Fostering Prosociality in Refugee Children: An Intervention With Rohingya Children

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Refugee Studies

Background:

• Prosocial behavior is fundamental to human nature and emerges early.
• Contextual factors significantly influence prosocial development.
• Children fleeing violent conflict face severe social-emotional challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the resilience of prosociality in Rohingya refugee children facing extreme adversity.
• To assess the impact of a multifaceted intervention on prosocial behaviors and related cognitive-affective processes.
• To investigate the influence of age and birthplace (trauma level proxy) on prosociality and intervention outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A sample of 152 Rohingya children (5-12 years) participated in pre- and post-intervention assessments.
• A 10-day collaboration-based intervention targeted prosocial behaviors, empathy, emotion perspective-taking, and executive function (EF).
• Prosocial behavior was measured using helping (Origami) and sharing tasks (Dictator Game, Forced Choice); cognitive-affective processes were assessed via story tasks and EF tasks.

Main Results:

• Rohingya children exhibited prosocial responding pre-intervention, with improvements observed post-intervention across most measures.
• Older children showed higher empathic responding; Myanmar-born children displayed more generosity in sharing but lower EF skills compared to camp-born children.
• Intervention effects varied by age and birthplace: older children increased equal sharing, Myanmar-born children increased sharing and generosity, and camp-born children improved helping behaviors.

Conclusions:

• Human prosociality is a fundamental trait that can survive and be enhanced even in the most adverse childhood environments.
• A multifaceted, collaborative intervention effectively improved prosocial behaviors and related cognitive-affective processes in Rohingya refugee children.
• Findings underscore the need for research partnerships to improve developmental outcomes for children affected by violent conflict and forced migration.