Longitudinal paths between parents' use of rewards and young adolescents' moral traits and prosocial behaviors.

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.

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.

Emotional regulation in the classroom: detection of multiple cases from systematic observation.

Introduction: Emotional education is learned by living with others. This study analyzes how different actors participate in the classroom, influencing students' emotional regulation. Methods: Using a mixed methods approach [structured in macro-stages QUAL-QUAN-QUAL], 9 classes in three Chilean schools with children aged 10 to 12 are systematically observed. The audio-recorded sessions are transcribed (qualitative data) for coding from the observation instrument, and then, once the data quality is verified, they are analyzed quantitatively (quantitizing). A lag sequential analysis is performed to detect regularities and existing sequences, and a polar coordinate analysis is performed to observe the relationships among the categories in each class. Results: Once the results of the analyses have been obtained, similarities are sought to detect the presence of multiple cases based on the two analysis techniques. The multiple cases detected are presented, detailing how interactions between teachers and students contribute to the emotional regulation and climate in the daily life of the classroom. Discussion: The interpretation of the results makes it possible to revisit the qualitative aspect of the mixed methods and to discuss the need to problematize the role of teachers in students' development and autonomy.

Development and Validation of the Adolescent and Children Risk of Abuse and Maltreatment Unaccompanied Scale (ACRAM-US).

Independent migration of children and adolescents is becoming a political and social issue in recent years. Literature documents that the migration process of young people without an adult referent entail serious psychological problems. Moreover, the lack of coherence in the assessment and care processes aggravates the damage suffered by minors, which requires a greater investment of institutional resources. The aim of this research is to describe the development and provide psychometric properties of Adolescent and Children Risk of Abuse and Maltreatment Unaccompanied Scale (ACRAM-US), a 9-items scale for the assessment of risks factors of child abuse and neglect in the specific population of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and adolescents. Structural validity, reliability and convergent-related validity were studied for this measure in a sample of 128 unaccompanied children and adolescents. The sample included cases of 14 different nationalities. Children's mean age was 16.94 (SD = 1.84), and 96.9% were male and 3.1% were female. Cases were informed by child welfare workers from different protective services in the XXXX Community (XXXX). The results of Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA) indicate performance better solution with 2-dimensions which was also in line with theoretical formulation (χ 2 = 31.55, df = 19, p = .035, CFI = 0.991, SRMR = 0.081, RMSEA = 0.072, [90% CI: 0.019 - 0.115]). Results of convergent validity showed significant correlation with the Children Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF). Therefore, this study provides data of the first scale that assess risks factors of maltreatment for the unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and adolescents.

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 women's 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.

Parents or Peers? Predictors of Prosocial Behavior and Aggression: A Longitudinal Study.

The aim of this longitudinal study was to determine the associations among peer attachment, warmth from the mother and father, strict control by the mother and father, prosocial behavior, and physical and verbal aggression in adolescence. Few longitudinal studies have examined how peer attachment and parenting styles of the mother and father relate to prosocial behavior and aggression. Participants were 192 boys and 255 girls (M = 14.70 years; SD = 0.68) in wave 1. In the study participated 11 schools. For three successive years, participants reported on their fathers' and mothers' warmth and strict control, peer attachment, prosocial behavior, and aggression. Structural equations modeling was employed to explore two longitudinal models. Results show the influence of the mother and father on prosocial and aggression during adolescence. In addition, strong peer attachment predicted prosocial behavior in subsequent years. Therefore, the findings indicate that despite the increasingly important role of friends during the transition from childhood to adolescence, parenting styles play a key role in the personal and social development of their children. Programs aimed at preventing aggression should be designed considering the importance of stimulating and strengthening prosocial behavior, peer attachment and a family environment of affect, support and communication.

Psychological processes and family variables as prosocial behavior predictors in a sample of Spanish adolescents.

A review of personal and family variables that regulate prosocial behavior is based on a sample of 1,433 Spanish adolescents (ages 9 to 13; 743 boys and 690 girls) who were assessed on the Prosocial Reasoning Objective Measure, the Physical and Verbal Aggression Scale, the Emotional Instability Scale, the State-Trait Anger Inventory, the Child's Report of Parental Behavior Inventory, the Prosocial Behavior Scale, and the Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents. Discriminant analyses showed that empathy, self-control in anger-provoking situations, and affection in family relationships are the best predictors of prosocial behavior.

