Positive Youth Development: Parental Warmth, Values, and Prosocial Behavior in 11 Cultural Groups

The current cross-cultural study aimed to extend research on parenting and children’s prosocial behavior by examining relations among parental warmth, values related to family obligations (i.e., children’s support to and respect for their parents, siblings, and extended family), and prosocial behavior during the transition to adolescence (from ages 9 to 12). Mothers, fathers, and their children (N = 1107 families) from 8 countries including 11 cultural groups (Colombia; Rome and Naples, Italy; Jordan; Kenya; the Philippines; Sweden; Thailand; and African Americans, European Americans, and Latin Americans in the United States) provided data over 3 years in 3 waves (Mage of child in wave 1 = 9.34 years, SD = 0.75; 50.5% female). Overall, across all 11 cultural groups, multivariate change score analysis revealed positive associations among the change rates of parental warmth, values related to family obligations, and prosocial behavior during late childhood (from age 9 to 10) and early-adolescence (from age 10 to 12). In most cultural groups, more parental warmth at ages 9 and 10 predicted steeper mean-level increases in prosocial behavior in subsequent years. The findings highlight the prominent role of positive family context, characterized by warm relationships and shared prosocial values, in fostering children’s positive development in the transition to adolescence. The practical implications of these findings are discussed

The determinants of scholastic achievement: The contribution of personality traits, self-esteem, and academic self-efficacy

The contribution to academic achievement of personality traits, self-esteem, and self-efficacy beliefs has been examined in high school. SEM analysis showed that conscientiousness, openness, and self-esteem were positively inter-related, with both traits and self-esteem increasing students' perceived academic self-efficacy, which in turn mediated the effect of conscientiousness and self-esteem on senior high school grades. These relationships held controlling for gender, parents' education, and previous scholastic achievement. Educators should be aware of students' personality antecedents in order to improve their students' beliefs about their capabilities to master different areas of coursework and to regulating their motivation and learning activities. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Valutazione di un programma di sensibilizzazione prosociale: «Young Prosocial Animation» (YPA)

In questo contributo sono presentati i risultati di uno studio quasi sperimentale volto a valutare un nuovo programma di sensibilizzazione prosociale negli adolescenti: lo Young Prosocial Animation (YPA). Dodici classi, 134 maschi e 116 femmine (età gruppo intervento = 14,2 anni; gruppo di controllo = 15,2), della provincia di Brindisi hanno partecipato allo studio. La prosocialità dei partecipanti è stata valutata tramite misure self-report all'inizio e alla fine dell'intervento. L'efficacia dell'intervento è stata testata tramite una regressione gerarchica controllando per lo status socio-economico, per il sesso e per i valori iniziali di prosocialità dei ragazzi. I risultati indicano che dopo l'esposizione allo YPA il gruppo di intervento ha incrementato la sua prosocialità rispetto al gruppo di controllo (p < .05). Vengono discussi aspetti metodologici per future implementazioni del programma e implicazioni relative alla promozione della prosocialità negli adolescenti

Linking Positive Affect and Positive Self-beliefs in Daily Life

This study investigated the reciprocal relations between positive self-beliefs (POS) and positive affect (PA) using week-long diaries kept by 268 undergraduate Italian psychology students. An autoregressive latent trajectory analysis was found to be the best statistical model explaining the links between POS and PA. POS and PA levels remained stable over 7 days and they were positively correlated suggesting positive associations between stability in PA and POS across the 7 days. Interestingly, the analysis of cross-lagged paths revealed that the state-like deviations in POS levels significantly predicted later levels of PA, whereas the state-like deviations in PA levels did not predict later levels of POS at all time points. Theoretical and practical implications of these results were discussed. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

Dispositional bases of self-serving positive evaluations

Positive orientation (POS) is the name given to the latent dimension common to self-esteem, optimism and life satisfaction. Earlier findings attest to the trait-like nature of POS and to its unique contribution to well-adjustment across domains of functioning. The present study investigates the extent to which POS accounts for individuals' tendency to distort their self-assessment in a positive direction. Taking a class of students (N=190) at the beginning of their academic year, POS predicted the individuals' tendency to perform academically better-than-average (BTA) peers. POS accounted for BTA beyond what is merely due to self-esteem, life satisfaction and optimism. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Does adolescents' filial self-efficacy predict civic engagement in early adulthood? A six-year latent growth analysis

