperation-Sharing Observation Form are used as data collection tools. Under the scope of this study, a 12-week drama education program is applied. The results of the study show that there is a significant difference between pre-test/post-test and retention scores between the experiment and control group. It is seen that drama education is effective for children to gain collaboration, cooperation and sharing behaviour, to adopt these behaviours and to internalize them.

From virtual to prosocial reality: The effects of prosocial virtual reality games on preschool Children's prosocial tendencies in real life environments

Virtual Reality (VR) technology can provide new opportunities to promote prosocial learning in young children. However, little empirical research has examined how this technology can impact preschool children's prosocial behavior. To respond to this need, two experiments investigated how VR prosocial games affect preschool children's prosocial behavior in real-life settings. Positive affect and sense of competence were examined as potential mediators between the VR prosocial play and real-life prosocial behavior. In the first experiment, 4-to 6-year-olds (N = 166) were randomly assigned to play a prosocial, violent, or neutral VR game. After the game, helping behaviors towards the experimenter were tested on a behavioral task. In the second experiment, 4-to 6-year-olds (N = 173) were randomly assigned to a prosocial, positive affect, or neutral VR game condition, and their sharing behavior with peers was examined on a dictator game. Across experiments, children in the pro-social game condition exhibited more helping and sharing behaviors than children in the violent, positive affect, or neutral conditions. Positive affect mediated the effect of VR prosocial play on prosocial behavior; the effect of competence was not significant. The contribution of gamified VR environments to facilitating prosocial development during the preschool age is discussed.

Supplemental Material for Prospective Associations Between Pandemic-Related Adversity, Harsh Parenting, and the Development of Prosociality Across Middle to Late Childhood

Supplemental Material for Prospective Associations Between Pandemic-Related Adversity, Harsh Parenting, and the Development of Prosociality Across Middle to Late Childhood

Atypical Facial Expressivity in Young Children with Problematic Peer Relationships.

Peer problems are frequently associated with difficulties in recognizing and appraising the emotions of others. It has been argued that facial responsiveness to others' emotions-or motor empathy-is a precursor of emotion processing and affective empathy. Although mimicry impairments have been observed in studies of young people with conduct problems, to our knowledge no study has examined facial responsiveness to others' expressions in young children and examined how this relates to peer relationship problems. Four- to 7-year-old children (n = 91) with or without teacher-reported peer relationship problems (Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire) viewed three dynamic film clips depicting a sad, happy, or scared child, while their spontaneous facial emotional responses were assessed using iMotions software that codes the movement of facial muscles. Children displayed facial expressivity that was congruent with the emotional expressions in the clips. Groups with and without peer problems did not differ in their responses to seeing a happy child. However, children with peer problems exhibited reduced or atypical facial emotional responses to the negative emotional clips. Decreased or atypical facial expressivity to negative emotions was also associated with severity of peer problems; atypical facial responsivity to sadness and reduced facial responsivity to fear predicted peer problems independently of one another. We conclude that reduced or atypical facial expressiveness in response to other children's dynamic facial expressions is associated with problematic peer relations in young children. The implications for early identification and interventions to support prosocial development are discussed.

How do children, adolescents, and young adults relate to climate change? Implications for developmental psychology

ABSTRACT Climate change is an existential threat facing humanity on a global scale. To handle this problem, all societal actors, including young people, need to get involved. This narrative review focuses on what implications climate change has for research in developmental psychology. It is argued that how young people relate to climate change is closely associated with key issues dealt with in this research field. The aim of this article is to present an overview of research about young people and climate change concerning four interrelated topics: (a) climate change and mental well-being, (b) coping with climate change, (c) private-sphere pro-environmental behaviour as a form of pro-social development, and d) climate change and political socialization. The emphasis is on young people from middle childhood to early adulthood. Implications for future research are discussed, for instance, the need for more longitudinal and intervention studies.

