Prosocial Development Research Articles

Prosocial Behavior in Young Preschoolers: A Cross-Cultural Study across The Netherlands, India, and China

This cross-cultural study compared the prosocial behaviors of 101 Dutch, 37 urban Indian and 91 urban Chinese preschoolers, investigated (potential) cultural differences on their mothers’ values and goals, and examined how mothers’ values and goals relate to preschoolers’ prosocial behaviors. Preschoolers’ prosocial behaviors were observed in three standardized, behavioral assessments. Mothers reported on their own values and socialization goals for their children. Results showed no cultural difference in prosocial behaviors. However, Indian and Chinese mothers rated self-enhancement values as more important than Dutch mothers, and Indian mothers rated self-transcendence values and relational goals as more important than the Chinese and Dutch mothers. No difference was found on autonomous goals. These findings suggest that current cultural differences on parental socialization processes are beyond the individualistic-collectivistic dichotomy often used to classify cultures and are more reflective of the independence of these two dimensions. Mothers in urban Indian and urban Chinese societies can be categorized into an autonomous-relatedness cultural model. Additionally, there might be an ongoing shift toward an independence model in the urban, Chinese societies. Furthermore, culture moderated the association between autonomous goals and observed prosocial behaviors, with this association being significant within the Dutch sample only. No other associations between values or goals and children’s prosocial behavior were found. Overall, these findings support the ecocultural model of children’s prosocial development, and further suggest that young preschoolers from different cultures are more alike than different in prosocial behaviors.

Introduction to the special issue on prosociality in adult development and aging: Advancing theory within a multilevel framework.

Prosociality refers to a broad set of behavioral, motivational, cognitive, affective, and social processes that contribute to, and/or are focused on, the welfare of others. This overview summarizes 10 articles included in the special issue on this topic. In discussing this research relative to existing theories, we situate this work within Penner et al.'s (Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 2005, 365-392) multilevel framework that recognizes distinct yet integrated levels of analysis to characterize micro- (i.e., intraindividual), meso- (i.e., interpersonal), and macro- (i.e., sociocultural and organizational contexts) level effects. While there is some evidence for lifespan continuity in prosocial dispositions at the micro level, the influences of long-term learning and socialization processes at the meso and macro levels are likely to be maximized in older age. Aside from formal voluteering, the adult lifespan development of prosociality has only recently received attention, especially with respect to influences beyond the micro level. This special issue encompasses research examining developmental change and stability in prosociality that collectively cuts across levels of analysis to inform theories in both adult development and aging and prosociality more generally. We propose future directions that take an integrative approach to understanding the development of prosociality by considering interactions among micro, meso, and macro levels. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Advancing Measurement and Research on Youths’ Prosocial Behavior in the Digital Age

AbstractWidespread access to digital and social media has drastically altered the nature of youth’s interpersonal connections. In this context, the opportunities children and adolescents have to help people around them are rapidly evolving. In this article, we review emerging literature on how digital media influences youth’s prosocial development in new ways. Then we propose the next steps for advancing the field’s understanding of youth’s prosocial behavior in the digital age. We advocate for extending existing measures to capture experiences that are increasingly relevant for children and adolescents today, with a focus on current events, including the COVID‐19 pandemic, and social and political activism. We also provide a research agenda to advance the understanding of prosocial development.

Prosocial Development in Refugee Children

Abstract Understanding how to best support resettled refugee children’s social adjustment is paramount, yet such research is scarce. In this study, we examined the prosocial functioning of refugee children who had recently resettled in Canada (N = 93; 5- to 12-year-olds; Mage = 8.16; 55% girls). Children described instances when they helped and received help from someone, and the motivations behind each helping behaviour. In narratives about providing help, children most frequently reported direct help. In narratives about receiving help, children most frequently described being taught something. Consistent with previous work with Western and non-refugee children, the children most frequently reported sympathy-based motives. However, they also frequently cited relationship-based motives—a finding which may be unique to refugee experiences (e.g. separation from family). We found developmental differences in the types of prosocial behaviours and motivations. Implications for future culturally sensitive assessments of refugee children’s positive social adjustment and mental health outcomes are discussed.

