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The multifaceted nature of prosocial behavior in children: Links with attachment theory and research
... There is also reason, however, to believe that a child's lack of empathy and guilt may cause parents to behave less warmly toward their child. A fundamental component of both social-learning and attachment theory is that both parent and child reciprocate the positive interaction; if the child does not express emotion and empathy toward the parent or guilt for wrongdoings, this behavior could lead to reductions in the parent's use of warm and positive parenting strategies (Gross et al., 2017;MacDonald, 1992;Shaw & Bell, 1993). In fact, in the few studies to consider bidirectional associations between warm parenting and CU traits, both child-driven and parentdriven effects were found (Hawes et al., 2011;Muratori et al., 2016;Waller et al., 2014). ...
... Low-quality romantic relationships may limit opportunities to engage in prosocial behaviors, and limited prosocial behavior may reduce the affective quality of the relationship because of the lack of a mutually positive interaction (Amato, 1990;MacDonald, 1992). In addition, given that romantic partners become a primary attachment figure during adulthood (Kansky, 2018), romantic relationships may interact with empathy development in the same way that parenting relationships do earlier in life; warm romantic relationships may encourage positive expectations of others and understanding of their emotions through a secure attachment and may similarly deteriorate if not reciprocated (Gross et al., 2017;Shaw & Bell, 1993;Stern & Cassidy, 2018). In one of the only studies to consider this possibility, Savard et al. (2006) analyzed the bidirectional connections between psychopathy and romantic-relationship satisfaction and cohesion in a sample of married couples over a 1-year period. ...
... Elevated CU traits predicted reductions in romantic-relationship warmth between Years 4 and 5, which is consistent with research suggesting that CU traits are related to perpetration of unhealthy behaviors in romantic relationships that could negatively affect relationship warmth, such as physical aggression, dominance, and infidelity (Caiozzo et al., 2016;Crass & Terranova, 2018;Golmaryami et al., 2021). The interpersonal and emotional deficits of individuals with CU traits may also cause a relationship partner to reduce their efforts to build warmth in the relationship because of the lack of reciprocity in shared emotional experience and bonding necessary for a close attachment (Gross et al., 2017;Shaw & Bell, 1993). Note that warm romantic relationships at Year 3 also predicted reductions in CU traits at Year 4. Such findings support the possibility that warm romantic relationships encourage prosocial development by providing motivation and opportunities to improve prosocial emotions and behaviors in adolescents and young adults (Amato, 1990;MacDonald, 1992). ...
Callous-unemotional (CU) traits, or limited prosocial emotions, designate an important subgroup of individuals with conduct problems. These traits are associated with low quality of interpersonal relationships, but limited research has investigated the direction of these effects. In the present study, we investigated the longitudinal associations between CU traits and warmth with parents, friends, and romantic partners over a 5-year span in a sample of justice-involved adolescent and young-adult males. Random intercept cross-lagged panel analyses indicated that CU traits predicted reductions in parental warmth throughout adolescence and young adulthood. Negative bidirectional associations between CU traits and romantic warmth were present during young adulthood. However, although individuals with higher CU traits had less warm friendships, there were no within-individuals predictive associations over time. Findings indicate that CU traits are predictive of problematic interpersonal relationships, and these relationships need to be considered in intervention, including focusing on improving romantic warmth in young adulthood.
... Individual differences in sharing behavior have numerous predictors, among which children's attachment to their caregivers (Gross et al., 2017). Attachment refers to the emotional bond that forms between a child and caregiver in early infancy, and the quality of this relationship can be categorized as a secure or different insecure attachment styles (Ainsworth et al., 2015). ...
... Attachment theory states that children develop internal working models of themselves and their attachment figures to help predict and understand their environment, which in turn guide how people engage in social interactions later in life (Bowlby, 1962(Bowlby, /1982(Bowlby, , 1973. These internal working models are one pathway through which attachment is theorized to impact prosocial behavior: secure internal working models contribute to sharing behaviors because they involve expectations of responsiveness and good intentions of interaction partners (Gross et al., 2017). In addition, Gross et al. (2017) propose that the higher levels of emotion regulation skills of securely attached children and their heightened effortful control positively influence prosocial behavior. ...
... These internal working models are one pathway through which attachment is theorized to impact prosocial behavior: secure internal working models contribute to sharing behaviors because they involve expectations of responsiveness and good intentions of interaction partners (Gross et al., 2017). In addition, Gross et al. (2017) propose that the higher levels of emotion regulation skills of securely attached children and their heightened effortful control positively influence prosocial behavior. Indeed, empirical research on the association between attachment and sharing among children shows that attachment security is positively related to sharing, specifically under conditions that require higher emotion regulation capacities (i.e., costly sharing, Beier et al., 2019;Paulus et al., 2016). ...
Children often show a positive ingroup bias in altruistic behaviors such as sharing. Insight in factors related to ethnic bias in sharing can help towards understanding the origins of inequality in the distribution of resources in society. The present study examined the effect of priming secure attachment (versus positive affect) and multiculturalism (versus color-evasiveness) on ingroup bias in dominant ethnic group children's altruistic sharing. One hundred twenty-five White Dutch children (45 % boys, 55 % girls) between 7 and 11 years old (M age = 8.47, SD age = 0.87) participated in a Dictator game after being primed. The Dictator game was played against three same-gender children with different ethnic backgrounds (White, Black, Middle Eastern). Results support the idea that priming secure attachment and multiculturalism can decrease ingroup bias in dominant ethnic group children's altruistic sharing, although the effects do not strengthen each other and are effective in situations with different trade-offs and interaction partners. Future research is needed to disentangle the effectiveness of secure attachment and multiculturalism messages in different sharing situations and with interaction partners with different ethnic backgrounds. Results from the present study provide starting points from which to further examine which messages potentially positively impact children's interethnic relations.
... This is shown through positive mental representations in their children (also known as ''internal working models" in attachment theory) (Dahl & Brownell, 2019). Although the link among sensitivity, parental responsiveness, and emotional helping is well established (Blandon & Scrimgeour, 2015;Davidov & Grusec, 2006;Gross et al., 2017;Kienbaum et al., 2019), the underlying mechanism remains open (for review, see Paulus, 2014). Some theories consider empathy as the driving mechanism between experiencing maternal sensitivity and helping others (Eisenberg & Miller, 1987;Hoffman, 2000), whereas others claim socialization of norms to be fundamental (Kochanska et al., 2005). ...
... Whereas relations between maternal sensitivity and children's empathy and between empathy and prosocial behavior are well established (e.g., Abramson et al., 2019;Panfile & Laible, 2012), there are only a few studies combining both lines of research. Specifically, based on emotion-sharing theories and attachment theory (Beier et al., 2019;Deneault & Hammond, 2021;Gross et al., 2017;Stern & Cassidy, 2018), one would expect empathy to be the underlying psychological mechanism connecting parental sensitivity to children's emotional helping behavior. For instance, Panfile and Laible (2012) found a positive relation of secure attachment and empathy through the meditation of emotion regulation in 3-year-olds, assessed mainly by questionnaires. ...
... Based on theoretical considerations on social origins of prosociality (Brownell, 2016), we expected sensitive mothers to have children who show more emotional helping behavior. Attachment theoretical considerations (e.g., Gross et al., 2017) and emotion-sharing theories (Batson, 2011;Eisenberg, 1986) would predict children of sensitive mothers to be more empathic and thereby show emotional helping behavior better (Mediation Effect 1). In contrast, internalization theory (Kochanska, 1997) would predict children of sensitive mothers to be more compliant and thereby show better emotional helping behavior (Mediation Effect 2). ...
Emotional helping—that is, helping based on others’ emotional distress—has been suggested to be a central prosocial response to others in need. Developmental theorizing proposed that emotional helping has social origins. Whereas research indeed demonstrated a link between maternal sensitivity and children’s emotional helping, developmental theories stress different mediating processes. Emotion-sharing theories claim empathic concern to be the crucial link for helping, whereas internalization theories base children’s helping on children’s compliance. To investigate these hypotheses, the current study explored empathy and compliance as two possible mediators for the relation between maternal sensitivity and children’s emotional helping at 18 months of age. Overall, maternal sensitivity was positively related to children’s empathy, children’s compliance, and children’s emotional helping. Interestingly, children’s empathy—but not children’s compliance—mediated the link between maternal sensitivity and children’s emotional helping. These findings deepen our understanding of the psychological processes subserving emotional helping during infancy and support theories that stress the socioemotional origins of children’s prosocial behavior.
... Bonding with one's caregiver in childhood is crucial to be able to depend on others (Bowlby, 1988;Peacock et al., 2003). An ongoing relationship presents the opportunity for strong emotional connectivity, allowing adolescents to view their caregiver as a safety net during difficult times (Gross et al., 2017). ...
... According to this theory, adolescents who have a sensitive and responsive caregiver view that figure as a dependable person in their life and are more likely to have a secure sense of self (Bowlby, 1988;O'Connor et al., 2013). Adolescents' attachment with their caregiver is impacted by the care and consistency the adolescent is shown with regard to their needs (Bowlby, 1988;Gross et al., 2017). ...
... Insecure attachments between adolescents and their caregivers are linked to weak bonds, a lack of a consistent reaction when the child feels distressed, and a lack of physical closeness between the adolescents and their caregivers (Gross et al., 2017). When there are weak bonds between the adolescents and their caregiver, acting-out behaviors can occur during adolescence, including drug use, violent behaviors, and problems at school (Peacock et al., 2003). ...
Marianismo refers to the prioritization of Latina mothers concerning their children and families. This term acknowledges the selflessness of Latina mothers. This study explored the perceptions of thirteen Latino adolescent participants following their experiences of being raised by a single mother. To study this relationship, an adapted version of Narrative Analysis was used. While the analysis focused on participants' relationships with their mothers, relationships with their biological fathers and other father figures (i.e., natural mentors) in their lives were explored. The study's findings are contextualized through the lens of attachment theory, social learning theory, and the relevant literature. This study shines light on the important impact of mothers and natural mentors on the lives of Latino male adolescents. Social workers from varying professional domains who are working with Latino families can take the marianismo cultural value into account in their own interactions and services with their clients. Additionally, just as the Latino adolescents in this study were keenly aware of their mothers' many positive values, strengths, and contributions to their lives, it is vital for social workers to do the same.
... Clarifying how peers influence prosocial tendencies in young children will aid future efforts to promote developmental competencies and reduce the risk of maladaptive outcomes (Deater-Deckard, 2001;Malti, Chaparro, et al., 2016;Taylor et al., 2016). PEER RELATIONSHIPS, TRUST, PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR 5 Scholars have posited that children's trust in others may constitute one pathway by which peers contribute to prosociality (Carlo et al., 2010;Gross et al., 2017;Rotenberg, 2010). Through repeated positive interactions with friends and other agemates, children form beliefs about others as honest, reliable, and deserving of trust (Rotenberg, 2010). ...
... A number of scholars have hypothesized that positive peer relationships may foster prosocial behavior by promoting children's trust in others (Carlo et al., 2010;Gross et al., 2017;Rotenberg, 2010). Trust beliefs refer to the expectation that other people are honest, reliable, and PEER RELATIONSHIPS, TRUST, PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR 7 will refrain from causing harm (Rotenberg, 2010). ...
... From the perspective of attachment theory, trust emerges out of early parent-child interactions and serves as a foundation for the formation of intimate personal relationships across the lifespan (Ainsworth, 1973;Bernath & Feshbach, 1995). Sensitive and responsive caregiving promotes the formation of secure attachments, in part, by informing children's cognitive representations or internal working models of others as caring, dependable, and supportive (Gross, et al., 2017). ...