A certain number of studies have examined the role of family influences on the development of adolescents’ civic engagement (e.g., Smetana &amp; Metzger, 2005). However, the proactive and agentic role of adolescents within their families has been overlooked (Luengo Kanacri et al., 2014). The present study explored the role of adolescents’ filial self-efficacy beliefs (PFSBs; the perceived capacity to balance affective bonds and autonomy in the relations with parents) in predicting civic behaviors (i.e., voting behavior and associationism) and interpersonal trust (InTrust) in early adulthood. We examined individual levels and rate of changes of FSBs from adolescence (age 15 and 16; T1) to early adulthood (age 21 and 22; T4). Participants were drawn from the Genzano Longitudinal Study (male=48.4%; mean age=15.7) and were assessed at 4 waves. Results showed that PFSBs followed a nonlinear trajectory. Moreover, the initial level (i.e., the intercept) of PFSBs positively predicted civic behaviors 6 years later (voting behaviors, b=0.196, p&lt;0.01; associationism, b=0.245, p&lt;0.01). and changes in levels (i.e., the slope) of PFSBs were positively related to InTrust at age 21 and 22 (b=0.741, p&lt;0.05). Findings indicated that adolescents’ beliefs about their agentic role in sharpening their own life within the family are relevant in promoting later interpersonal trust and civic engagement in the transition to early adulthood

The physiological correlates of children's emotions in contexts of moral transgression

Heightened attention to sociomoral conflicts and arousal at the prospect of committing moral transgressions are thought to increase the likelihood of negatively valenced moral emotions (NVMEs; e.g., guilt) in children. Here, we tested this biphasic model of moral emotions with a psychophysiological framework. For a series of vignettes depicting moral transgressions, 5- and 8-year-olds (N = 138) were asked to anticipate their emotions as hypothetical victimizers. Their responses were coded for the presence and intensity of NVMEs. In addition, their heart rate (HR) was calculated for three intervals of interest: a baseline period, the presentation of vignettes, and the anticipation of emotions following vignettes. We used multilevel modeling to examine how change in children’s HR across these intervals related to the intensity of their NVMEs. Those who experienced greater HR deceleration from baseline to vignettes and greater acceleration from vignettes to anticipated emotions reported more intense NVMEs. We discuss the potential attention- and arousal-related processes behind children’s physiological reactivity and anticipated emotions in contexts of moral transgression. Keywords: Moral emotions, Heart rate, Psychophysiology, Childhood, Guilt, Heart rate reactivit

Prosociality and assertiveness: Associations with students' internalising and externalising problems

Objectives: Understanding the predictors of students’ mental health is at the core of developmental psychology research agenda. Although previous studies pointed out to the importance of prosociality (a behaviour intended to benefit another), and assertiveness (tendency to affirm and defend one’s own point of view), as individual protective factors, the extent to which they jointly protect against internalizing (INT) and externalizing problems (EXT) deserves further investigation. Design: In the current study, we tested the independent and interactive effects of prosociality and assertiveness in association with INT and EXT among at primary and secondary schools. Methods: A sample of 742 students (Mage=11.74, SD=1.46) from 35 classrooms in Liverpool (UK) filled out validated scales of prosociality, assertiveness, and internalising and externalising behaviour. Results: Multilevel regression indicated that higher level of prosociality and assertiveness at the student level predicted lower level of INT (b =-.07, p=.04 and b=-.14, p<.001, respectively) while controlling for gender and age differences (primary vs secondary school). Interestingly, EXT was differently predicted by prosociality and assertiveness: whereas prosociality was negatively related to EXT (b=-.29, p<.001), assertiveness predicted higher levels of EXT (b=.10, p<.001). Interaction effects between prosociality and assertiveness as well as their interaction with students' age were not significant, suggesting that the effects of prosociality and assertiveness were consistent across school levels. Conclusions: The practical implications of these findings are discussed by highlighting that excessive level of assertiveness may represent a risk factor for developing EXT during childhood and adolescence