A longitudinal study of prosocial behaviors predicting later academic performance in US Latine early adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: Scholars have asserted and provided evidence on the developmental benefits of prosocial behaviors on later academic performance and well-being. However, research directly examining these links in US Latine early adolescents and work that explains the positive link between prosocial behaviors and academic outcomes is scarce. The present study investigated whether social skills and self-efficacy mediate the positive relations between prosocial behaviors and US Latine early adolescents' educational performance. METHOD: Participants were 543 low-income, US Latine middle school students (Mage = 11.7, SD = 0.73; 275 girls) attending after-school programs. Measures of prosocial behaviors, social skills, self-efficacy, and academic performance were administered at three-time points. RESULTS: Findings showed that prosocial behaviors were significantly and positively linked to later self-efficacy, which in turn, was subsequently positively linked to academic performance. In contrast, the paths among prosocial behaviors, social skills, and academic performance were not significant. CONCLUSION: The discussion focuses on the central role of self-efficacy in understanding the relations between prosocial behaviors and educational performance in US Latine early adolescents.

Measuring early adolescents' prosocial behavior toward diverse others: Considering multiple social identities.

INTRODUCTION: In a diverse society, individuals often need to make prosocial decisions toward others who vary on a range of intertwined social identities. Adolescence is a prime time to promote intergroup prosociality due to identity salience during this developmental stage. In this study, our goal was to develop and provide initial validation, of a novel measure on intergroup prosocial behavior considering gender and race/ethnicity. METHOD: We used two independent samples of early adolescents (N1 = 118, Mage = 12.21 years, 55% boys, 59% White collected nationally in the United States.; N2 = 133, Mage = 12.77, 51.1% boys, 77% White collected locally in Arizona). RESULTS: Using the data from Sample 1, Exploratory Factor Analyses revealed a two-factor solution capturing intergroup prosociality and personal distress. Confirmatory Factor Analyses with data from Sample 2 confirmed the factor structure. The reliability of intergroup prosociality was acceptable. Prosociality subscale was positively correlated with adolescents' empathy, sympathy, compliant, emotional, dire, and anonymous prosocial behaviors indicating convergent validity and negatively correlated with adolescents' public prosocial behavior indicating discriminant validity. Further, we examined whether youth engage in differential intergroup prosocial behavior using both variable-centered and person-centered approaches, combining data from Samples 1 and 2. While adolescents did not engage in differential intergroup prosocial behavior, Latent Profile Analyses revealed five distinct profiles of early adolescents' intergroup prosociality. Overall, this study advances research on youth's intergroup prosociality across two intersectional social identities, moving beyond the conceptualization of single social identities in intergroup research.

Self-control and cooperation in childhood as antecedents of less moral disengagement in adolescence.

Moral disengagement is a social cognition people use to engage in wrongdoings even when they know it is wrong. However, little is known about the antecedents that predict moral disengagement. The current study focuses on the development of self-control and cooperation during middle childhood as two antecedents of moral disengagement among 1,103 children (50% female; 77% White, 12% Black, 6% Hispanic, and 5% other). Children's self-control at age 8 and growth in self-control from age 8 to 11 were positively linked to adolescents seeing themselves as having self-control at age 15, which then predicted less moral disengagement at age 18. Children's cooperation at age 8 also was positively linked to adolescents' self-views of cooperation at age 15, which in turn, was associated with less moral disengagement at age 18. These findings demonstrate the potential of self-control and cooperation as intrapersonal and interpersonal strengths during middle childhood for mitigating moral disengagement 10 years later.

The intervening role of anxiety symptoms in associations between Self-Regulation and prosocial behaviors in U.S. Latino/a college students.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to investigate the intervening role of anxiety symptoms in relations between self-regulation and multiple forms of prosocial behaviors in U.S. Latino/a college students. PARTICIPANTS: The sample is based on data from a cross-sectional study on college students' health and adjustment. Participants were 249 (62% women; M age =20 years; 86% U.S. born) college students who self-identified as Latino/a. METHODS: College students self-reported on their self-regulation, anxiety symptoms, and types and targets of prosocial behaviors using online surveys. Path analyses were conducted to test direct and indirect associations among the study variables. RESULTS: Self-regulation was directly and indirectly associated with several types of prosocial behaviors via anxiety symptoms. The hypothesized associations also differed by the target of helping. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings underscore a strengths-based view of the coping and mental health resources that predict positive well-being among U.S. Latino/a college students.

The Intervening Roles of Shame and Guilt in Relations between Parenting and Prosocial Behavior in College Students.