Positive peer relationships are important for children's prosocial development, yet the mechanisms that explain how peers contribute to prosocial outcomes during the preschool and early school years remain understudied. The present study used a prospective longitudinal design to examine whether children's degree of trust in others mediated the association between prior peer relationship quality and later prosocial behavior in a Canadian sample (N = 150; T1 Mage= 4.53 years, 50% female). Primary caregivers (84% mothers) reported on children's peer relationship quality (at age 4), trust in others (ages 4 and 5), and prosocial behavior (ages 4 and 6). Controlling for initial levels of trust and prosocial behavior at age 4, longitudinal path modeling indicated that higher quality peer relationships directly predicted relative increases in trust at age 5. In turn, increased trust at age 5 predicted relative increases in prosocial behavior at age 6. Consistent with longitudinal mediation, the indirect effect of peer relationship quality on later prosocial behavior via trust was also significant. Sensitivity analyses further indicated that these effects held over and above the potential confounding influence of parental warmth and externalizing behavioral problems (assessed at age 6). Programs designed to promote prosocial skills in early childhood may benefit from an increased emphasis on building and maintaining children's interpersonal trust.
... Caregivers' sensitive responding to children's emotional distress appears to be central to fostering secure attachments (Grusec & Davidov, 2010). Consequently, attachment security is likely to be most strongly associated with prosocial behavior in situations involving negative emotion (Gross et al., 2017). Research with young children and college students supports an association between attachment security and responses to others' distress, but suggests that attachment is also linked to sharing and helping in contexts of low emotion (Beier et al., 2019;Carlo et al., 2012). ...
... Attachment theorists suggest that repeated experiences of receiving care and comfort from attachment figures in times of threat result in behavioral scripts for recognizing and responding empathically to others' distress (Stern & Cassidy, 2018). In addition, the emotional regulation skills associated with attachment security facilitate the ability to focus on another's needs rather than one's own (Gross et al., 2017). Because securely attached individuals are favorably equipped to handle negative emotions, they tend to experience empathic concern rather than personal distress (Panfile & Laible, 2012). ...
... Theory and research suggest that secure attachment relationships to parents and peers are linked both to young adolescents' empathic concern and to their prosocial behavior, particularly in contexts of distress (Gross et al., 2017;Stern & Cassidy, 2018). Preliminary evidence favors peer attachment as a stronger predictor than parent attachment, and mother attachment as more significant than father attachment (Laible et al., 2000;Li et al., 2015;Nie et al., 2016;Oldfield et al., 2016). ...
Attachment theory provides an informative theoretical description of how prosocial behaviors in response to the distress of others may be socialized. This study aimed to investigate associations between attachment security to mothers, fathers, closest grandparents and peers, and young adolescents’ (a) prosocial responses to others’ distress and (b) global prosocial behaviors, via the mediation of empathic concern. Cross-sectional survey data were obtained from 520 adolescents (aged 11–14) from nine schools in Cape Town, South Africa. Structural equation modeling revealed that a model in which all paths from the attachment variables were routed through empathic concern was superior to a model which proposed only direct effects of attachment on prosocial behavior. Peer and grandparent attachment were significantly associated, through empathic concern, with self-reported helping in response to others’ distress. For teacher-reported global prosocial behavior, the indirect effects of peer and grandparent attachment failed to reach significance. The results provide theoretical insight into the association between secure attachments and prosocial behavior, and highlight the importance of relationships with friends and grandparents in early adolescence.
... Specifically, improving parenting warmth and responsiveness via parent training was found to decrease dispositional callousness-unemotional traits and decrease conduct problems in young children (Elizur et al., 2017). The literature broadly supports the conclusion that a parenting style characterized by acceptance, warmth and sensitivity to emotions will promote positive, and in many cases lifelong, impacts on a child's interpersonal self-efficacy, ability to experience emotional resonance with others, increase ability to regulate self-emotions, increase awareness of self-generated versus other emotions, and increase prosocial emotions and behaviors (Baker, 2018;Barry, Padilla-Walker, Madsen, & Nelson, 2008;Gross, Stern, Brett & Cassidy, 2017;Kobak, Abbott, Zisk, & Bounoua, 2017;Lyons, Brewer, & Bethell, 2017;van der Voort, Juffer, & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 2014). ...
... Concerning Investigating other studies regarding PW and the definition of compassion provided by Strauss et al. (2016), shows some support that emotionally warm parenting decreases interpersonal distress (Gross et al., 2017). PW is connected to improved interpersonal self-efficacy and related social approach behaviors (Collins & Roisman, 2006). ...
... PW is also linked to higher self-compassion, which is commonly pointed to as a distress tolerance skill (Shaver et al., 2017). Thus, PW may lower distress in general in interpersonal interactions through reduction of dispositional interpersonal fear and anxiety and an increase in self-worth (Gross et al., 2017). ...
In this study, a recalled experience of having warm and responsive parents, degree of endorsement of a generalized just world belief, and reported adolescent experiences of injustice were tested in a structural equation model for fit with predicting compassion in a sample of 201 self-identified counseling students. The participants were invited by advertisements on social media and emails to counseling programs and a counselor education listserv. All variables were measured via survey. Structural equation
model results found an acceptable fitting model, χ² (113) = 317.77, p < 0.001, RMSEA =
0.095; CFI = 0.91; PNFI = 0.72. In the model, injustice experiences and a generalized
just world belief were found to be significant negative predictors of compassion. Recalled
parenting was not supported to be a significant predictor. Last, injustice experiences
moderated the relationship between the just world belief and compassion. When a high
level of injustice experiences was reported, the relationship between compassion and the
just world belief was stronger (β = -0.43, t (200) = -6.12, p < 0.05) than when a low level
of injustice experiences was reported, (β = -0.20, t (200) = -2.78, p < 0.05).
... Intervention science and positive psychology perspectives have shifted away from a primarily deficit-and psychopathology-focused evaluation approach to also consider intervention impacts on strengths-based markers such as well-being, social-emotional functioning, character strengths, and prosociality (Carr et al., 2021;Lerner, Phelps, Forman, & Bowers, 2009;Mayerson, 2020). Research on positive cascades is growing and shows great potential for informing the conversation around how healthy and positive chain reactions can be nurtured in children's early environments (Collie, 2020;Gross, Stern, Brett, & Cassidy, 2017). Prosociality in itself is a potential mechanism of constructive change, including across diverse communities and contexts of adversity (Baldassarri & Abascal, 2020;Carlo & Padilla-Walker, 2020;Rose, Dezecache, Powell, Chokron, & Kovarski, 2022). ...
... Compatible with a psychological theoretical framework, another conceptual model argues that socialization-based processes set into motion ripple effects that contribute to prosocial behavior and its underlying psychological foundations across the early years (Brownell & Early Social Development Research Lab, 2016;Gross et al., 2017;Spinrad & Eisenberg, 2019). Eisenberg et al. (2015) presented a heuristic model of prosocial behavior that depicts a complex interplay between biological foundations, including temperament and personality, and socialization-based factors, such as cultural values and practices, parenting behaviors, peer relationships, and community. ...
Understanding the developmental cycles and mechanisms that nurture prosocial behavior can support our potential to build a kinder and more peaceful society. The current chapter explores positive developmental cascades, with a focus on the chain reactions that explain how prosocial behaviors manifest and evolve throughout childhood and adolescence. Specifically, we review the main issues, theories, and findings related to the study of children's prosocial trajectories. We focus on various socialization environments that span typical and adverse (e.g., trauma, poverty, maltreatment, exposure to violence) contexts. Furthermore, we highlight the evidence behind efforts and initiatives that aim to nurture prosociality in children and families. We conclude with future directions for how research on positive cascades can inform research–practice alliances work that aims to break harmful cycles and promote prosocial mechanisms of change.
... Our study is the first to establish an association between children's values and helping behavior, thus adding to previous work which focused on sharing behaviors (Abramson et al., 2018) or genosociality (Benish-Weisman et al., 2019). This contribution is important, as sharing and helping are different aspects of prosocial behavior that may stem from different antecedents (Eisenberg et al., 1999(Eisenberg et al., , 2015Gross et al., 2017;Knafo-Noam et al., 2018). Moreover, this is one of the first studies to show relations between values and observed behaviors in children, as opposed to self-or peer-reports. ...
... Additional types of prosocial behavior include other helping behaviors (e.g., altruistic and empathetic) and non-helping behaviors (e.g., sharing and comforting; Dunfield et al., 2011;Knafo & Plomin, 2006;Paulus, 2014;Paulus & Moore, 2014). Moreover, the different aspects of prosocial behavior are not always positively correlated (Gross et al., 2017). Thus, our results cannot be generalized to all types of prosocial behavior. ...
Objective:
This study tested the effect of personal values (motivation) and sustained attention (cognitive ability) on children's helping behavior.
Method:
Children (N = 162, age range 8-9 years, mean = 8.81, SD =.43) completed value ranking and go/no-go tasks, and their helping behavior was examined.
Results:
Children who valued self-transcendence over self-enhancement helped more than others. Surprisingly, children's lack of sustained attention was associated with more helping among those who valued self-transcendence over self-enhancement or openness-to-change over conservation values. Valuing both self-transcendence and openness-to-change was also associated with more helping.
Conclusions:
Children are more likely to help others if they value self-transcendence and openness to change. Notably, children's tendency to act upon these values may be facilitated (rather than obstructed by) low attention skills.
... Bowlby (1969Bowlby ( , 1988 described internal working models of attachment as cognitive and emotional structures evolving from early relational experiences with caregivers. These models are believed to be relatively stable across time and affect how new relational experiences are processed, interpreted, and understood (Gross et al., 2017;Reisz et al., 2018). Thus, they continue to play a crucial role in an individual's perceptions and attitudes to close relationships (Bowlby, 1988;Ainsworth, 1991). ...
... Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991) developed a model of four attachment styles derived from different combinations of positive or negative experience of oneself and others. These styles are referred to as secure (positive self and positive other), preoccupied (negative self and positive other), dismissing (positive self and negative other), and fearful (negative self and negative other; Cassidy and Shaver, 1999;Gross et al., 2017;Reisz et al., 2018). Shorey and Snyder (2006) have studied the association between attachment and psychopathology in adults. ...
The aim of this study was to explore self-schemas and attachment style among patients in a methadone or buprenorphine maintenance treatment program of opiate dependence, in relation to treatment outcome (relapse in substance use). The study included 84 patients (21 women and 63 men) in a psychiatric clinic in Malmö, Sweden, providing maintenance treatment of opiate dependence. Three self-report instruments were employed, Young Schema Questionnaire Short version (YSQ-S) and Young Parenting Inventory (YPI) for studying self-schemas and Experiences in Close Relationships–Relationship Structures questionnaire (ECR-RS) for studying attachment style. Demographical data and relapse in substance abuse were registered. The study demonstrated, unsurprisingly, that an insecure attachment style was more common in the group of patients compared to available general population reference data. Significant correlations were found between attachment style and core beliefs about the self (self-schemas). Memories of parenting experiences from childhood (YPI) showed correlations with ongoing self-schemas (YSQ-S). Treatment outcome, defined as relapses in substance abuse, was associated to a minor degree with self-schemas but showed no correlation with attachment style. Patients who did not work or study had more maladaptive self-schemas and insecure attachment style, and a higher incidence of relapse in abuse than patients who were working or studying.