Relating through Oppression: Longitudinal Relations between Parental Racial Socialization, School Racial Climate, Oppressed Minority Ideology, and Empathy in Black Male Adolescents' Prosocial Development.

This research explored whether Black male adolescents' (N=453; Mage =13.72, SD=1.33) perceptions of parental racial socialization (i.e., behavioral racial socialization) and school racial climate (i.e., equitable school racial climate) were associated with prosocial outcomes (i.e., prosocial behaviors and positive relations with others) across three waves of adolescence. This study also explored whether youth's beliefs about the extent to which Black individuals and other marginalized communities are united by experiences of oppression (i.e., oppressed minority ideology) and empathy mediated these associations. Structural equationmodeling indicated that parental behavioral racial socialization at Wave 1 and positive relations with others at Wave 3 were positively linked through youth's oppressed minority ideology and empathy at Wave 2. Thus, Black male adolescents who relate to other marginalized communities through a shared experience of oppression and feel empathy towards others' lives possess skills that translate their lessons about race and racism into positive relations with others.

Dynamical analysis and effects of law enforcement in a social interaction model

Crime is a rising problem all over the world. Over the years, several researches have been conducted to coin suitable model systems and intervention strategies that would decrease delinquent behavior and promote prosocial development. Being dynamic and complex process, the spread of crime requires a system level approach. In this paper, we formulate and analyze a series of dynamical model systems of the dilation of crime incorporating law enforcement. The population models of social interactions have been constructed based on predator–prey interaction models with Holling type II response function. Two different types of populations (criminal minded and non-criminal minded) have been assumed in the given community/society. According to law policy for crime control, we scrutinize the dynamic behavior of the model system concerning law enforcement on the criminal minded population. Along with analytical expressions for the existence of different equilibrium points and their stability, we have also provided their geometrical interpretations using isocline analysis. The expressions obtained for the existence and stability of equilibrium points have been used to investigate the effects of coefficient of law enforcement and the logistic growth term on the prevalence of crime. It is observed that for a threshold value of law enforcement, a stable limit cycle exists. In particular, a threshold of law enforcement is determined beyond which the associated place/community could be made crime free. A threshold value R0 (similar to basic reproduction number in epidemiology) has also been introduced. It is shown that when R0<1, crime free equilibrium is stable. The elimination and persistence of crime have been discussed via two parameters (law enforcement and half saturation constant) bifurcation diagram. Theoretical results have been supported via numerical simulations followed by discussion and societal impacts of the present study.

The bilingual gap in children's language, emotional, and pro-social development

Abstract In this paper we examine whether – conditional on other child endowments and family inputs – bilingual children achieve different language, emotional, and pro-social developmental outcomes. Our data, which allow us to analyze children's development in a dynamic framework, are extracted from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS). We model the development production functions for bilingual children using cumulative value-added specifications, which account for parental investments and children's own ability. Analysis based on child age confirms that bilingual children initially have worse language skills than their monolingual peers. The commencement of schooling appears to attenuate these differences, and by age seven, bilingual children have a developmental advantage. We find evidence of a positive relationship between bilingualism and some aspects of emotional development, and it is mainly boys who appear to benefit from their bilingual background.

Effects of a Prosocial Skills Curriculum in an Afterschool Program

School-based substance use prevention and prosocial skills-based interventions have demonstrated promise, however, there is less known about the cognitive and behavioral benefits of such programs conducted in afterschool settings. A four-lesson, early intervention program focused on prosocial behavior development and facilitated by community substance use prevention coalition members was delivered to early elementary-aged participants in an afterschool program. Participant prevention knowledge as measured by brief pre-post quiz improved significantly (p &lt; 0.001), but their mentor-observed prosocial behaviors as measured by pre-post behavioral attribute scale did not. A brief afterschool early prevention intervention can change substance use knowledge among early elementary participants. Prosocial behavior change, though, still warrants future investigation in the afterschool setting.