Despite the importance of understanding the relations between parenting and youth's prosocial behavior, there is surprisingly little research focused on the relations among parenting practices, shame, guilt, and prosocial behaviors. The present study was designed to examine the intervening roles of shame and guilt in relations between parental support and psychological control and public and altruistic prosocial behaviors in college students. The participants were 304 (62.5% female, 76.3% European American, Mage= 18.71, SD = 0.92) college students. We found partial support for our hypotheses. Specifically, we found that parental psychological control was positively linked to shame which, in turn, was positively linked to public prosocial behaviors. In contrast, parental support was positively linked to guilt which, in turn, was positively linked to altruistic prosocial behaviors and negatively linked to public prosocial behaviors. Further, psychological control was directly and positively linked to public prosocial behaviors and negatively linked to altruistic prosocial behaviors. Parental support was directly and positively linked to public prosocial behaviors. Discussion will focus on the implications of the findings for theories of moral socialization and prosocial development.

The development of cooperation and self-control in middle childhood: Associations with earlier maternal and paternal parenting.

Developmental theories and previous research have emphasized the significance of cooperation and self-control in middle childhood. The present study extends previous research by examining (a) the growth of cooperation and self-control as well as the relations between them in middle childhood (third to sixth grade) and (b) the extent to which mothers' and fathers' parenting during early childhood (54 months and first grade) was associated with children's cooperation and self-control. The sample included 705 children (51% female, 86% White) and their mothers, fathers, and teachers in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD). Children, on average, exhibited increases in self-control but not cooperation from third to sixth grade though the increases were smaller for children who had higher self-control or cooperation at third grade. Children who exhibited higher self-control at third grade tended to exhibit higher cooperation at third grade; similar positive associations emerged for the changes in self-control and cooperation over time. In addition, if a child exhibited higher self-control at one time point relative to their typical average level, they tended to also exhibit higher cooperation at the same time point relative to their typical average level. However, these relative deviations within person were not associated over time. Lastly, maternal and paternal sensitive and stimulating parenting in early childhood was positively associated with children's cooperation and self-control in middle childhood. Overall, our findings shed light on the growth of and the relations between cooperation and self-control in middle childhood and highlight the role of maternal and paternal parenting in early childhood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Health risk assessment of volatile organic compounds at daycare facilities.

Children are particularly vulnerable to many classes of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) detected in indoor environments. The negative health impacts associated with chronic and acute exposures of the VOCs might lead to health issues such as genetic damage, cancer, and disorder of nervous systems. In this study, 40 VOCs including aldehydes and ketones, aliphatic hydrocarbons, esters, aromatic hydrocarbons, cyclic terpenes, alcohols, and glycol ethers were identified and qualified in different locations at the University of Missouri (MU) Child Development Laboratory (CDL) in Columbia, Missouri. Our results suggested that the concentrations of the VOCs varied significantly among classrooms, hallways, and playground. The VOCs emitted from personal care and cleaning products had the highest indoor levels (2-ethylhexanol-1, 3-carene, homomenthyl salicylate with mean concentration of 5.15 µg/m3 , 1.57 µg/m3 , and 1.47 µg/m3 , respectively). A cancer risk assessment was conducted, and none of the 95th percentile dose estimates exceeded the age-specific no significant risk levels (NSRL) in all classrooms. Dimensionless toxicity index scores were calculated for all VOCs using a novel web-based framework called Toxicological Prioritization Index (ToxPi), which integrates multiple sources of toxicity data. According to the method, homomenthyl salicylate, benzothiazole, 2-ethylhexyl salicylate, hexadecane, and tridecane exhibited diverse toxicity profiles and ranked as the five most toxic indoor VOCs. The findings of this study provide critical information for policy makers and early education professionals to mitigate the potentially negative health impacts of indoor VOCs in the childcare facilities.

Exposure to environmental toxicants and young children's cognitive and social development.

Background Understanding the role of environmental toxicant exposure on children's development is an important area of inquiry in order to better understand contextual factors that shape development and ultimately school readiness among young children. There is evidence suggesting negative links between exposure to environmental toxicants and negative physical health outcomes (i.e. asthma, allergies) in children. However, research on children's exposure to environmental toxicants and other developmental outcomes (cognitive, socioemotional) is limited. Objectives The goal of the current review was to assess the existing literature on the links between environmental toxicants (excluding heavy metals) and children's cognitive, socioemotional, and behavioral development among young children. Methods This literature review highlights research on environmental toxicants (i.e. pesticide exposure, bisphenol A, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, tobacco smoke, polychlorinated biphenyls, flame retardants, phthalates and gas pollutions) and children's development across multiple domains. Results The results highlight the potential risk of exposure to multiple environmental toxicants for young children's cognitive and socioemotional development. Discussion Discussion will focus on the role of environmental toxicants in the cognitive and socioemotional development of young children, while highlighting gaps in the existing literature.