[Adaptation of Child's Report of Parent Behavior Inventory for a Spanish population]. / Adaptación del Child's Report of Parent Behavior Inventory a población española.

This study presented an adaptation in Spanish of the Child's Reports of Parental Behavior Inventory (CRPBI) . The CRPBI is an instrument that allows us to assess family discipline perceived by children in the relation with their mothers and with their fathers. It's considered a good instrument to assess the perceptions that children have of parent behavior. The Spanish adaptation has been carried out with a sample of 1,274 Spanish adolescents (males and females) from different educational centers of the Valencian Community (13-18 years). The results show that affect, support and control are the main dimensions in the perceived child rearing styles of parents in our population.

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

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.

[Parenting and children's aggression: are there differences in the influence of the father and the mother?]. / Crianza y agresividad de los menores: ¿es diferente la infl uencia del padre y de la madre?

Child rearing provides messages and rules that mediate the children's personality. These messages have a positive or negative influence on their behaviour. The objective of this empirical study was to analyse the relationship between physical and verbal aggression of sons and daughters and parenting style practiced by the father and the mother. The sample consisted of 2,788 students, aged 10 to 15 years, studying either the third cycle of Primary Education (44%) or the first cycle of Secondary Education (56%). Of them, 1,412 were boys (50.6%) and 1,375 were girls (49.3%). The results show that children's aggressiveness is more related to factors associated with the mother's parenting. In the case of daughters, the influence of parenting factors are caused by both parents (father and mother).

Evaluación del rol de variables intelectuales y socioemocionales en la resolución de problemas en la adolescencia / Evaluation of the Role of Intellectual and Socioemotional Variables in Solving Problems in Adolescence

El objetivo del estudio es analizar las variables cognitivas, emocionales y socio familiares que alcanzan un mayor poder predictor del afrontamiento eficaz en la adolescencia. Han participado 532 estudiantes de 3° curso de enseñanza secundaria obligatoria, (edad media: 14.45 años y SD= 0.763). Los ANOVA realizados muestran diferencias de género en las variables evaluadas. Los análisis de regresión indican que el apoyo de los demás y la percepción del estrés como un reto y desafío son las variables con mayor poder predictor del afrontamiento centrado en la resolución del problema. Por el contrario, la inteligencia general, la empatia y el apego con los iguales no alcanzan ningún peso significativo en los mecanismos de afrontamiento ante un problema en la adolescencia.

The aim of this research is to analyze cognitive, emotional, and socio-family variables to determine which of these factors have the greatest predictive power to predict effective coping mechanisms among adolescents forced to resolve problems. The sample is made up of 532 students in the third stage of compulsory secondary education (mean = 14.45 years old; SD = 0.763). Using ANOVA, we show the existence of gender differences for the variables under study. Furthermore, regression analysis indicates that the support of others and the perception of stress as a challenge are the variables with the greatest power to predict a coping mechanism when resolving a problem. In contrast, general intelligence, empathy, and attachment to peers have no significant weighting in the prediction of coping mechanisms among adolescents faced with problems.

Emociones, estilos de afrontamiento y agresividad en la adolescencia / Emotions, Coping Style and Aggression during Adolescence

Este estudio analiza la relación entre las estrategias de afrontamiento y las emociones para determinar en qué medida son procesos relacionados con la conducta agresiva. Se parte del supuesto de que en la agresividad influyen los mecanismos de afrontamiento en la resolución de problemas y el manejo de las emociones: inestabilidad emocional (falta de autocontrol ante situaciones que producen tensión) o empatía (sentimientos orientados al otro que tiene un problema o necesidad). Se ha evaluado una muestra de 1.557 niños y niñas, con un rango de edad entre 12 y 15 años, escolarizados en primer ciclo de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (ESO) en 36 Centros escolares de la Comunidad Valenciana, seleccionados aleatoriamente. Los resultados indican claras diferencias entre los sujetos con alta y baja agresividad y los mecanismos de afrontamiento que utilizan, los adolescentes más agresivos utilizan en mayor medida un afrontamiento improductivo, mientras que los menos agresivos aplican estrategias más centradas en la resolución del problema. En todos los modelos de ecuaciones estructurales, el efecto directo de la inestabilidad emocional y la empatía sobre la agresividad es significativa, siempre positivo en el primer caso pero negativo en el segundo. Además, la empatía favorece el afrontamiento centrado en la resolución del problema, mientras que la inestabilidad emocional se relaciona positivamente con el afrontamiento improductivo y este con la agresividad.

