María Vicenta Mestre

Are women more empathetic than men?: a longitudinal study in adolescence

Since the 1970s there has been a growing interest in analysing sex differences in psychological variables. Empirical studies and meta-analyses have contributed evidence on the differences between male and female individuals. More recently, the gender similarities hypothesis has supported the similarity of men and women in most psychological variables. This study contributes information on womens greater empathic disposition in comparison with men by means of a longitudinal design in an adolescent population. 505 male and female adolescents aged between 13 and 16 years were evaluated at two different moments (grade 2 and grade 3, lower secondary education). They completed the Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents by Bryant and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index by Davis. The results confirm a greater empathic response in females than in males of the same age, differences growing with age. The sizes of the effect estimated in the second evaluation (average age 14 years) are large for emotional empathy and medium for cognitive empathy.

The longitudinal relations among dimensions of parenting styles, sympathy, prosocial moral reasoning, and prosocial behaviors

Developmental scholars assert that parents are important in fostering prosocial behaviors in adolescents, but longitudinal investigations on this topic are limited. Participants consisted of 372 boys and 358 girls with a mean age of 10.84 years (SD = 1.57) at Wave 1 from a mostly middle class community in Spain. Across three successive years, participants completed measures of fathers’ and mothers’ warmth and strict control, sympathy, prosocial moral reasoning, and self- and peer-reported prosocial behaviors. Results showed that parental warmth, sympathy, and prosocial moral reasoning were predictive of prosocial behaviors. Further analyses showed bidirectional effects such that early prosocial behaviors predicted later parenting and adolescents’ prosociality. Findings lend support to cognitive-developmental and moral internalization models of prosocial development.

The protective role of prosocial behaviors on antisocial behaviors: the mediating effects of deviant peer affiliation.

Prosocial behaviors, actions intended to help others, may serve a protective function against association with deviant peers and subsequent delinquent and antisocial behaviors. The present study examined the relations among specific types of prosocial behaviors, deviant peer affiliation, and delinquent and aggressive behaviors. Six hundred and sixty-six adolescents (46% girls; M age = 15.33, SD = .47) from Valencia, Spain completed questionnaires of prosocial behaviors, affiliation with deviant peers, antisocial behaviors, and aggression. Results showed that antisocial behaviors were negatively related only to specific forms of prosocial behaviors. Further analyses showed that deviant peer affiliation mediated the relations between compliant prosocial behavior and delinquency and aggression. Although altruism was not directly related to delinquency and aggression, it was indirectly linked to the behaviors via deviant peer affiliation. Discussion focuses on the relevance of specific forms of prosocial behaviors to antisocial behaviors and the risk of deviant peers for prosocial youth.

Parental Expectations and Prosocial Behavior of Adolescents From Low-Income Backgrounds A Cross-Cultural Comparison Between Three Countries—Argentina, Colombia, and Spain

Parental expectations are influenced by cultural models, which in turn are subject to a great influence from historically fluctuating features of the socioeconomic background. Parental expectations seem to be linked to children’s social and emotional development in terms of empathy and prosocial behavior. The current study aims to (a) compare low-income adolescents’ perceptions of parental expectations of prosocial and antisocial behavior across three Latin countries (Argentina, Colombia, and Spain), (b) compare the empathy and prosocial behavior between the three countries, (c) compare the prosocial behavior between the three countries, and (d) study the effect of perceived parental expectations and empathy on the prosocial behavior of adolescents in all three of the countries studied in this research. The sample was made up of 446 Argentinean adolescents, 474 Colombian adolescents, and 632 Spanish adolescents. The Expected Parental Reactions Scale, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and Prosocial Behavior Questionnaire were used to measure the variables included in this study. Results reveal considerable differences between children’s perceptions of parental expectations in different countries. Results also show the existence of significant differences between male and female adolescents. In all three countries, girls score more highly than boys in prosocial behavior and empathy. Furthermore, we find that low-income Argentinean adolescents score more highly than Spanish and Colombian adolescents in prosocial behavior measures. Finally, expected parental reactions toward prosocial behavior and empathy seem to have an influence on the adolescents’ development of prosocial behavior in all three countries.

The structure and correlates of a measure of prosocial moral reasoning in adolescents from Spain

The study was designed to examine the structure and correlates of a measure of prosocial moral reasoning in a sample of young and middle-aged adolescents. Participants were 1,556 students (53% male, M age = 13.12 years, SD = 0.87) from Valencia, Spain, who completed paper-and-pencil measures of prosocial moral reasoning (PROM), empathy, prosocial behaviours, and aggression. As expected, a series of confirmatory factor and structural equation modelling analyses revealed a four-factor solution of the PROM to have the best fit (as compared to alternative models) among Spanish youth (across gender and grade). Moreover, higher level and other-oriented forms of prosocial moral reasoning were generally positively related to empathy and prosocial behaviours, and negatively related to aggression. In contrast, generally, lower level and self-focused modes of prosocial moral reasoning were negatively related to such prosocial tendencies, and positively related to aggression. Discussion focuses on the usefulness of the PROM, its relations to theoretically relevant correlates, and its usefulness to study the development and universality of prosocial moral development.

Psychometric Evidence of a Multidimensional Measure of Prosocial Behaviors for Spanish Adolescents

ABSTRACT Prior theories and scholars rarely distinguished between distinct forms of prosocial behaviors (i.e., actions intended to benefit others) and most scholars operationalize prosocial behaviors as a global construct. Furthermore, stringent tests of psychometric properties of prosocial behavior measures are rare, especially in countries other than the United States. The present study was designed to examine the structure and functions of a multidimensional measure of prosocial behaviors in youth from Spain. Six hundred and 66 adolescents (46% girls; M age = 15.33 years, SD = 0.47 years) from Valencia, Spain, completed the Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised (PTM-R), measures of sympathy, perspective taking, and a global measure of prosocial behavior. Results showed that the hypothesized 6-factor structure of the PTM-R had good fit, the best fit model as compared to alternative models, and that there were several unique patterns of relations between specific forms of prosocial behaviors and sympathy, perspective taking, and the global measure of prosocial behavior. Furthermore, although there were significant gender differences in some forms of prosocial behaviors, the structure of the PTM-R was equivalent across gender. Discussion focuses on the implications for theories and measurement of prosocial behaviors.