... Insecure children need a combination of supportive factors to help them become confident, prosocial, and stable (Gross, Stern, Brett, & Cassidy, 2017). Challenging behavior that insecure children respond with is a direct result of their lack of a sense of security, attachment to a caregiver, and prosocial behaviors (Gross et al., 2017). ...
... Insecure children need a combination of supportive factors to help them become confident, prosocial, and stable (Gross, Stern, Brett, & Cassidy, 2017). Challenging behavior that insecure children respond with is a direct result of their lack of a sense of security, attachment to a caregiver, and prosocial behaviors (Gross et al., 2017). Insecure children require a secure attachment to a loving adult to improve their outcomes (Juffer, Struis, Werner, & Bakermans-Kraneenburg, 2017). ...
The problem addressed in this basic qualitative study was understanding the underlying
reasons for challenging behavior exhibited in preschool children who experience disruption in social bonds and trust following deployment of a parent. Many teachers and parents are challenged by the need to support these children during this stressful time and untreated stress can lead to long-term issues. The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of teacher and parent perspectives of challenging behavior exhibited in preschool children experiencing disruption in social bonds and trust following deployment of a parent. Interviews of 7 parents and 7 preschool teachers addressed 3 research questions about reasons for challenging behavior, and the disruption of social bonds and trust following a deployment. The conceptual framework for this study was the attachment theory of Bowlby and Ainsworth. Data were analyzed using a priori, open, and axial coding. Results indicated challenging behavior in preschool children following deployment is affected by the strength of the bond and level of trust a preschooler has with a caring adult. Most teachers and parents described the cause of disruption in social bonds as deployment for the reason for challenging behavior. Teachers believed that their strong relationship with preschoolers helps children feel safe and secure following parental deployment. Parents believed that a supportive environment with family and friends makes a positive difference when trust between the child and others is disrupted following parental deployment. Implications for positive social change include improved support strategies and positive outcomes for children that may result from new emphasis on support for social bonds and feelings of trust in children. Children’s challenging behavior may be alleviated when children of deployed parents feel more secure.
... It could be that mediation effects would have emerged had we separately studied the different steps in the prosocial behavior process or the different types of prosocial behavior [11]. Research points at perspective-taking [62,63] and comforting [64] as aspects of the complex prosocial behavior construct that are most closely related to attachment. Future research should focus on these aspects of prosocial behavior before the mediation hypothesis can be fully abandoned. ...
... Further, mediation effects might be stronger in samples with older participants. The review of Gross et al. showed that links between attachment and prosocial behavior are hard to find in middle childhood, but become more apparent in adolescence [64]. This is in line with research showing that SBS knowledge is still significantly developing in middle childhood [22]. ...
Background
Children with attachment disorder show prosocial behavior problems. Children with a reactive attachment disorder show inhibited and emotionally withdrawn behavior. Consequently, these children typically display prosocial behavior problems. However, the underlying mechanism between reactive attachment disorder and prosocial behavior problems is still unclear and findings in literature are mixed.
Methods
The current study investigated the role of children’s attachment representations in this association. Attachment representations reflect knowledge about a cognitive script regarding the attachment figure as a source for support (Secure Base Script). We tested whether secure base script knowledge 1) mediates or 2) moderates the link between reactive attachment disorder and prosocial behavior problems in 83 children (6–11 years; 83.1% boys) recruited from special education schools for children with behavioral problems. Children completed a pictorial Secure Base Script Test. Their reactive attachment disorder symptoms were assessed during an interview with the primary caregivers. Primary caregivers and teachers filled out a prosocial behavior questionnaire about the child.
Results
Results did not support the mediation hypothesis, but evidence for the moderation hypothesis was found. Secure base script knowledge attenuated the negative association between attachment disorder symptoms and prosocial behavior.
Conclusions
These findings contribute to the discussion about the link between attachment representations and attachment disorders.
... One systematic review showed that insecure early childhood attachment is positively correlated with behavioral problems in preschoolers [25]. Emotional regulation [26], peer interaction [27], hyperactivity [28], prosocial behavior [29], and various behavioral problems have all been associated-either positively or negatively-with parent-child attachment. ...
Phubbing—the act of ignoring someone physically present in favor of a mobile phone—is increasingly prevalent in families, and mothers’ phubbing behaviors may have a particularly important effect on young children’s development. Accordingly, this study explores the mediating role of mother–child attachment in the relationship between mother phubbing and children’s emotional and behavioral problems, as well as the role of maternal parenting stress in moderating the mediation effect. A total of 988 mothers of young children (mean age = 4.93, SD = 0.94) were surveyed using four scales, and the resulting data was statistically analyzed. The study found that (1) mother phubbing was significantly and positively correlated with children’s emotional and behavioral problems (r = 0.19, p < 0.01), (2) mother–child attachment mediated the relationship between mother phubbing and children’s emotional and behavioral problems, and (3) the relationship between mother–child attachment and children’s emotional and behavioral problems was moderated by maternal parenting stress. The present study offers fresh evidence of how mother phubbing affects young children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties. The need to reduce maternal parental stress and buffer mothers from its effects are highlighted as vital factors in promoting secure mother–child attachment and alleviating young children’s problems.
... However, little research has examined emotion regulation as a process linking attachment and prosocial behavior (Panfile & Laible, 2012;Tur-Porcar et al., 2018). Moreover, there has been scant consideration of attachment and prosociality in middle childhood, a time when peer relationships become increasingly relevant, leaving a major gap in the understanding of prosocial development (Gross et al., 2017). Finally, there has been relatively little research on father-child attachment in relation to emotion regulation and prosocial development. ...
There is a lack of research on the development of prosocial behavior in middle childhood. The current study addressed this gap through the application of attachment theory; attachment security has been shown to promote prosocial behavior in early childhood, and emotion regulation may be an important intervening variable in this association. A sample of 199 children (aged 6–12 years) reported on their attachment internal working models for the mother–child and father–child relationships, parents reported on child emotion regulation and emotional lability/dysregulation, and children completed a sticker donation task to assess their prosocial behavior. Child emotional lability/dysregulation served as an intervening variable in the association between father–child attachment security (communication and trust) and greater sticker donation. Mother–child and father–child attachment security was also associated with child emotion regulation, but emotion regulation was not associated with sticker donation. Findings suggest that secure attachment may foster prosocial behavior toward peers in middle childhood primarily by reducing dysregulated responses to the distress of others.
... De façon g en erale, la documentation scientifique reconnait le lien entre l'attachement et les comportements pro-sociaux (Gross et al., 2017;Kestenbaum et al., 1989;Laible, 2006;Mikulincer & Shaver, 2013;Sroufe, 2005;Waters, Wippman & Sroufe, 1979). Panfile et Laible (2012) ont evalu e, chez 63 enfants am ericains (Mâ ge = 3 ans 1 ; 47,61% de filles), l'influence de l'attachement, mesur e par le Tride-cartes (Waters & Deane, 1985) rempli par la m ere, et la capacit e d'autor egulation sur l'empathie et les comportements pro-sociaux. ...
Introduction
Maltreatment engendered by parental figures may undermine attachment within parent-child relationships and has been associated with the emergence of behavioural problems. These symptoms have been negatively correlated with pro-social behaviour.
Objective
This study aims to report attachment representations, behavioural problems and pro-social behaviour of school aged children that have been victims of maltreatment and who receive services from the Enfant and Youth Protection Centre (EYPC) in Quebec and the therapeutic, educative and pedagogic institute (TEPT) in France. The study also aims to examine the links between these variables and to compare these children with the general population (GP) regarding these variables.
Method
Eighty children, aged 6 to 12 years old, divided in three groups (GP: n = 40; EYPC: n = 27; TEPI: n = 13) participated in the study. Parents and childcare workers completed measures on externalized and pro-social behaviours. Children participated in an activity exploring their attachment representations.
Results
Significant associations were found between pro-social and externalized behaviors, as well as between attachment representations concerning the child's emotional dysregulation and two other variables: maternal attachment representations (supportive and rejecting) and pro-social behaviour. Furthermore, no significant differences were found between the attachment representations of children from the GP and those that have been victims of maltreatment and who receive services from EYPC and TEPI. However, significant differences were found between these groups regarding pro-social and externalized behaviours.
Conclusion
The present study furthers our knowledge about the influence of maltreatment on children's attachment representations and behaviour.
... Recently, researchers in personality and social psychology have investigated altruistic behavior from the perspective of attachment theory, and found that individuals with secure attachment showed more altruistic behavior relative to individuals with insecure attachment. Hence, researchers proposed that secure attachment could promote altruistic behaviors toward others in distress [4][5][6]. However, few studies have investigated the mechanisms underlying the association between attachment security (and insecurity) and altruistic behavior, especially in non-Western societies, including China which has roughly one-fifth of the world's population. ...
Although Western studies showed that attachment insecurity was negatively related to adolescent altruistic behavior, few studies have investigated this issue among Chinese adolescents, and little is known about the mechanisms underlying the impact of attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety on adolescent altruistic behaviors. This study investigated the mediating role of different dimensions of empathy (empathic concern, perspective taking, and personal distress) on the association of attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety with altruistic behavior among Chinese adolescents. A total of 1005 7th and 8th grade Chinese students (Mage = 12.86 years, SD = 0.69) from three middle schools in Chengdu, China completed measures of attachment insecurity, interpersonal reactivity index, and altruistic behavior. Results indicated that attachment avoidance, not attachment anxiety, negatively predicted adolescent altruistic behavior among Chinese adolescents. Moreover, higher attachment avoidance predicted less empathic concern and perspective taking, which in turn predicted less altruistic behavior, while higher attachment anxiety predicted more empathic concern and personal distress, which further predicted more and less altruistic behavior, respectively. These findings highlight the importance of promoting adolescent empathic concern and perspective taking and reducing personal distress to strengthen adolescent altruistic behavior.
... Receiving parental warmth is suggested to promote feelings of connectedness, reciprocity, and sympathy in the child, all of which increase the likelihood of child PSB (Carlo, McGinley, et al., 2011;Carlo, Mestre, et al., 2011;Eisenberg et al., 2015;Grusec & Davidov, 2010). Parental warmth also entails positive affection and responsiveness towards the child (Spinrad & Gal, 2018), promoting a secure attachment relationship (Cassidy, 2008), which in turn facilitates pro-social displays of concern for others (Gross et al., 2017;Zhou et al., 2002). Moreover, following the tenets of social learning theory (Bandura & Walters, 1963), warm parents are thought to display more pro-sociality themselves, which elicits PSB in children via modelling Spinrad & Gal, 2018). ...
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 1 year later. Results showed that higher parental warmth was related to higher concurrent pro-social 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.
... Cotney and Banerjee (2019) and Davis et al. (2017) found that possessing high moral values motivated prosocial behavior in school students. Curry et al. (2018) and Gross et al. (2017) concluded that, concern for others boosted prosocial behavior in university students and motivated moral behavior in children (Dunfield et al., 2019), promoting helping, sharing, and acts of comfort. Schott et al.'s (2019) findings signified that interpersonal altruism motivated young police officers towards prosocial behavior. ...
Drawing upon the theories of empathy‐altruism and planned behavior, this study investigated beliefs about the factors that motivate prosocial sentiments among people in the privileged class of Pakistan during the COVID‐19 pandemic. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 31 participants who were deemed to be members of the privileged class within the class system of Pakistan. The results revealed nine themes including social interaction, peer influence, role models, collectivism, vicarious emotions, religiosity, capability, volition, and education.
... During these life stages, anxiety and avoidance attachment have been associated with emotional and behavioral problems (Brumariu et al., 2018), difficulties in emotional regulation and low prosocial behaviors (Gross et al., 2017). ...