This study assesses the relation between coping strategies and emotions to know to what extend these are processes related to aggressive behavior. We assume that the aggression influence coping mechanisms in solving problems and handling of emotions: emotional instability (lack of self-control in stressful situations) or empathy (feelings faced to "other" who has a problem or need). A sample of 1.557 boys and girls, with an age range of 12-15 years, enrolled in first-cycle of Compulsory Secondary Education in 36 Scholar Centers in the Valencian Community, randomly selected, was evaluated. The results indicate clear differences between high and low aggression and coping mechanisms that they use. More aggressive adolescents used to a greater extent an unproductive coping, while less aggressive adolescents apply strategies more focused on solving the problem. In all structural equation models, the direct effect of emotional instability and empathy on aggression is significant, always positive in first case but negative in the second one. Besides, empathy promotes coping centered on the resolution of the problem whereas emotional instability is positively related to unproductive coping and this one with aggression.

Estilos de crianza en la adolescencia y su relación con el comportamiento prosocial / Rearing styles in adolescence: their realtion with prosocial behavior

The work shows two studies carried out with Spanish adolescents. The objective was to evaluate the relation between rearing styles, prosocial behaviour and empathy, aggressiveness, emotional instability and anger, from a double perspective. In one of these studies (N = 531), the rearing styles were evaluated by the mother and in the other one (N = 782) by the adolescents. The results indicate that prosocial behaviour is not well predicted by the mother's analysis of rearing style. A positive evaluation by the son or daughter, an interest and emotional support and coherence in the application of norms, constitutes the rearing style most related with empathy and with prosocial behaviour.

El trabajo muestra dos estudios realizados con adolescentes españoles cuyo objetivo es estudiar la relación entre los estilos de crianza, el comportamiento prosocial y la empatía, la agresividad, la inestabilidad emocional y la iradesde un doble planteamiento:en uno de los estudios (N = 531) la evaluación de los estilos de crianza la realiza la madre y en el otro (N = 782), los adolescentes. Los resultados indican que cuando es la madre quien evalúa los estilos de crianza, éstos alcanzan menor poder predictor en el comportamiento prosocial. La evaluación positiva del hijo/a, el apoyo emocional junto con la coherencia en la aplicación de las normas es el estilo de crianza más relacionado positivamente con la empatía y con el comportamiento prosocial.

Personalidad y contexto familiar como factores predictores de la disposición prosocial y antisocial de adolecentes / Personality and family contexts as predictors of prosocial and antisocial predisposition among adolescents

El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar variables de personalidad y familiares relacionadas con el comportamiento prosocial y con el comportamiento agresivo en la adolescencia, con especial interés en los procesos emocionales relacionados con la falta de control o la regulación emocional y los estilos de crianza que los adolescentes perciben por parte de sus padres. Se trata de un estudio empírico con 1.285 adolescentes (13-18 años de edad, 698 varones y 597 mujeres) seleccionados aleatoriamente. Los análisis discriminantes realizados indican que los procesos emocionales alcanzan una mayor correlación con el comportamiento agresivo, destacando la inestabilidad emocional y la disposición a respuestas de ira como los principales factores predictores de la agresividad; mientras que la empatia aparece como el principal predictor del comportamiento prosocial. Los estilos de crianza de los padres ocupan un segundo puesto en el perfil diferencial entre sujetos con alta y baja disposición prosocial, siguiendo a las variables personales, y prácticamente quedan desplazados por los procesos emocionales en la predicción del comportamiento agresivo