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Variability and change in adolescents' prosocial behavior across multiple time scales
Lysanne W Te Brinke1, Suzanne van de Groep1, Renske van der Cruijsen1
1Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Summary
Adolescent prosocial behavior shows moderate to excellent stability across various time scales. Late adolescence is linked to higher prosociality, with cognitive and affective processes influencing behavior differently based on measurement duration.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Neuroscience
- Adolescent Behavior
Background:
- Prosocial behavior is crucial for social development.
- Understanding its variability and change in adolescence is key.
- Longitudinal studies are needed to capture developmental trajectories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine variability and change in adolescents' prosocial behaviors.
- To investigate these changes across multiple time scales (daily to two-year).
- To explore the relationship between prosociality and cognitive/affective processes.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of three longitudinal datasets comprising 569 adolescents.
- Assessment of prosocial behavior stability and variability.
- Correlation analysis with cognitive (perspective-taking) and affective (empathy) measures.
Main Results:
- Prosocial behavior demonstrated moderate to excellent time-related stability.
- No significant difference in variability between early and late adolescence.
- Late adolescence showed higher mean levels of prosociality.
- Longer-term measures (2-year, 1-year) correlated with perspective-taking.
- Shorter-term measures (2-monthly) correlated with empathy.
Conclusions:
- Adolescent prosocial behavior is generally stable but increases in later adolescence.
- Cognitive and affective factors differentially predict prosociality depending on the time frame.
- These findings highlight the complex interplay of individual differences and temporal dynamics in prosocial development.
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