Parental structuring during shared chores and the development of helping across the second year

AbstractThis lab‐based longitudinal study examines whether parental structuring (i.e., encouragement, modeling, and praise) has effects on helping behavior across developmental time, across recipients or both. Based on behavioral data assessed at 12, 15, 18, 21, and 24 months (N = 38 dyads), the main findings are that, first, when analyzing the effects of parental structuring on toddlers' helping across developmental time (helping the parent 3 months later), we found a positive effect of modeling at 12 months and of praise at 15 months. Second, when analyzing the effect of parental structuring on toddlers' helping across recipients, there were positive cross‐sectional associations of both caregivers' encouragement and praise during parent–child interactions with helping the experimenter between 12 and 18 months. Third, when applying the strictest criterion, namely an effect of parental structuring that generalizes across both developmental time and recipients, we found that modeling at 18 months had an effect on toddlers' helping toward an experimenter at 21 months. Overall, this study demonstrates how important it is to explicate the assumptions under consideration when drawing conclusions about the socialization of early prosocial behavior. Together with recent studies, an emerging picture further consolidates, namely that parental encouragement, modeling, and praise contribute to prosocial development in important ways.

Ethnic-Racial and Religious Identity as Mediators of Relations Between Ethnic-Racial Socialization and Prosocial Behaviors Among Black Young Adults

Scholars have long asserted the importance of studying cultural socialization processes predicting prosocial behaviors, but studies on this topic among Black young adults are rare. The current study examined the mediating roles of ethnic-racial identity and religious identity in associations between ethnic-racial socialization and prosocial behaviors among Black young adults. Participants consisted of 208 Black young adults ( Mage= 19.90 years, SDage= 1.62, 73.6% women) from universities across the United States, who reported on their ethnic-racial socialization, ethnic-racial identity, religious identity, and prosocial behaviors. Mediation analyses showed that ethnic-racial identity and religious identity mediated the relation between ethnic-racial socialization and prosocial behavior. Our findings highlight the ways in which cultural socialization and identity processes may foster prosocial behaviors among Black young adults. Discussion focuses on a culturally grounded and strengths-based understanding of prosocial development among Black young adults.

The Roles of Perspective Taking, Empathic Concern, and Prosocial Moral Reasoning in the Self-Reported Prosocial Behaviors of Filipino and Turkish Young Adults

Traditional social cognitive model of prosocial development suggests important links between both sociocognitive and socioemotive traits and prosocial behaviors. The present study examined the relations among perspective taking, empathic concern, prosocial moral reasoning, and public, emotional, compliant, and anonymous prosocial behaviors in Filipino and Turkish young adults to test the generalizability of this traditional model. Participants were 257 college students recruited from state universities in Ankara, Turkey (57 women, 83 men; Mage = 19.26 years, SD = 0.63) and Manila, the Philippines (75 women, 42 men; Mage = 18.41 years, SD = 1.44). Results showed that the relations among perspective taking, empathic concern, prosocial moral reasoning, and four types of self-reported prosocial behaviors were robust across two countries and gender. Perspective taking was positively related to empathic concern, which, in turn, was positively related to emotional and compliant prosocial behaviors. Perspective taking was also positively related to prosocial moral reasoning, which, in turn, was positively related to anonymous and negatively related to public prosocial behaviors. Overall, the findings provide support for the generalizability of traditional model of prosocial development and extend our understanding of prosocial behaviors to two non-Western, collectivist-oriented societies.

Applying the Social Development Model in Middle Childhood to Promote Healthy Development: Effects From Primary School Through the 30s and Across Generations.