This study aimed to validate the Spanish version of the Experiences in Close Relationships–Relationship Structures questionnaire (ECR–RS; Fraley et al., 2011). This instrument measures the two-dimensional structure of attachment (anxiety and avoidance) in different relational domains (mother, father, and friends). The sample was composed of 795 pre-adolescents (49.1% girls), aged 9–14 (M=12.86; SD=1.28), who were randomly selected from seven Biscayan schools. The participants completed the measures of attachment, prosocial behavior, emotional and behavioral problems, and difficulties in emotional regulation. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the Spanish adaptation of the ECR–RS supported the original two-factor structure and was invariant across genders. Both attachment dimensions were positively associated with emotional and behavioral problems, and difficulties in emotional regulation, and were negatively correlated with prosocial behavior. Gender differences were found in friends, mother, and global measures, in which boys scored higher than girls in anxiety and girls higher than boys in avoidance. This study demonstrated that the Spanish adaptation of the ECR–RS for pre-adolescents is a reliable and valid instrument to measure anxiety and avoidance attachment in different relational domains
... Children and youth who possess a secure attachment with parents are more likely to expect that other social partners are trustworthy and believe they are valued by these partners. In turn, they may engage in behaviors to maintain these positively-oriented relationships by implementing social skills modeled by parents, such as empathy and sensitivity to a partner's needs, especially in times of distress (Booth-LaForce & Kerns, 2009;Gross et al., 2017;Laible, 2007). Relatedly, Italian fourth and fifth graders who scored higher on projective measures of secure attachment were rated by teachers as engaging in higher levels of prosocial behaviors (Zarrella et al., 2018). ...
Adolescence is a critical juncture in the development of prosocial behaviors, which contribute to the overall well-being of youth. Thus, it is important to understand how multiple socialization agents and self-regulation simultaneously foster prosocial behaviors. Using both variable-centered and latent person-centered approaches, the current study examined the relative, concurrent contribution of multiple socialization agents (parent, peer, and teacher attachment) and self-regulation on Taiwanese adolescents’ global prosocial behaviors. This study included 1473 Taiwanese high school students (50.4% junior high schoolers, 57.9% females, M age = 14.87 years) who completed measures of parent, peer, and teacher attachment, self-control, and prosocial behaviors. Four profiles emerged from the person-centered approach. The profile with highest scores on self-control and all measures of attachment reported the highest prosocial behaviors. The other three profiles differed in their attachment patterns but demonstrated roughly similar levels of self-control. Among the three profiles, the groups with the lowest scores on prosocial behaviors appeared to have low to moderate attachment quality, whereas the group with high peer attachment scored significantly higher in prosocial behaviors than the other two groups. Results from the variable-centered approach found no direct effects of parent attachment on prosocial behaviors, though effects of self-control and peer and teacher attachments were evident. Our findings suggest that the quality of attachment and self-regulation commonly promote prosocial behaviors in youth. Furthermore, peer and school-based relationships may serve as unique and salient socialization contexts for prosocial behaviors during adolescence. Limitations and recommendations for future research were discussed.
... Rights reserved. experiences and affects (attention, self-esteem, social competence) (Commodari, 2013;Gross et al., 2017). It can be claimed that forgiveness is one of these positive experiences (Lawler-Row et al., 2006). ...
The ultimate goal of life is happiness, according to Plato. Perhaps the most critical questions in the life of human beings have been on happiness and processes that affect happiness. The present study was planned during the COVID-19 pandemic; perhaps human beings are most needed for happiness. The original hypothetical model and the findings constitute the powerful and different aspects of the present study. This study determined a hypothetical model to examine the relationships among happiness, forgiveness, emotional reactivity, and emotional security. The participant group of the study consists of a total of 916 individuals from Turkey, 617 women, and 299 men. The age scale of the participants is between 18-25. Participants completed the Heartland Forgiveness Scale, the Emotional Security Scale, the Emotional Reactivity Scale, and the Oxford Happiness Scale. Mediation analysis was conducted using Hayes’ (2017) process macro. According to the proposed model in the study, emotional reactivity mediates the relationship between forgiveness and happiness. As the individual’s forgiveness increases, their emotional reactivity decreases, and as the emotional reactivity decreases, the individual’s level of happiness increases.
... Sicher gebundene Kinder zeigen die höchsten Werte innerhalb der Skala "Prosoziales Verhalten" und die geringsten Werte in allen negativ ausgerichteten Skalen. Wenngleich wenig Klarheit über die Motive des gesteigerten Altruismus' herrscht -beispielsweise könnten hier soziale Skripte aus den Bindungserfahrungen der Kinder wirken oder schlicht Erwartungen an einen Mehrwert für das Individuum vordringlich seinentspricht die Wahrnehmung sicher gebundener Kinder als prosozial weitgehend den bisherigen empirischen Befunden(Gross et al., 2017). Auch die niedrigen Werte in den anderen Skalen überraschen nicht, da sich sicher gebundene Kinder in der Regel durch bessere Schulleistungen und ein geringeres Ausmaß an Verhaltensauffälligkeiten auszeichnen.Auch für unsicher-ambivalente Kinder ergibt sich ein theoriekongruentes Bild.Neben relativ hohen Werten im Bereich des prosozialen Verhaltens, zeigen sich auch in den Skalen "Überforderung", "Wut/Aggression", "Klammern" und "Vernachlässigung" höhere Werte als sichere Kinder. ...
Die Bindungstheorie und daraus resultierende Annahmen und Diagnostika haben aufgrund ihrer breiten empirischen Absicherung auch weit über die Tradition der Psychoanalyse hinaus ihren Platz in Theorie und Praxis gefunden. Im Bereich der Bindungsdiagnostik sind gegenwärtig vermehrt projektive Verfahren, Interviewverfahren oder Fragebogenverfahren im Einsatz, die entweder zeit- und kostenintensiv in der Durchführung sind oder den Gegenstand Bindung nur unzureichend abbilden. Die hier vorgestellte Untersuchung begegnet dem Forschungsfeld der Bindungsdiagnostik durch die Nutzung impliziter Verfahren. An 15 Kindern aus dem Förderschwerpunkt Lernen und 70 einer Regelgrundschule wurden implizite Einstellungen zu Mutter und Vater, sowie zur Präferenz von Nähe und Spiel erhoben und in Zusammenhang zur Bindungsorganisation gesetzt. Dabei wird aufgezeigt, dass implizite Einstellungen, gemessen durch den Impliziten Assoziationstest (IAT), in einem engen Zusammenhang mit der Bindungsorganisation stehen und deshalb auch für bindungsdiagnostische Prozesse von Relevanz sein können.
... On the other hand, negative attachment experiences in the parent-child relationship can lead to mistrust in both it and future relationships (Bolen, 2000). Overall, the theory has been widely used to predict children's future patterns and behaviors in relationships (Gross et al., 2017;Twemlow et al., 2011) and serves as a basis for understanding the importance of relationships in children's development. ...
Despite growing attention to resilience following childhood maltreatment, it remains unclear how the development of resilience unfolds over time among child welfare-involved adolescents. Further, little is known about the immediate and enduring effects of two important attachments in children’s lives, namely caregiver–child relationship and deviant peer affiliation, on resilience development over time. This study sought to examine the ways in which caregiver–child relationships and deviant peer affiliation shape developmental trajectories of resilience among child welfare-involved youth. Data were drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. Latent growth curve modeling was conducted on a sample of 711 adolescents. The results revealed that adolescents’ resilience increased across a 36-month period since initial contact with Child Protective Services. Better caregiver–child relationships were associated with a higher initial level of resilience among adolescents, whereas higher deviant peer affiliation was associated with a lower initial level of resilience. Significant lagged effects were also found; caregiver–child relationship quality and deviant peer affiliation at baseline were associated with resilience at 18 months after. The findings suggest that interventions that aim to promote positive caregiver–child relationships and prevent deviant peer relationships may help foster resilience among adolescents who have experienced child maltreatment.
... Prosocial behavior (PB) refers to spontaneous and intentional behaviors that bring benefits to others, such as helping, comforting, cooperating, and caring for others (Eisenberg and Miller, 1987;Gross et al., 2017). PB can enhance the welfare of both the recipient and the actor. ...
Filial piety is a concept originated from ancient China which contains norms of children’s feelings, attitudes, and behaviors toward their parents. The dual filial piety model (DFPM) differentiated two types of filial belief: reciprocal vs. authoritarian filial piety (RFP vs. AFP). Recent scholars suggest that the functions of filial piety may differ across cultures. This study examined the mediating effects of empathy, moral identity, gratitude, and sense of indebtedness in the relationship between filial piety and prosocial behavior (PB) and the moderating effects of nation. Questionnaires measuring filial piety, PB, moral identity, gratitude, and sense of indebtedness were administrated to Chinese and Indonesian participants. Moderated mediation modeling was conducted to analyze data. The results showed that empathy, moral identity, gratitude, and a sense of indebtedness have significant mediating effects in the association of filial piety and PB. And nation served as a moderator. (1) RFP could promote PB via enhanced empathy, moral identity, gratitude, and a sense of indebtedness, both among Chinese and Indonesian participants, while AFP did the same job only among Indonesian participants. (2) Among Chinese participants, AFP was not directly associated with PB, but was negatively associated with PB via reduced gratitude and a sense of indebtedness. (3) Nation (China vs. Indonesia) moderated the direct or indirect effect of RFP/AFP on PB, with RFP exerting stronger positive effects on outcome variables among Chinese (relative to Indonesian) participants and AFP exerting stronger positive effects on outcome variables among Indonesian (relative to Chinese) participants. These results showed that RFP can promote prosocial development by the cultivation of empathy, moral identity, gratitude, and a sense of indebtedness, regardless of whether the participants grew up in China or other cultural backgrounds. But the effect of AFP on PB was significantly conditioned by culture. This suggests that the function of RFP may be a cultural universal. However, the mechanisms that AFP influences PB can differ considerably across cultures. Findings of this study further indicate that filial piety beliefs may facilitate prosocial development in the ways conditioned by cultures.
... A final core tenet of attachment theory is that individual differences in attachment shape development across the life span. Data in diverse samples show that secure attachment predicts a host of positive outcomes, such as lower rates of psychopathology (Fearon et al., 2010;Groh et al., 2012); emotional and physiological self-regulation of stress (Calkins & Leerkes, 2011;Cassidy, 1994;Cassidy et al., 2013); social competence and positive peer relationships (Groh et al., 2017); and increased empathy (Stern & Cassidy, 2018) and prosocial behavior (Gross et al., 2017;Shaver et al., 2016; for evidence in a majority African American sample of preschoolers, see Beier et al., 2019). ...
Recent social movements have illuminated systemic inequities in U.S. society, including within the social sciences. Thus, it is essential that attachment researchers and practitioners engage in reflection and action to work toward anti-racist perspectives in the field. Our aims in this paper are (1) to share the generative conversations and debates that arose in preparing the Special Issue of Attachment & Human Development, “Attachment Perspectives on Race, Prejudice, and Anti-Racism”; and (2) to propose key considerations for working toward anti-racist perspectives in the field of attachment. We provide recommendations for enriching attachment theory (e.g. considering relations between caregivers’ racial-ethnic socialization and secure base provision), research (e.g. increasing the representation of African American researchers and participants), and practice (e.g. advocating for policies that reduce systemic inequities in family supports). Finally, we suggest two relevant models integrating attachment theory with perspectives from Black youth development as guides for future research.