Varieties of normative understanding and their relation to sharing behavior in preschool children

Children increasingly appreciate normative obligations and share resources across the preschool years. But the internal structure and behavioral relevance of normative expressions in the context of sharing—that is, the relation with children’s own sharing behavior—remains disputed. Here, 4- to 6-year-old children (N = 90; 37 female) observed protagonists sharing or not sharing resources. As measures of normative expressions, children’s evaluation, punishment acceptability, non-costly punishment, and costly punishment of the protagonists as well as their moral self-concept were assessed. To measure actual prosocial behavior, children had the possibility to share resources. A factor analysis revealed that the variety of normative expressions constitutes two distinct factors: normative representation (evaluation and hypothetical punishment) and norm enforcement (actual non-costly and costly punishment). Children’s moral self-concept was the only normative expression that related to sharing behavior. Person-centered analyses suggest some consistency in individual differences across normative and prosocial development, with normative expressions and sharing behavior being aligned for some children on a low level and for some children on a high level. This study advances our understanding of early normative development and highlights the internal structure of normative stances during the preschool years.

The Intervening Roles of Shame and Guilt in Relations between Parenting and Prosocial Behavior in College Students

Despite the importance of understanding the relations between parenting and youth’s prosocial behavior, there is surprisingly little research focused on the relations among parenting practices, shame, guilt, and prosocial behaviors. The present study was designed to examine the intervening roles of shame and guilt in relations between parental support and psychological control and public and altruistic prosocial behaviors in college students. The participants were 304 (62.5% female, 76.3% European American, Mage = 18.71, SD = 0.92) college students. We found partial support for our hypotheses. Specifically, we found that parental psychological control was positively linked to shame which, in turn, was positively linked to public prosocial behaviors. In contrast, parental support was positively linked to guilt which, in turn, was positively linked to altruistic prosocial behaviors and negatively linked to public prosocial behaviors. Further, psychological control was directly and positively linked to public prosocial behaviors and negatively linked to altruistic prosocial behaviors. Parental support was directly and positively linked to public prosocial behaviors. Discussion will focus on the implications of the findings for theories of moral socialization and prosocial development.

The Development of Children’s Egalitarianism in the Context of Group Membership and Resource Valence

Abstract. Children’s motivation for the egalitarian allocation of resources is reflected in their allocation of positive and negative resources between themselves and others. In the present study, 6- ( n = 29) and 8-year-olds ( n = 25) could choose between different allocations of positive and negative resources to themselves and others in a series of games. The other player was either an ingroup member or an outgroup member. Results revealed that, overall and irrespective of resource valence, 8-year-olds were more likely to choose an egalitarian allocation of resources than 6-year-olds. 8-year-olds also shared more positive resources with the outgroup member than 6-year-olds. Children’s egalitarianism is discussed in light of theories of prosocial development.

Parental warmth predicts more child pro-social behaviour in children with better emotion regulation.

Parental warmth and child emotion regulation have each been implicated in the development of child pro-social behaviours; however, their interactive benefits remain unclear. In this multi-method, multi-cohort longitudinal study, we examined the effect of parental warmth on child pro-social behaviours at different levels of child emotion regulation. We collected data from 6- and 10-year-olds in Canada (NT1 =233; Mage =8.41; SD=2.08) and their parents. Parental warmth, child emotion regulation, and child pro-social behaviours were assessed via parent report. Children's baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA; an indicator of cardiac regulatory capacity) was assessed as a correlate of emotion regulation. Child pro-social behaviours were assessed concurrently and 1year later. Results showed that higher parental warmth was related to higher concurrent prosocial behaviours and greater increases in prosocial behaviours over 1 year. These effects were strengthened for children with higher emotion regulation whether measured by parent report or RSA. We discuss implications for understanding pro-social development in middle childhood from a strengths-based perspective.

Young Children's Conceptualisations of Kindness: A Thematic Analysis.