This paper describes the origins and application of a theory, the social development model (SDM), that seeks to explain causal processes that lead to the development of prosocial and problem behaviors. The SDM was used to guide the development of a multicomponent intervention in middle childhood called Raising Healthy Children (RHC) that seeks to promote prosocial development and prevent problem behaviors. This paper reviews and integrates the tests of the SDM and the impact of RHC. While the original results of both model and intervention tests have been published elsewhere, this paper provides a comprehensive review of these tests. As such this integrative paper provides one of the few examples of the power of theory-driven developmental preventive intervention to understand impact across generations and the power of embedding controlled tests of preventive intervention within longitudinal studies to understand causal mechanisms. Application of the SDM in the RHC intervention was tested in a quasi-experimental trial nested in the Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP). SSDP is a longitudinal study of 808 students who attended 18 public schools in Seattle, WA, and whose parents consented for their participation in longitudinal research when they were in Grade 5 (77% of the eligible population in participating schools). Students assented at each survey administration and consented to longitudinal follow-up when they turned 18. Panel subjects were followed and surveyed 15 times from Grade 5 through age 39, with most completion rates above 90%. We describe effects of the full multicomponent RHC intervention delivered in Grades 1 through 6 by comparing outcomes of those children assigned to the full RHC intervention condition to controls from middle childhood through age 39. We also report the effects of the full RHC intervention on the firstborn children of participants compared with the firstborn children of controls. We discuss use of the theory to guide development and testing of preventive interventions and the utility of nesting intervention tests within longitudinal studies for testing both theory and interventions.

The development of prosociality among Christian Arab children in Israel: The role of children's household religiosity and of the recipient's neediness.

We examined the development of sharing behavior of children (aged 6 to 12) within the unique, minority population of Christian Arab children in Israel (N = 319). Children had the opportunity to share candy with a needy or non-needy recipient. Parents' level of religiosity was assessed using the Duke University Religion Index questionnaire (DUREL). Results replicate previous research that focused primarily on the majority populations of the societies in question, by demonstrating an overall increase in the incidence of sharing with age. Furthermore-as previously found among the majority of Jewish children in Israel-the recipient's neediness moderated the association between household religiosity and sharing, such that religiosity predicted greater levels of sharing only when the recipient was described as "poor" (a child whose parents have little money), not when the prospective recipient was not specified as such. Finally, the neediness of the recipient increased the incidence of sharing regardless of age, suggesting that in this unique minority population, sensitivity to the recipient's neediness emerges already at the age of 6. We discuss possible mechanisms behind this developmental pattern. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Play and prosociality are associated with fewer externalizing problems in children with developmental language disorder: The role of early language and communication environment

Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) are at higher risk of poorer mental health compared with children without DLD. There are, however, considerable individual differences that need to be interpreted, including the identification of protective factors. Pathways from the early language and communication environment (ELCE, 1-2 years) to internalizing (peer and emotional problems) and externalizing (conduct problems and hyperactivity) problems in middle childhood (11 years) were mapped using structural equation modelling. Specifically, the role of indirect pathways via social skills (friendships, play and prosociality) in childhood (7-9 years) was investigated. Secondary analysis of existing data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) was undertaken. The study sample consisted of 6531 children (394 with DLD). The pathways from the ELCE to internalizing and externalizing problems were similar for children with and without DLD. For both groups, a positive ELCE was associated with more competent social play and higher levels of prosociality in childhood, which in turn were associated with fewer externalizing problems in middle childhood. Furthermore, better friendships and higher levels of prosociality in childhood were both associated with fewer internalizing problems in middle childhood. A child's ELCE is potentially important not only for the development of language but also for social development. Furthermore, in the absence of adequate language ability, play and prosocial behaviours may allow children with DLD to deploy, practise and learn key social skills, thus protecting against externalizing problems. We suggest that consideration be given to play- and prosociality-based educational and therapeutic services for children with DLD. What this paper adds What is already known on this subject On the whole, children with DLD tend to have poorer mental health compared with their unaffected peers. There are, however, considerable differences and poor outcomes are not inevitable. What this study adds to the existing knowledge We demonstrate that children's ECLE is important for the development of social play behaviours and prosociality. Whilst children with DLD tend to have less competent social play and lower levels of prosociality compared with their unaffected peers, those with more competent social play and higher levels of prosociality are likely to have fewer externalizing problems later in childhood. We speculate that in the absence of adequate structural language ability, play and prosocial behaviours allow children with DLD to deploy, practise and learn key relationship skills, alongside behavioural and emotional regulation skills, thus protecting against externalizing problems. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Understanding the relationships among play, prosociality and externalizing problems may pave the way for play- and prosociality-based interventions in children with DLD. This may be particularly appealing for practitioners as such interventions capitalize on one of the most intuitive means of learning in childhood: play with friends. The likelihood of acceptability and engagement with such interventions may be higher in children than for traditional adult-led, paper-and-pencil activities.