... Spinrad & Eisenberg (2017) suggest that temperamental factors such as shyness and emotionality can affect prosocial development. In addition, social influences such as attachment relationships (Gross et al., 2017), parental modeling (Eisenberg et al., 2015), and a caring community that inspires youth to learn (Schaps, 2003) are important elements that support the development of compassion. Many youths in juvenile corrections may not have had these favorable antecedent conditions in early childhood in which extra care, support, and safety need to be fostered in order for the youth to be open to cultivating the skills and qualities of compassion. ...
The youth corrections system is in need of reform. Emerging work from the field of positive criminology is working to shift the focus from retribution and risk management to strengths building and positive youth development. Research suggests, targeted strategies from positive psychology can provide youth with opportunities to counteract the potentially deleterious effects of incarceration, especially as adolescent neurobehavioral development offers a ripe opportunity for positive interventions that enhance wellbeing. Strengths-based compassion, the proposed positive intervention described within, uses mindfulness, character strengths, and the cultivation of compassion to improve self-regulation and self-discipline, increase self-esteem, improve social skills, and reduce recidivism. The proposed eight-week program is designed through a trauma-responsive lens that has been adapted for youth in a correctional facility and creates the potential for revolutionary change in the hearts and minds of young offenders. This change positions youth on a productive path in which they desist from future criminal activity and increase pathways for flourishing in their lives after incarceration.
... A second potential explanatory mechanism linking early attachment and positive peer relationships in middle childhood is children's use of prosocial behaviors in interactions with peers. In addition to possessing IWMs that support trust and engagement with others, secure children may be better equipped to regulate their own distress in ways that support greater empathy and helping behavior (Gross et al., 2017). ...
This chapter discusses two leading middle- level theories within evolutionary psychology, which attempt to explain both how and why parenting influences child development across the life span. First, it presents an overview of one of the most influential evolutionary theories in developmental psychology: John Bowlby’s attachment theory. Attachment theory revolutionized the way people understand the nature of the parent–child bond, framing the parent as not just a provider of physical needs but also as a secure base for emotional and psychological needs. These early- life bonds between the caregiver and infant are further proposed to form the basis for relationship attachments across the life span. Next, the chapter addresses how competing strategies toward resource allocation can influence individual differences in parental investment and sensitivity. According to life history theory, differences in the caregiving environment, in turn, promote the formation of distinct reproductive strategies, resulting in behavioral, social, and physiological differences across child development.
... As psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD, is prevalent among YMOC who have experienced adversity, ACEs lead to differences in social development as well. Social development is highly dependent upon attachment to caregivers (Gross et al., 2017). That is, children who experience secure attachment with caregivers are more likely to exhibit prosocial behaviors. ...
Despite the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision ending school segregation in 1954, African American children and other children of color still experience severe and adverse challenges while receiving an education. Specifically, Black and Latino male students are at higher risk of being placed in special education classes, receiving lower grades, and being suspended or expelled from school. Although adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and the negative outcomes associated with experiencing them, are not specific to one racial or ethnic group, the impact of childhood adversity exacerbates the challenges experienced by male students of color at a biological, psychological, and sociological level. This article reviews the literature on how ACEs impact the biopsychosocial development and educational outcomes of young males of color (YMOC). A strengths-based perspective, underscoring resilience among YMOC, will be highlighted in presenting strategies to promote culturally responsive intervention with YMOC, focused professional development, and advocacy in the school counseling profession.
... If that happens, the child constructs negative expectations about the self (e.g., not worthy of love and affection) and others (e.g., perceives others as not supportive) which leads him/her to be less successful in their future social interactions, namely lower social competence. Further, the literature supports the association of attachment to prosocial behavior (e.g., Gross et al., 2017) and emotional regulation (e.g., Calkins, 2004) as well as a working model of the self and competence and social acceptance (e.g., Verschueren et al., 1996) in children. Although, we could argue that this explanation based on attachment theory (Ainsworth & Bowlby, 1991) applies mainly to younger children, especially infants, because that is when the attachment bond and working models are shaped. ...
This study aimed to test the possible moderating role of parents’ emotional stability on the relationship between parent distraction with technology and child social competence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data used in the study were collected in May 2020 when extensive restrictive measures, labeled as lockdown, were present in Croatia. Data on technoference in parenting, parents’ problematic phone tendencies, and child social competence were collected using an online questionnaire from parents (n = 281) of children aged 3 to 14 years. The results show a significant negative effect of overall technoference in parenting on child social competence. This negative effect was significantly moderated by parents’ emotional stability, as expected. Medium and high levels of parents’ emotional stability buffer the negative effect of low technoference in parenting on child social competence. Results imply technoference in parenting negatively affects child development, but the emotional stability of parents can be a protective factor.
... On the other hand, attachment with parents has been identified as a critical factor to influence children's mental health (Herrenkohl et al., 2012). A sizable body of literature proved that a favorable parent-child attachment positively predicted life satisfaction (Tepeli-Temiz & Tari-Comert, 2018), prosocial behavior (Gross et al., 2017), and negatively predicted problem behaviors (Rehder et al., 2020). Further, Petrov and Dafinoiu (2018) found that parent-child attachment also showed a significant prediction to the well-being of children whose parents were working abroad. ...
Due to the lack of parental care, the issue of left-behind children (LBC)’s mental health has been highlighted in the academic field. In LBC’s families, a large proportion of fathers migrated to other cities for work. Migrated fathers’ involvement also has crucial impacts on children’s development, but previous studies focused less on it. Thus, using the longitudinal data of two waves, current study examined the relationship between fathers’ involvement and the LBC’s mental health from the perspective of the Dual-Factor Model of Mental Health and its underlying mechanism. A total of 613 LBC at primary schools in China completed questionnaires twice about fathers’ involvement, paternal and maternal attachment, life satisfaction, prosocial behavior, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems. The results showed that the total effects of fathers’ involvement on LBC’s life satisfaction and prosocial behavior were significant, while those on problem behaviors were insignificant. Also, father-child attachment played a mediating role in the association between fathers’ involvement and the positive indicators of LBC’s mental health. Meanwhile, mother-child attachment mediated the relationships between fathers’ involvement and LBC’s problem behaviors. The study not only highlights the positive influence of fathers’ involvement on LBC as well as the relations among different subsystems in the family but also implies the different effects of paternal and maternal attachment on LBC’s mental health, which brings inspiration for improving the mental health of LBC in China.
... Specifically, children who are securely attached to their primary caregivers are more prosocial and sympathetic toward others than insecurely attached children Van der Mark et al., 2002). Insecurely attached children may tend to be disinterested in others' states or over-aroused with their own personal distress when seeing another in distress (Gross et al., 2017). It is unclear if secure attachments in adolescence facilitate prosocial behavior beyond the benefits already conferred by secure attachment foundations in early childhood, and longitudinal studies of adolescent attachment and subsequent prosocial behavior show mixed results (see Hastings et al., 2015). ...
Moral development is not only a property and process of the individual child, but it is also a deeply social phenomenon (Mascolo and Fasoli, 2020). The concept of socialization offers insight into the social nature of moral development. In particular, the concept of socialization draws our attention to the contexts and processes of moral development, highlighting how moral development happens through social interactions with others.
If moral development happens through social interactions with others, what kinds of social interactions should we look at? Most socialization research looks at interactions that immediately involve children (i.e., the “micro-context” in Bronfenbrenner's 1979 theory). In particular, research has focused on interactions with parents (especially mothers), peers, and friends as primary processes of moral development socialization. The current entry recognizes this focus in the literature, by broadly reviewing research on these “micro” contexts. Additionally, however, given the focus of this encyclopedia section on communities and neighborhoods, this entry addresses the role of communities in shaping children's moral development and socialization. Given my own expertise as a cultural-developmental psychologist, I address communities in terms of cultural communities in particular. Furthermore, my discussion of cultural communities emphasizes the ways in which culture infuses children and youth's everyday and immediate social interactions with parents, friends, and peers.
Crucially, socializing interactions do not simply “reign in” (for better or worse) the pre-moral tendencies of the individual child (Thompson, 2020). Instead, socializing interactions channel and transform individuals’ pre-moral impulses into a moral system of rationalized values and a sense of one's own self as a moral agent, whose behavior is guided by these values. The opportunity and challenge for socialization research is to link these social-interactional processes (what is happening between individuals) with psychological processes (what is happening within an individual). Different theoretical traditions have conceptualized these links in very different ways, and a goal of this entry is to provide readers with a sense of the different ways moral socialization has been researched and what we know as a result. These different theoretical traditions are discussed within the context of three main aspects of moral development socialization, which organize this entry: moral reasoning, moral behaviors, and moral selfhood. I begin with moral reasoning, reviewing cognitive-developmental perspectives, social domain approaches, and perspectives from cultural psychology. I then turn to moral behaviors, which has been studied predominately through the theoretical lenses of parenting styles and practices, attachment theory, and social-cognitive learning theories. These same theoretical perspectives have been used to study one of the two main aspects of moral selfhood—moral identity and its precursor, moral conscience. I review this research and then turn to the second aspect of moral selfhood, moral agency, drawing on research from narrative perspectives. At the end of each subsection, I address “translational implications” by summarizing the socialization processes that can be conceptualized as protective factors, in the sense that they support the moral development of children and youth in positive directions within their cultural communities.
... Past research examining the relation between morality and attachment does reveal such individual differences (see Gross, Stern, Brett, & Cassidy, 2017;Shaver et al., 2016 and; for reviews). For example, when comparing children who have a secure attachment bond with their mother to those with an insecure attachment, secure children line up more clearly with the expectations of a moral infant, such as preferring prosocial characters over antisocial ones (Raggio, Hendi, Modesti, Presaghi, & Nicolais, 2015), expecting caregivers to be responsive to an infant's cries (Johnson et al., 2010), complying more to their mother's commands (Londerville & Main, 1981), and being more empathetic and prosocial (Kim & Kochanska, 2017). ...
Infants care for and are cared for by others from early in life, a fact reflected in infants' morality and attachment. According to moral core researchers, infants are born with a moral sense that allows them to care about and evaluate the actions of third parties. In attachment theory, care manifests through infants' relationships with caregivers, which forms representations called internal working models that shape how babies think, feel, and act. Although accumulating evidence supports the existence of a moral core directed toward others, nevertheless, without a notion of care connected to infants' own lives, the core is an incomplete and underpowered construct. We show how the moral core, like attachment, could emerge in first-and second-person working models that develop through social interaction and incorporate representational forms (embodied, social, cognitive, emotional , moral), which contribute to the emergence of third-person representations and give infants' moral sense its vitality and meaning.
... Subscriber: OUP-Reference Gratis Access; date: 09 October 2019 the development of children's competencies (e.g., empathy, emotional regulation), which in turn encourage or underlie the development of helping and other prosocial outcomes (e.g., Brownell, Svetlova, Nichols, & Drummond, 2013;Gross, Stern, Brett, & Cassidy, 2017). ...
A large body of empirical work has shown the role that parenting plays in the develop ment of prosocial behaviors of children. Parenting styles (e.g., democratic versus authori tarian) and parenting practices (e.g., inductive discipline versus guilt-shame induction) in particular have been empirically linked to prosocial behaviors as well as numerous other well-being indicators in children. What is less understood is how culture and cultural con text might play in the parenting-prosocial nexus. This chapter explores the contributions of culture comparative and in-depth cultural studies of parenting and children’s prosocial behaviors. These studies extend the range of variability of parenting dimensions and con texts as they relate to children’s prosocial outcomes – providing a means of testing the generalizability of theory in a wider range of settings, as well as in identifying facets of parenting and family life that may otherwise be neglected in current scholarship. Collec tively, various studies support traditional socialization theories and show how numerous parenting dimensions (e.g., firmness, responsiveness, warmth) are linked to prosocial out comes in children in several cultural communities.