Although there is much interest in the development of prosocial behaviour in young children, and many interventions that attempt to cultivate kindness in children, there is a paucity of research exploring children’s lived experiences of kindness and including their voices. In this study, children’s understanding of kindness is approached through qualitative interviews using puppets. Interviews were conducted with 33 children aged 5-6 years in 3 schools in the United Kingdom. Through thematic analysis, 4 themes were developed: (a) doing things for others, (b) relating with others, (c) rules and values, and (d) kindness affects us. These themes are examined in light of current thinking on prosocial and sociomoral development, and several key insights are highlighted, including types of prosocial behaviour, social connection, kindness-by-omission and defending, in-group bias, universal kindness versus personal safety, self-image, and a desire to improve the condition of society. These findings have implications for future research on prosocial development and for the design of kindness-based interventions, as well as providing an ecologically valid method of inquiry for use with young children.

Exploring Teacher and Parent Perspectives on School-Based Masculinities in Relation to Mental Health Promotion.

The capacity for boys’ and young men’s mental health promotion to act via shifting masculine norms that are linked to poor mental health outcomes, highlights the need to improve the extent to which school-based programs can promote mental health through leveraging more positive embodiments of masculinity. To-date, the perspectives of parents and teachers on such processes are understudied. This qualitative study presents teacher and parent views regarding adolescent masculinities and avenues for school-based developmental programming for boys and young men. In this study, 16 individual qualitative interviews were undertaken with 10 parents (six females, four males), and six teachers (three females, three males), recruited from an independent all-boys’ grammar school in Melbourne, Australia. Thematic analysis of parents’ and teachers’ perspectives indicated their perception of the role of context-dependent “public” and “private” masculinities, the influence of Australian masculinity norms, and the role of private boys’ school cultures in the development of adolescent masculinities. Additionally, strategies for development encompassed participants’ appetite for boys’ exposure to positive role models, in addition to consistent and relevant developmental programming to support positive masculinity development. Findings have implications for efforts to support prosocial masculine identity development via school-based initiatives, as an avenue to promoting mental health of boys and young men.

More Interactions, More Prosociality? An Investigation of the Prosocial Effect of Online Social Interactions Among Adolescents.

Adolescence is a key stage for prosocial advancement. A plethora of research suggested that the consumption of prosocial-themed media content can facilitate the development of adolescents' prosociality. However, little has examined whether various behaviors of media use may play a role here, such as online social interactions (OSIs). This study aimed at exploring whether and how OSIs, an omnipresent activity we engage in on a daily basis, could enhance prosocial tendencies among adolescents. Empathy and trust were proposed as two possible explanatory variables linking OSIs and prosocial tendencies. A survey was conducted among 533 secondary school students (46.5 percent females; age: 12-18 years old, Mage = 14.82, SDage = 1.77) in China, assessing their OSIs on Weibo, prosocial tendencies, trust, and empathy. The results confirmed that OSIs are positively associated with adolescents' prosocial tendencies, and this association goes through trust, not empathy. Further, it was found that age serves as a moderator such that the indirect association via trust is significant only for middle and late adolescents, not the early group. The findings provide preliminary evidence and a theoretical basis for further investigation of prosociality development from OSIs. It also opens up a possible direction of adolescents' prosociality promotion in practice.

College Students’ Moral and Prosocial Responsibility: Associations with Community Engagement Experiences

Background: Social responsibility and democratic citizenship are essential outcomes of a college education. Yet limited research has examined how college experiences may relate to students’ moral and prosocial development, qualities that ground responsibility and citizenship. Purpose: This research sought to identify the college experiences, including six types of community engagement, associated with moral and prosocial developmental outcomes. Methodology/Approach: Participants ( n = 675) completed a survey consisting of items addressing their college experiences, attitudes and beliefs concerning social inequity and responsibility toward others, and six moral and prosocial outcomes. Blocked regression models assessed relationships between predictor variables (experiences and attitudes/beliefs) and the outcomes. Findings/Conclusions: Participation in public service was the only community engagement experience to predict any of the six outcomes. Rather, the attitudes and beliefs students hold seem to have a much greater relationship with moral and prosocial outcomes. Implications: Students’ existing attitudes and orientations to moral and prosocial concerns may determine which types of community engagement experiences they are attracted to and how these experiences may influence students’ development. Colleges and universities should therefore provide multiple modes of participation in community engagement rather than assuming a single type of engagement fosters all students’ development.