Social norms and cultural diversity in the development of third-party punishment.

Human cooperation is probably supported by our tendency to punish selfishness in others. Social norms play an important role in motivating third-party punishment (TPP), and also in explaining societal differences in prosocial behaviour. However, there has been little work directly linking social norms to the development of TPP across societies. In this study, we explored the impact of normative information on the development of TPP in 603 children aged 4-14, across six diverse societies. Children began to perform TPP during middle childhood, and the developmental trajectories of this behaviour were similar across societies. We also found that social norms began to influence the likelihood of performing TPP during middle childhood in some of these societies. Norms specifying the punishment of selfishness were generally more influential than norms specifying the punishment of prosocial behaviour. These findings support the view that TPP of selfishness is important in all societies, and its development is shaped by a shared psychology for responding to normative information. Yet, the results also highlight the important role that children's prior knowledge of local norms may play in explaining societal variation in the development of both TPP and prosociality.

Trajectories of prosociality from early to middle childhood in children at risk of Developmental Language Disorder

Longitudinal research into the development of prosociality during childhood contributes to our understanding of individual differences in social and emotional outcomes. There is a dearth of literature on the development of prosociality in children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Data from the UK based Millennium Cohort Study was used to investigate prosociality from age 5 to 11 years in 738 children at risk of Developmental Language Disorder (r-DLD) and 12,972 children in a general population (GP) comparison group. Multilevel mixed effects regression models were run to investigate the mean change in prosociality and latent class growth analysis was used to identify heterogeneous groups of children who shared similar patterns of development. Overall, children at risk of DLD were less prosocial at age 5 and, although they did become more prosocial by the age of 11, they did not reach the same levels of prosociality as those in the GP group. Subsequent sub group analysis revealed four distinct developmental trajectories: stable high (19 %), stable slightly low (36 %), decreasing to slightly low (5 %), and increasing to high (40 %). Children at risk of DLD were less likely than those in the GP group to be in the stable high class and more likely to be in the stable slightly low class. For children at risk of DLD, being prosocial was protective against concurrent social and emotional difficulties. But being prosocial in early childhood was not protective against later social and emotional difficulties nor did the absence of prosociality in early childhood make social and emotional difficulties in middle childhood inevitable. Rather, the presence of prosociality in middle childhood was the key protective factor, regardless of prosociality in early childhood. Prosociality is not a key area of concern for children at risk of DLD. Instead, it is an area of relative strength, which can be nurtured to mitigate social and emotional difficulties in children at risk of DLD, particularly in middle childhood.

Family support, respect, and empathy as correlates of U.S. Latino/Latina college students’ prosocial behaviors toward different recipients