... Complementary to this, we found that prosocial behavior was the only variable that predicted adherence to treatment in NSSI. Our results are corroborated by the direct association between prosocial behavior and secure attachment (Gross et al., 2017;Mikulincer & Shaver, 2015) and the fact that secure attachment has already been related to a better adherence to treatment in certain pathologies (Benett et al., 2011;Ciechanowski et al., 2001, Timlin et al., 2015. NSSI has been associated with insecure attachment (Cassels et al., 2019;Martin et al., 2017;Tatnell et al., 2014), hence working on establishing a trusting relationship and prosocial behavior should be a priority. ...
The main aim of the current study is to examine the demographic and clinical factors that predict a continuity of the use of Mental Health Services (MHS) in adulthood by subjects who have engaged in non-suicidal-self-injury behaviors (NSSI) and have been followed in MHS in their teen years. A cohort of 147 participants was selected from an original sample of 267 adolescent patients recruited from the Child and Adolescent Outpatient Psychiatric Services. Patients were divided into two groups: those who had engaged in NSSI (NSSI-group), and those who had not (non-NSSI-group). Rate of use of MHS in adulthood was calculated for both groups and univariate analyses and binary logistic regression analysis were applied. In the NSSI-group, two factors appeared to influence a continuity of the use of MHS in adulthood. Prosocial behavior was associated with a greater use of MHS in adulthood whereas behavioral problems were associated with less use. Only prosocial behavior was maintained in the regression model as a predictor. Our findings could have implications for clinical practice with NSSI patients and highlight the importance of working on specific areas that could prevent treatment abandonment in the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
... modelación de la auto-regulación, entre otros (ver Tabla N°3)(Cole & Packer, 2016;Gross, Stern, Brett, & Cassidy, 2017;Fundación Paniamor, 2016; UNICEF, 2017). Dossier: V Simposio Internacional y IX Nacional sobre Derechos de la Niñez y la Adolescencia La Revista Estudios es editada por la Universidad de Costa Rica y se distribuye bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 3.0 Costa Rica. ...
Resumen: Esta ponencia es una invitación a hacer un análisis crítico desde el Modelo Somos Familia de la Fundación Paniamor, para promover el imperativo de una crianza centrada en las necesidades, deseos y capacidades de las niñas y los niños. Desde esta intención se suman las ideas y principios del enfoque de derechos de las niñas y los niños, paradigma de la nueva niñez y crianza respetuosa, como respaldo que reafirma que el vínculo seguro y una crianza empática son el fundamento de una agencia ciudadana desde la primera infancia. Comprendiendo a la vez, que la eliminación del castigo físico y trato humillante es solo uno de los pasos para practicar una crianza respetuosa, ya que además se requiere la participación real de las niñas y los niños.
... However, when in an emergency, there is only one individual alone, that person feels he has a sense of responsibility to provide help to other individuals. Environmental density factors could also influence prosocial behavior, thus impacting on individual social behavior, which results in reduced prosocial behavior [16]. Environmental conditions also influence helping behavior for individuals. ...
Perilaku sosial anak seharusnya dikembangkan sejak dini. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui ada atau tidaknya peningkatan dalam pengembangan model garden-based learning untuk meningkatkan perilaku prososial anak usia dini. Jenis penelitian ini adalah penelitian dan pengembangan yang mengadaptasi model ADDIE, dengan subjek penelitian sebanyak 33 anak usia 5-6 tahun. Analisis data yang digunakan adalah uji nonparametric dan uji Wilcoxon Signed Rank. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan negative ranks antara hasil pretest dan posttest adalah 0, nilai ini menunjukan tidak adanya penurunan nilai pretest ke posttest. Positif ranks antara hasil pretest dan posttest mengalami peningkatan, mean rank tersebut adalah 17.00, nilai Ties 0 maka tidak adanya nilai yang sama antara pretest dan posttest. Diketahui Asymp.sig (2.tailed) bernilai 0.000, hipotesis diterima karena nilai 0.000 0.05, artinya ada perbedaan nilai pretest dan posttest, disimpulkan pengembangan model garden-based learning mampu meningkatkan perilaku prososial anak usia dini
This study examined the effectiveness of child-centered group play therapy (CCGPT) and narrative therapy in reducing separation anxiety disorder (SAD) and boosting social-emotional behaviours in early childhood (2.5-4-year-olds). An 8-week-randomized controlled trial design with three intervention groups, i.e. CCGPT, narrative therapy, and a combination of both interventions (i.e. combined group), and one control group that provided data at a pre-test and post-test, was adopted. A total of 48 children who showed signs of SAD participated in the study. Results showed that compared to the control group, CCGPT and combined group interventions showed a lower separation anxiety level. Children in all three intervention groups showed lower behavioural problems and higher prosocial behaviours than the control group. The findings suggest that the three interventions could be effective selective psychotherapy methods to promote social-emotional competencies. The CCGPT and combined group, particularly, were effective psychotherapy methods for reducing SAD in early childhood.
This study focused on (1) whether dimensions of relationship quality (i.e., closeness, conflict, and dependency) jointly form distinct relationship patterns in a normative sample of upper elementary schoolers (N = 1078), (2) the extent to which patterns observed in the normative sample could be found in a problematic sample (N = 241) consisting of children that teachers experienced relationship problems with, and (3) whether children's gender, ethnicity, and behavior problems are related to relationship patterns. Three relationship patterns were found in the normative sample: A supportive pattern (73.2%), a mildly insecure pattern (17.6%), and a dysfunctional pattern (9.2%). Most children from a problematic sample could be assigned to one of these patterns with high certainty, providing evidence for validation of normative patterns in a more problematic sample. The distribution of children over the relationship patterns differed significantly between samples. Boys and children with problem behavior were overrepresented in unfavorable patterns.
Attachment has a fundamental role in the development of empathy, which helps people interact with others and prevents aggressive behaviors. It is believed that having a secure attachment can promote empathy. However, there is no clear evidence about the relationship between insecure attachment styles and empathy. Therefore, a meta-analysis was performed to clarify the relation between different types of attachment and empathy from late children to adults (9-47 years). It was conducted using 14 studies (11542 participants) for the secure attachment, 7 studies (3115 participants) for the avoidant, and 8 studies (3479 participants) for the anxious-ambivalent. Results indicated that secure attachment was positively correlated with em-pathy, avoidant attachment was negatively correlated, and anxious-ambivalent attachment had an inconclusive relationship. Whereas the results obtained for the secure and avoidant attachment with empathy are consistent with literature, the inconsistencies in anxious-ambivalent style may be due to a duality of feelings experienced by these individuals, who go from high levels of empathy (to be accepted) to low levels of empathy (to avoid distressing emotions). We suggest broadening the limit in age, include the multidirectional nature of empathy, as well as the effect of gender and different sorts of affiliations (parents, couples) for future studies.
Perilaku prososial merupakan tindakan positif yang dilakukan individu untuk menolong atau menguntungkan individu atau kelompok individu lain. Orangtua memiliki peran penting dalam membentuk kepribadian dan perilaku anak. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan antara kelekatan aman orangtua-anak dengan perilaku prososial pada siswa SMPNegeri 27 Semarang. Populasi pada penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas VIII SMP Negeri 27 Semarang dengan sampel penelitian adalah 162 siswa dengan karakteristik siswa kelas VIII dan tinggal bersama orangtua. Teknik pengambilan sampel yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah teknik cluster random sampling. Metode pengumpulan data dalam penelitian ini menggunakan Skala Kelekatan Aman Orangtua-anak (24 aitem, α= 0,886) dan Skala Perilaku Prososial (29 aitem, α= 0,870). Analisis data menggunakan regresi sederhana mendapatkan hasil yang menunjukkan adanya hubungan positif dan signifikan antara kelekatan aman orangtua-anak dengan perilaku prososial pada siswa (rxy = 0,436 dengan p = 0,000). Artinya semakin tinggi kelekatan aman orangtua-anak, maka semakin tinggi perilaku prososialnya. Kelekatan aman orangtua-anak memberikan sumbangan efektif sebesar 19,1% terhadap perilaku prososial pada siswa.
This study aims to examine how the authoritative parenting style influences young adult children’s prosocial behaviour through self-regulation (i.e. cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression). Using survey data collected from Chinese young adults (N = 307), 19 to 25 years old, we conducted regression and bootstrap analyses. The results revealed that the authoritative parenting style was associated with cognitive reappraisal and prosocial behaviour but not expressive suppression. Also, cognitive reappraisal correlated to prosocial behaviour and had a partial mediation between authoritative parenting and prosocial behaviour. Implications for social work and social policies are also discussed.
Background:
Although prior research shows supportive evidence that parental practices are associated with adolescents' prosocial behaviors, limited evidence exists on the effects of parents' use of social and material rewards on distinct forms of prosocial behaviors, and the mediating effects of sociocognitive and socioemotive traits in these relations.
Aims:
The present study was designed to examine the longitudinal relations among parents' use of social and material rewards, youth prosocial traits, and prosocial behaviors.
Materials & methods:
Participants were 417 adolescents (M age = 14.70 years; 225 girls) from Valencia, Spain who completed surveys on parents' use of social and material reward practices, prosocial moral reasoning, empathic concern, and six types of prosocial behaviors.
Results:
Path analyses showed that parents' use of social rewards was indirectly, positively related to emotional, dire, altruistic, public (negatively), and compliant prosocial behaviors via empathic concern. The use of social rewards was also indirectly positively linked to altruistic prosocial behaviors via both empathic concern and prosocial moral reasoning. In contrast, parents' use of material rewards predicted less prosocial moral reasoning, which in turn, was linked to more altruistic, prosocial behaviors.
Discussion and conclusions:
The implications for parental socialization and self-determination theories of prosocial and moral development are discussed.
Dishonesty is ubiquitous and imposes substantial financial and social burdens on society. Intuitively, dishonesty results from a failure of willpower to control selfish behavior. However, recent research suggests that the role of cognitive control in dishonesty is more complex. We review evidence that cognitive control is not needed to be honest or dishonest per se, but that it depends on individual differences in what we call one’s ‘moral default’: for those who are prone to dishonesty, cognitive control indeed aids in being honest, but for those who are already generally honest, cognitive control may help them cheat to occasionally profit from small acts of dishonesty. Thus, the role of cognitive control in (dis)honesty is to override the moral default.
Емоционална регулација је компонента емоционалне интелигенције која је јако битна за развој јединке и квалитет живота. Кроз одрастање, у односу са породицом, вршњацима и на крају са партнерима, учимо да каналишемо емоционална искуства и градимо карактеристичне афективне стилове. Циљ овог рада је испитати да ли постоји међузависност фигура афективне везаности у предикцији афективних стилова на узорку младих одраслих девојака које су тренутно у партнерској вези и које нису (264 испитаница). Инструменти који су коришћени су: Упитник за процењивање партнерске, пријатељске и породичне афективне везаности – ПАВа, ПАВб и ПАВц (Каменов, Јелић 2003) и Упитник афективних стилова ASQ (Hofmann, Kashdan 2010). Потврђена је повезаност између афективних стилова и афективне везаности за све три испитиване фигуре као и предикторска моћ неких димензија афективне везаности у објашњењу афективних стилова. Иницијалне претпоставке овог рада су делимично потврђене, али резултати указују на теоријске и практичне импликације које би радовима у будућности могли бити допуњени.