Facilitating the prosocial development of Rohingya refugee children

Prosociality is essential for the success of human societies. Children’s prosocial development is found to increase in contexts that foster collaboration or emotion perspective taking and is negatively affected by exposure to extreme psychosocial trauma and adversity. Based on these findings, we assessed the effect of collaboration and emotion perspective taking on three types of prosocial behavior—helping, sharing, and comforting—in Rohingya children living in a refugee settlement in India (N = 122; age range = 4–11 years). Half of the children were born in Myanmar (i.e., experienced forced migration from genocide), and half were born in the refugee settlement after their families left Myanmar. We also included a small sample of Rohingya Canadian children (N = 20; age range = 3–12 years) as a within-culture comparison of overall levels of prosocial responding, which were higher in this group relative to children in a refugee settlement. We assigned children in the refugee settlement to one of three conditions—Collaboration, Emotion Perspective Taking (intervention conditions), or Drawing (control condition)—and assessed the three types of prosocial responding following the intervention. Prosocial responding was highest after Collaboration for children born in the refugee settlement and was highest after Emotion Perspective Taking for children born in Myanmar. Overall, these findings point to the potential prosocial benefit in refugee contexts for intervention programs that are responsive to children’s lived experience.

Compassion, Discrimination, and Prosocial Behaviors: Young Diasporic Chinese During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has fueled anti-Asian, especially anti-Chinese sentiments worldwide, which may negatively impact diasporic Chinese youths’ adjustment and prosocial development. This study examined the association between compassion, discrimination and prosocial behaviors in diasporic Chinese youths during the COVID-19 pandemic. 360 participants participated and completed the multi-country, cross-sectional, web-based survey between April 22 and May 9, 2020, the escalating stage of the pandemic. This study found compassion as prosocial behaviors’ proximal predictor, while discrimination independently predicted participation in volunteering, and could potentially enhance the association between compassion and charitable giving. These findings suggest that prosociality among young people is sensitive to social context, and that racial discrimination should be considered in future prosocial studies involving young members of ethnic and racial minorities.

Parental Collectivism Goals and Chinese Adolescents' Prosocial Behaviors: The Mediating Role of Authoritative Parenting.

Prosocial behaviors are important indicators of positive social adjustment during adolescence in collectivistic cultures. Although parents play a central role in the process of cultural socialization, it remains unclear how culturally embedded parental goals for their children are related to adolescent prosocial development, especially in non-Western countries. Moreover, little is known about whether parenting practices serve as an underlying mechanism in linking parental goals and adolescents' prosocial behaviors. To address these issues, this two-wave longitudinal study investigated the associations between parental collectivism goals and Chinese adolescents' prosocial behaviors, with attention to the mediating role of authoritative parenting. Two hundred and eighty-five Chinese adolescents (51% girls; mean age = 12.29 years, SD = 0.64, range = 11-14) completed measures on parental collectivism goals, parenting practices, and their own prosocial behaviors. Results showed that adolescents' perceived parental collectivism goals positively predicted their prosocial behaviors one year later, which was partially mediated by authoritative parenting. Notably, the effects of perceived parental collectivism goals and authoritative parenting on adolescents' later prosocial behaviors were more salient when adolescents initially showed a lower level of prosocial behaviors. The findings highlight the positive effects of parental collectivism goals in promoting adolescent prosocial development via authoritative parenting in the Chinese context, and identify the subgroup of adolescents who may derive particular benefits from this process.