Cultural developmental and relational theories suggest that multiple social agents influence young adults’ prosocial behavior (i.e., actions intended to benefit others; e.g., helping or comforting others in need). Despite these theoretical foundations, research that examines cultural and multiple relational correlates of prosocial behaviors in U.S. Latino/Latina college students is scarce. Moreover, young adults are socialized to express prosocial behaviors to recipients that have distinct interpersonal relationships. The present study investigated the relations between mothers’, fathers’, and siblings’ support and U.S. Latino/Latina young adults’ prosocial behaviors toward different recipients (family, friends, and strangers) and considered the mediating roles of family respect values, perspective taking, and empathic concern. The sample was 253 U.S. Latino/Latina college students (58.2% female; M age = 21.07, SD =1.98) with at least one sibling. Structural equation modeling showed evidence for cultural values and moral traits as intervening mechanisms in the relations between family support and prosocial behaviors. All forms of family support predicted family respect values, which were associated with prosocial behaviors toward family and friends more so than toward strangers. Family respect values also predicted perspective taking and empathic concern and there was evidence for the mediating role of empathic concern in the relations between perspective taking and prosocial behaviors (across recipient). The current study demonstrates the interplay of multiple family socialization agents in predicting U.S. Latino/Latina college students’ prosocial behaviors toward different recipients, which has implications for theories of prosocial development.

The development of social comparisons and sharing behavior across 12 countries

Humans are social beings, and acts of prosocial behavior may be influenced by social comparisons. To study the development of prosociality and the impact of social comparisons on sharing, we conducted experiments with nearly 2500 children aged 3–12 years across 12 countries across five continents. Children participated in a dictator game where they had the opportunity to share up to 10 of their stickers with another anonymous child. Then, children were randomized to one of two treatments. In the “shared a little” treatment children were told that another child from their school had shared 1 sticker, whereas in the “shared a lot” treatment children were told that another child from their school had shared 6 stickers in the same game. There was a strong increase in baseline sharing with age in all countries and in both treatments. The “shared a lot” treatment had a positive treatment effect in increasing sharing overall, which varied across countries. However, cross-cultural comparisons did not yield expected significant differences between collectivist and individualist countries. Our results provide interesting evidence for the development of sharing behavior by age across the world and show that social information about the sharing of peers is important for children’s decision making.

Factual Conditions of Early Childhood Prosocial Development in the Arena Playing Facilities in the City of Padang General

This research is motivated by the low participation of parents in the development of children's prosocial activities in the arena of public facilities, which results in poor prosocial abilities of children. This can be seen from the behavior of early childhood who like to monopolize the game, not patiently waiting for their turn, likes to hit friends, and does not like friends, do not want to share and so forth. The purpose of this study was to describe the factual conditions of child prosocial development due to public play by the family so far. P.The approach used is qualitative with the type of case. The setting of this study was carried out in Singgalang Padang complex, while the research subjects were parents who brought their young children to play in public play facilities. Researchers were key instruments, and data collection techniques used participatory observation, in-depth interviews. Data analysis techniques using qualitative analysis. The results showed that parents had not participated in the social development of children in the public play arena. There are several reasons for parents why they do not carry out the prosocial development of their children, among them they argue that: (1) it is not yet time, the social development of children is done, because they are still too small. (2). Even if directed they don't understand, (3) there are parents who think that they don't know that social development needs to be done since the child is still small (4) There are parents who don't want to know about the situation and they are more focused on children themselves. Suggestions in this study need to provide information to parents or caregivers about children's social development early on in the public play arena.

Estilos de Crianza y el Desarrollo Pro social en Niños y Adolescentes

Introduction. The objective of the research is focused on Reviewing and Analyzing the current perspectives in the study of Parenting Styles and Prosocial development in children and Adolescents in indexed journals of various databases to publicize current contents of the subject to Investigate, Parenting styles and Pro-social development of the Method: a systematic review of the bibliography in this regard was carried out, for this, articles published in scientific journals of psychology and education that are indexed in electronic databases were selected. The inclusion criteria are: texts concordant with the variables under study, Articles from Indexed Journals, Articles within the Range of the last 5 years, published in English, Portuguese, and Spanish languages, that have a type and research design. The exclusion criteria of the research were: Non-indexed Articles, Editorial Articles, Articles that do not address the subject of review, Results: the categories identified, analyzed and theorized, were: Title, Database, Language of publication, subject covered , journal, type of study, design, year of publication, results and conclusions of the research, Conclusions: In this theoretical review, eleven categories of essential analysis were identified for understanding the subject under study in which they were compared and analyzed, finding information valuable and relevant with respect to the study variables.