Introduction. The attachment is viewed as the base for assessment of individual adaptation variation throughout life. In the capacity of the core indicator of the person’s unison with external environment, the psychological well-being combines the different aspects of child life. The assessment of the psychological well-being is based on three indicators: evidence of life satisfaction; life quality assessment; difficulty levels of external and internal spectrum.
The aim of the current publication is to investigate the influence of features of attachment to mother on psychological well-being of primary school-age children.
Methodology and research methods. The methodological research framework was based on the main provisions of the attachment theory (J. Bowlby, M. Ainsworth). “Mother-Child Attachment Style Measure Questionnaire” method (Pupyreva, 2007) was employed to identify attachment features. The measure of psychological well-being was carried out by means of “Student’s Life Satisfaction Scale” (Toporkova, Slobodskaya et al., 2015), “Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory” and “Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire” (Goodman, Slobodskaya, Knyazev, 2005) methods. 178 primary school-age children (85 boys and 93 girls) aged 10 to 11 (mean age = 10.2) participated in the research.
Results. The analysis of the results showed that secure attachment among children reduces life satisfaction, facilitates the behavioural disorders and psycho-emotional reactions, impacts on limitation of social contacts and life quality. Using the regression analysis, it was revealed that the quality of the correlation between attachment indicators and psychological well-being vary depending on degree of attachment security. It is demonstrated that maternal responsiveness and attentiveness is an absolute predictor of life satisfaction, physical and social well-being and life quality in the primary school-age period, irrespective of the child’s attachment types. The absence of mother-child closeness is the predictor for disruption of physical, emotional and social functioning, low level of life quality in insecure attachment in primary school-aged children.
Scientific novelty. The specificity of psychological well-being of primary school-aged children with different types of attachment to their mother is determined. It is shown for the first time that characteristics of attachment are the predictors of life satisfaction, quality of life, and mental health of primary school-aged children.
Practical significance. By identifying different regression models for the description of psychological well-being on the basis of child-mother attachment indicators, it may be possible to provide interventions to improve psychological well-being based on the characteristics of attachment.
Attachment was examined as a predictor of teens’ empathic support for friends in a multimethod longitudinal study of 184 U.S. adolescents (58% Caucasian, 29% African American, 13% other) followed from ages 14 to 18. Adolescents’ secure state of mind regarding attachment at 14 predicted teens’ greater capacity to provide empathic support during observed interactions with friends across ages 16–18 (Baverage = .39). Teens’ empathic support was generally stable during this period, and less secure teens were slower to develop these skills. Further, teens’ attachment security predicted the degree to which friends called for their support (Baverage = .29), which was associated with teens’ responsiveness to such calls. The findings suggest that secure attachment predicts teens’ ability to provide empathic support in close friendships.
L’objectif de la thèse concerne l’identification des relations existantes entre les différents styles d’attachement et le développement des compétences socio-émotionnelles comme la régulation émotionnelle et l’empathie à l’âge adulte. Selon une perspective multidimensionnelle, la régulation émotionelle, l’empathie affective et l’empathie cognitive peuvent être envisagées comme des composantes en interaction présentant des trajectoires développementales et des perturbations différentes selon l’histoire relationnelle de l’individu. L’influence des expériences d’attachement sur le développement des capacités empathiques peut ainsi être caractérisée à différents niveaux allant des processus cognitifs et émotionnels aux réponses physiologiques. Dans la première étude, l’objectif était d’évaluer l’influence des styles d'attachement sur les stratégies et difficultés de régulation émotionnelle et sur les dimensions cognitive et affective de l'empathie chez l’adulte. Les résultats ont mis en évidence des scores plus élevés de détresse personnelle et de fantaisie chez les individus insécures-anxieux que chez les individus sécures et insécures-évitants. Les résultats ont également révélé que les individus ayant un attachement anxieux rapportaient davantage de difficultés de régulation émotionnelle que les individus sécures et insécures-évitants. En outre, les analyses en modélisation PLS-PM ont mis en évidence que le rôle médiateur de la régulation émotionnelle dans la relation entre l'attachement et l'empathie variait selon les styles d'attachement et les dimensions de l'empathie. L’objectif de notre seconde étude était d’examiner les effets des styles d’attachement (sécure, insécure-anxieux et insécure-évitant) sur l’activation physiologique (i.e. activité électrodermale) au cours d’une tâche d’empathie cognitive (i.e. prise de perspective de soi et d’autrui) en réaction à des situations socio-émotionnelles d’attachement (situations de détresse, de réconfort et d’interactions neutres ; BAPS ; Szymanska et al., 2015). Concernant les situations de détresse, les résultats ont montré que dans la condition de prise de perspective de soi, les individus insécures-anxieux présentaient des réponses physiologiques plus élevées que les individus sécures. Concernant les situations de confort, les individus insécures-anxieux ont présenté des réponses physiologiques plus élevées que les individus sécures en condition de prise de perspective d’autrui. Les analyses corrélationnelles ont également mis en évidence une association négative élevée entre les scores de prise de perspective et les réponses physiologiques chez les individus sécures. Les résultats de nos deux études suggèrent que la perception des expériences d’attachement est associée à des compétences socio-émotionnelles différentes comme l’empathie et la régulation émotionnelle. Ces différences sont associées à des réponses physiologiques spécifiques face à9des situations socio-émotionnelles d’attachement. Ainsi, l’analyse des expériences d’attachement est un axe de travail majeur, tant pour le développement des protocoles de recherche scientifique que pour les applications thérapeutiques. Des perspectives de recherches et d’applications cliniques et thérapeutiques s’ouvrent et seront donc discutées au regard de ces conclusions.
To gain a comprehensive understanding of adolescent psychological, social, and academic functioning, we employ a variety of positive and negative indicators (indexed by subjective well-being, problem behavior, prosocial behavior, and academic achievement) to explore adolescent adjustment profiles. Furthermore, we investigate the direct and interactive associations of peer attachment and Zhong-Yong thinking (i.e., Doctrine of the Mean) with these emerging adjustment profiles. A sample of 1759 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 12.61, SD = 1.50; 51.1% girls) was involved in the present research. Adolescents were uniformly instructed to complete a battery of self-report questionnaires during public school hours, and their academic achievement was measured by self-report grades in mathematics, Chinese, and English. The results of a latent profile analysis showed four adjustment profiles: adaptive, irresponsive, maladaptive, and ambivalent. Moreover, the results of a multiple multinomial analysis showed that adolescents with secure peer attachment and high levels of Zhong-Yong thinking were likely to be the memberships of the adaptive profile. In addition, interaction analysis revealed that in the context of peer attachment security, adolescents with low (instead of high) levels of Zhong-Yong thinking were more likely to be the memberships of the adaptive profile than the ambivalent profile; by contrast, in the context of peer attachment insecurity, adolescents with high levels of Zhong-Yong thinking were more likely to be the memberships of the adaptive profile than the ambivalent profile. The current study expands prior research by presenting a comprehensive and person-centered view of adolescent adjustment patterns. Moreover, the study is pioneering in examining the direct and interactive associations of peer attachment and Zhong-Yong thinking with adolescent adjustment profiles, highlighting the compensatory interplay of these variables on adolescent adaptive functioning.
This study investigated the motivational and social-cognitive foundations (i.e., inequality aversion, in-group bias, and theory of mind) that underlie the development of sharing behavior among 3- to 9-year-old Chinese children (N = 122). Each child played two mini-dictator games against an in-group member (friend) and an out-group member (stranger) to divide four stickers. Results indicated that there was a small to moderate age-related increase in children's egalitarian sharing with strangers, whereas the age effect was moderate to large in interactions with friends. Moreover, 3- to 4-year-olds did not treat strangers and friends differently, but 5- to 6-year-old and older children showed strong in-group favoritism. Finally, theory of mind was an essential prerequisite for children's sharing behavior toward strangers, but not a unique predictor of their sharing with friends. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development
Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969/1982, 1973, 1980) is, at its core, a theory of prosocial behavior. It explains how, in early childhood, interactions with mindful, caring, and supportive parental figures (“attachment figures”) create and solidify children’s positive mental representations of others (as competent, dependable, and well intentioned), their pervasive sense of safety and security, and their ability to recognize, acknowledge, and regulate emotions. The theory has been supported by decades of developmental research, summarized in this volume, which implies the existence of an intergenerational transmission of security (or insecurity) that potentially creates a continuing crossgenerational stream of prosocial behavior—or its absence. The extension of the theory to some of the topics encountered in the broader psychological literature on prosocial behavior—empathy, compassion, generosity, forgiveness, and altruism (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2010, 2012) —is quite natural, and in recent years it has been accomplished in studies of the prosocial behavior of children, adolescents, and adults.
Our purpose in this chapter is to highlight attachment-related research on prosocial behavior in different phases of the lifespan. We begin with a brief explanation of how the theory’s basic concepts relate to prosocial attitudes, motives, emotions, and behavior. This explanation is summarized in a conceptual model of the association between parental sensitive responsiveness on one hand, and a child’s empathy and prosocial behavior on the other, mediated by the child’s attachment security, internal working models (IWMs), and effective emotion regulation. We follow the theoretical introduction with two major sections on prosocial emotions and behavior in childhood and in adulthood. We conclude the chapter with suggestions for future research involving children and adults.
Prosocial behavior is considered an important dimension of positive development. Although previous research suggests the quality of children’s early relationships may influence prosocial behaviors, the specific contributions of mother, father and teacher to children’s prosocial behavior have been less examined. This is a cross-sectional study that investigates (a) the combined associations between mother–, father– and teacher–child relationships, and prosocial behavior in 168 children aged 36–72 months, and (b) the mediating role of the teacher–child relationship in the association between the parent–child relationship and prosocial behavior. Results suggested a positive link between the quality of relationships with early caregivers and children’s prosocial behavior. The quality of both father– and teacher–child relationships were found to have a direct association with children’s prosocial behavior. The quality of the mother–child relationship was indirectly linked to children’s prosocial behavior, via the teacher–child relationship. Results suggesting connections between multiple relational contexts were discussed based on the notion of internal working models proposed by attachment theory. Mothers’ and fathers’ contributions to children’s prosocial behavior were also discussed considering differences on relational styles and changing roles of mothers and fathers from dual-earner families.
Although it is hypothesized that children with different insecure attachment patterns may experience a variety of peer difficulties, the question has been investigated almost exclusively for externalizing and internalizing behaviors with peers. The purpose of this study was to investigate how each of the insecure attachment patterns is related to other features of peer relationships using data from the NICHD SECC (N = 1,140 families). Secure children were rated by mothers and teachers as less excluded by peers than avoidant and disorganized children, although the latter was only significant for boys. No behaviors were uniquely associated with ambivalent children. Avoidant children were rated high by mothers and teachers on asocial behavior, and lowest by teachers on relational aggression. Disorganized children were rated low by mothers on prosocial behavior and high on peer victimization as reported by mothers and teachers. Teachers rated disorganized children as showing higher levels of relational aggression than securely- and ambivalently-attached children. The pattern of findings revealed mixed evidence for the specificity hypothesis.
The propensity of humans to engage in prosocial behavior is unlike that of any other species. Individuals will help others even when it comes at a cost to themselves, and even when the others are complete strangers. However, to date, scant empirical evidence has been forthcoming on young children's altruistic tendencies. To investigate this 45 4-year-olds were presented with a task in which they had opportunity to help an adult confederate retrieve a reward from a novel box. In a control condition children were given no information about the effect of potential helping behavior. Alternatively they were informed that helping would either cost them (i.e., they would miss out on getting the reward) or benefit them (i.e., they would get the reward). It was hypothesized that children would be less likely, and slower, to help in the cost condition, compared to the other two conditions. This hypothesis was not supported: children across all conditions provided help at near ceiling levels.
Theory and empirical research suggest that parental scaffolding of children's participation in chores may contribute to the development of early helping. Sixty mother–child dyads with toddlers between 18 and 24 months of age were assessed on two measures of scaffolding (during a cleanup chore; reading an emotionally laden book together). Children's helping was assessed in five tasks with an experimenter, and children were also assessed for social approach to an unfamiliar adult as a measure of sociability, and for internal state language as a measure of social understanding. Both mothers' scaffolding of everyday helping and children's sociability uniquely predicted individual differences in children's helping. Thus, individual differences in children's helping appear early, and are associated with both temperament and with parents' efforts to support and encourage young children's helpfulness.
The present prospective study examined the prediction of prosociality from effortful control and ego-resiliency from late adolescence to emerging adulthood. Participants were 476 young adults (239 males and 237 females) with a mean age of 16 years (SD = .81) at T1, 18 years (SD = .83) at T2, 20 years (SD = .79) at T3, 22 years (SD = .81) at T4, and 26 years (SD = .81) at T5. Controlling for the stability of the examined variables and the effect of potential confounding variables (i.e., sex, socioeconomic status [SES], and age), results supported a model in which a temperamental dimension, effortful control, positively predicted a specific behavioral tendency (i.e., prosociality) indirectly through mediation by a personality factor (i.e., ego-resiliency). Practical implications of the results are discussed in terms of the importance of early prevention efforts designed to enhance the capacity to cope effectively with emotional reactions and difficult situations.
The development and maintenance of prosocial, other-oriented behaviors has been of considerable recent interest. Though it is clear that prosocial behaviors emerge early and play a uniquely important role in the social lives of humans, there is less consensus regarding the mechanisms that underlie and maintain these fundamental acts. The goal of this paper is to clarify inconsistencies in our understanding of the early emergence and development of prosocial behavior by proposing a taxonomy of prosocial behavior anchored in the social-cognitive constraints that underlie the ability to act on behalf of others. I will argue that within the general domain of prosocial behavior, other-oriented actions can be categorized into three distinct types (helping, sharing, and comforting) that reflect responses to three distinct negative states (instrumental need, unmet material desire, and emotional distress). In support of this proposal, I will demonstrate that the three varieties of prosocial behavior show unique ages of onset, uncorrelated patterns of production, and distinct patterns of individual differences. Importantly, by differentiating specific varieties of prosocial behavior within the general category, we can begin to explain inconsistencies in the past literature and provide a framework for directing future research into the ontogenetic origins of these essential social behaviors.
The current study examined the influence of multiple factors on individual differ- ences in empathy; namely, attachment, negative emotionality, and emotion regulation. A total of 63 mothers completed the Attachment Q-set and questionnaires about their children’s empathy, negative emotionality, and emotion regulation when children were 3 years old. Prosocial behavior was observed during a baby-cry procedure. Results of path analyses indicated that a model with attachment predicting empathy through the mediation of emotion regulation was the best fit for the data. Specifically, more-secure children were rated higher in emotion regulation and, consequently, higher in empathy. Furthermore, the optimal model was used to test empathy as a predictor of observed prosocial behavior. Here, children higher in empathy were observed to behave more prosocially. Overall, the results support the notion that more-secure children are more empathic because they are better emotion regulators.
The relation of preschool and kindergarten children's vicarious emotional responding to their social competence, regulation (attentional and coping styles), and emotionality (negative emotional intensity and dispositional negative affect) was examined. Vicarious responding was assessed by means of facial reactions to a film about a peer in a social conflict and children's reported negative affect to viewing peers' real-life negative emotion. Mothers and teachers reported on children's regulation and emotionality, social competence was assessed with sociometric nominations, teachers' reports, and observations of children's real-life anger reactions. Facial concerned attention during the film was associated with various measures of social competence, regulation, and low or moderate negative emotionality. Although negative vicarious emotional responding in real contexts was infrequently related to measures of interest, girls who reported intense negative vicarious emotional responses were relatively unregulated and low in social competence. Finally, with age, regulation of vicarious emotional responding was increasingly related to children's sociometric status and to girls' coping at school. Thus, as they get older, children's abilities to regulate emotions may take on increasing importance in others' evaluations of their social competencies.
The implications of the attachment relationship between children and their preschool teachers was investigated. Sixty-two preschool-age children and their teachers were studied to assess relations between the quality of attachment relationships and social competence. Results indicate that attachment security with teacher is related to prosocial behavior and teacher-rated social competence in the preschool. In addition, evidence suggests that when the child–mother attachment relationship is insecure, a secure attachment relationship with a preschool teacher may partially compensate for the insecure relationship. Children who were insecurely attached to mother but securely attached to teacher had higher teacher-rated social competence, were more prosocial, and were more positive emotionally than children who were insecurely attached to both mother and teacher.
Five studies examined the effects of priming the secure base schema on intergroup bias. In addition, Studies 1-2 examined the effects of dispositional attachment style, Studies 2-5 examined a mood interpretation. Study 3 examined the mediating role of threat appraisal, and Studies 4-5 examined the effects of secure base priming while inducing a threat to self-esteem or cultural worldview. Secure base priming led to less negative evaluative reactions toward out-groups than positive affect and neutral control conditions. In addition, whereas the effects of secure base priming did not depend on attachment style and were not explained by mood induction, they were mediated by threat appraisal and occurred even when self-esteem or cultural worldview was threatened. The discussion emphasizes the relevance of attachment theory for understanding intergroup attitudes.
Because motivations for prosocial actions typically are unclear, sometimes even to actors but especially for observers, it is difficult to study prosocial motivation. This article reviews research that provides evidence regarding children's motives for prosocial behaviors. First, we present a heuristic model to classify motives on the dimension of reflecting altruistic (with the ultimate goal of benefiting another) to egoism (the ultimate goal of benefiting the self) goals; in addition, we briefly discuss classifying motives based on a continuum of morality. Next, we review findings indicating the existence of a number of different motives in our model and briefly discuss developmental issues, when possible. Future directions for the study of prosocial motivation are proposed. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development
Previous work has revealed that secure parental attachment promotes prosocial behaviors, but its underlying mechanism is less commonly explored. Drawing upon Bowlby’s attachment theory, the current study examined the role of self-control in the link between parental attachment and prosocial behaviors. Six hundred and seven Chinese adolescents participated in the study completing measures that assessed parental attachment, self-control, and prosocial behaviors. Results showed that secure maternal attachment, rather than paternal attachment, was directly related to more prosocial behaviors in total sample and girls. Importantly, self-control mediated the links between both maternal and paternal attachment and prosocial behaviors across sex. In conclusion, self-control partly addresses how individuals who report being securely attached to parents engage in more prosocial behaviors.
Evidence that adverse rearing environments exert negative effects particularly on children presumed "vulnerable" for temperamental or genetic reasons may actually reflect something else: heightened susceptibility to the negative effects of risky environments and to the beneficial effects of supportive environments. Building on Belsky's (1997, 2005) evolutionary-inspired proposition that some children are more affected-both for better and for worse-by their rearing experiences than are others, we consider recent work on child vulnerability, including that involving measured genes, along with evidence showing that putatively vulnerable children are especially susceptible to both positive and negative rearing effects. We also consider methodological issues and unanswered questions in the differential-susceptibility equation.
Expressions of concern and caring for others begin in the first years of life and are hallmarks of our humanity. Under certain conditions, they become costly and selfsacrificial as they interfere with children's self-expression, and social and emotional development. Parental depression can heighten children's overinvolvement in parental problems, evoking empathy-based feelings of guilt, anxiety, and personal failure, since children are unable to take care of their parents. These are breeding grounds for depression, and girls are at particular risk. Because girls are often more socially engaged with depressed parents, especially mothers, they are more likely than boys to feel burdened, anxious, and depressed. Empathy-based guilt generates negative cognitions and self-defeating actions implicated in the development of depression.
The current study examined relations between preschool children’s attachment pattern and their sharing behavior. To this end, 26 German children aged 5 years (15 girls) were first administered the attachment story completion task to assess their attachment pattern and the degree of their attachment security. Immediately thereafter, they participated in an established paradigm, a minidictator game, that assessed their inclination to share costly as well as noncostly with a friend, a disliked other, and a stranger. Analyses showed that degree of attachment security was positively correlated with children’s generosity towards a disliked other and their inclination to engage in costly sharing. Moreover, the absence of an organized attachment pattern was related to a general decrease in generosity towards all recipients. The results point to the functional role of children’s attachment for the early development of sharing behavior.
Many researchers have shown the importance of parent attachment in childhood and adolescence. The present study extends the attachment literature to African Americans involved in the juvenile justice system (N = 213), and provides an initial inquiry using person-oriented methods. The average age was 16.17 years (SD = 1.44), and the sample was predominantly male (71%). Results of a confirmatory factor analysis of Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment-Short Form (IPPA-S) scores supported a 3-factor model: (a) Communication, (b) Trust, and © Alienation. Model-based clustering was applied to IPPA-S scores, and results pointed to 4 perceived parental security profiles: high security, moderately high security, moderately low security, and low security. In keeping with our hypotheses, IPPA-S profiles were associated with prosocial behaviors, depression, anxiety, and oppositional defiance. Contrary to hypotheses, IPPA-S profiles were not associated with perspective taking, emotional concern, or behaviors characteristic of a conduct disorder. Results also showed that gender, age, family member with whom the participant resides, charge severity, and offense history did not have an effect on IPPA-S clustering. Implications for therapeutic jurisprudence in African Americans involved with the juvenile justice system are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record
The authors call for a broad agenda to create comprehensive models and research on the development and promotion of empathy and compassion. This wish would lead to a new level of developmental/ecological understanding of the growth of compassion as well as effective policies and practices and interventions that nurture caring, compassion, and service to others in our schools and communities. The authors define empathy and compassion, briefly discuss the outline of early developmental processes, and call for basic research on these essential aspects of human development. The authors conclude by discussing the need to develop new ways to promote empathy and compassion in families, schools and communities.
Three studies explored the connection between attachment and peer-related representations. Children heard stories in which a peer with ambiguous intent caused a negative event. Study 1 examined three aspects of peer-related representations in 3 1/2-year-olds: representations of (a) peer intent, (b) behavioral responses to the event, and (c) peer feelings. Children's representations of the mother's response to the event were also examined. Study 2 examined the connection between attachment and the same aspects of peer-related representations in kindergarten and 1st-grade children. The proposition implicit in attachment theory that it is children's representations of peer relationships that in part account for the connection between child-parent attachment and relations with peers was also tested. Study 3 focused on representations of peer intent in connection with self-reported maternal and paternal rejection in 5th graders.
Recent theoretical work has highlighted potential links between interpersonal collaboration and group membership in the evolution of human sociality. Here we compared the effects of collaboration and minimal-group membership on young children's prosocial behavior (i.e., helping and resource allocation), liking, affiliation, and trust. In a design that matched as closely as possible these two ways of connecting with others, we showed that 5-year-olds' behavior was affected similarly by collaboration and minimal-group membership; both increased children's preference for their partners on multiple dimensions and produced overall effects of a similar magnitude. In contrast, 3.5-year-olds did not have a strong preference for either collaborators or minimal in-group members. Thus, both collaboration and minimal-group membership are similarly effective in their influence on children's prosocial behavior and social preferences.
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