Prosocial foundations of children's academic achievement

Quantitative evaluation of a theoretical-conceptual model based on affective and socio-behavioral dimensions to explain the academic performance of mathematics students

Objective

There is evidence that suggests that affective dimensions, personality traits, as well as students' cooperative interpersonal interactions, are an important element in the students learning process. In this work we propose a theoretical model, based on evidence, that shows the direct and indirect relationships between these factors and academic performance in mathematics courses, in undergraduate and school students.

Methods

To understand the type of relationships between these variables, the PANAS psychometric test of positive and negative affect, the BIG FIVE personality test and the economic decision game DUPLES GAME were applied. The study sample was 130 students between 17 and 22 years of age from undergraduate and school (M ± SD = 20.1 ± 3.99).

Results

From a path analysis, statistically significant relationships were found, for example, a direct relationship between neuroticism and positive affect, which in turn is related to academic performance. We also found a direct relationship between neuroticism and negative affect, extraversion and positive affect. This allows us to propose that some of the independent variables of the model directly and indirectly influence the academic performance of students in the subject of mathematics.

Conclusion

Positive affect and negative affect directly affect academic performance in mathematics, neuroticism has a direct impact on negative affect and extraversion direct impact on positive affect. Consequently, there are direct and indirect relationships between personality traits and affective dimensions, which affect the academic performance of mathematics students.

The association between parental warmth and children's prosocial behaviour: A moderated mediation analysis

Prosocial behaviour is a bedrock of humane societies. Although previous studies have shown that parental style is an important contributing factor for children's prosocial behaviour, the psychological mechanism underlying this association in specific cultural background remains unclear. Based on the ecological systems theory, this study sought to explore the influence of parental warmth on children's prosocial behaviour, and the mediating effect of self-efficacy, as well as the moderating role of teachers' incentive evaluation in the link between self-efficacy and children's prosocial behaviour. This cross-sectional, survey-based study collected data from parents and teachers of 414 Chinese preschoolers (5-6 years old). Parents of these children finished questionnaires on the Chinese version of the short-form Egna minnen av. Barndoms uppfostran (s-EMBU-C), Child Behaviour Scale (CBS), and the revised General Self-efficacy Scale (GSES), while Incentive evaluation questionnaire was finished by their teachers. Results indicated that children who experience high parental warmth were more likely to act prosocially (b = 0.61, p < 0.001) and the association between parental warmth and prosocial behaviour was partially mediated by self-efficacy (indirect effect = 0.25, 95 % CI = [0.19, 0.32]). Besides, teachers' incentive evaluation moderated the link between self-efficacy and children's prosocial behaviour (b = 0.24, p < 0.001). Specifically, the effect of self-efficacy on prosocial behaviour was stronger for high teachers' incentive evaluation children than those with low teachers' incentive evaluation. These findings extend the existing understanding of the mechanism concerning the influence of parental warmth on prosocial behaviour in Chinese settings. The results revealed that interventions that could improve children's self-efficacy would be effective in accelerating their prosocial behaviour and schools played a crucial role in working with families to increase their self-efficacy at a young age. It should be noted that this study focused only on Chinese children of 5-6 years old, and the cross-sectional design means that the possibility of bidirectional effects could not be ruled out.

Theory of mind skills and peer relationships in children's adjustment to preschool

School adjustment affects children's future lives in many ways. This study examined the relationship between ToM skills, peer relationships, and school adjustment. Specifically, this study determined whether preschool children's school adjustment could be significantly predicted by theory of mind (ToM) skills and peer relationships. A total of 164 children aged 4 (34.5%), and 5 (38%) years of preschool attendance participated in the study. According to the research, children's age, theory of mind, peer relations, and school adjustment are closely related. It was also found that the theory of mind significantly predicted school adjustment (school liking/avoidance) and that prosocial and aggressive behavior predicted school liking.

Longitudinal Relationships Among Child School Engagement, Parental Monitoring, and Child Prosocial Behavior: A Child-Parent Synergistic Mechanism

Numerous contextual factors have been identified that impact the development of children's prosocial behavior, yet the influence of child-initiated factors on prosocial behavior and its underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study employed three longitudinal models to examine in depth how children's school engagement may promote the development of their own prosocial behavior. Three-wave longitudinal data from 4691 children (M age = 9.480, SD = 0.507; 48.2% female) with 2-year intervals were used. Sequentially, a cross-lagged panel model, a random intercept cross-lagged panel model, and a parallel process latent growth model were constructed. The findings indicated that children's school engagement consistently predicted the future level, dynamic changes at within-person level, and long-term trends in their prosocial behavior, and these longitudinal relationships were partially mediated by parental monitoring. These results reveal a child-parent synergistic mechanism for the development of prosocial behavior, wherein children's school engagement both directly promotes their own prosocial behavior and simultaneously enhances prosocial behavior through eliciting increased parental monitoring.

Early adversity and prosocial behavior in adolescents from Bogotá: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The association between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), prosocial behavior, and depression (like other negative mental health outcomes) has not been thoroughly understood. This study aimed at evaluating their simultaneous association while controlling for key confounding variables.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was carried-out with 2918 secondary school students from seven charter schools located in low-resourced neighborhoods in Bogota (Colombia), 54.12% were female, and mean age was 13.81 years. The self-report instrument included demographic variables, well-being, mental health, risk behaviors and symptoms of psychopathology. Assessment of ACEs was done by a series of yes/no questions, prosocial behavior was evaluated with the corresponding subscale in the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and depression was assessed with the Self-Reporting Questionnaire. Associations were tested using the Spearman correlation coefficient, Z tests and Chi-square tests, and all primary outcome analyses were adjusted for potential confounding variables through multivariate logistic regression using depression as outcome.

RESULTS

Mean exposure to ACEs was 3.15 events; those exposed to four or more obtained lower scores in well-being, satisfaction with life and family functioning, and higher scores in symptoms of psychopathology. For the prosocial behavior scores, 64.35% were classified as close to the average, 17.51% as slightly lowered, 11.91% as low, and 6.23% as very low; participants with higher levels of prosocial behavior showed lower scores in symptoms of psychopathology. While ACEs had a positive association with depressive symptoms (Odds Ratio [OR] 2.21, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.67-2.94), prosocial behavior did not have a significant association with either ACEs or depressive symptoms in multivariate regression models.

CONCLUSIONS

Novel studies should further elucidate the developmental pathways involving positive and negative mental health constructs to better understand the actual effectiveness of interventions that use these constructs in their design.

Do Adolescents Adopt the Prosocial Behaviors of the Classmates They Like? A Social Network Analysis on Prosocial Contagion

While the influence of high-status peers on maladaptive behaviors is well-documented, socialization processes of prosocial behavior through high-status peers remain understudied. This study examined whether adolescents' prosocial behavior was influenced by the prosocial behavior of the peers they liked and whether this effect was stronger when the peers they liked were also well-liked by their classmates. Three waves of data, six months apart, were collected among Chilean early adolescents who completed peer nominations and ratings at Time 1 (n = 294, Mage = 13.29, SD = 0.62; 55.1% male), Time 2 (n = 282), and Time 3 (n = 275). Longitudinal social network analyses showed that adolescents adopted the prosocial behavior of the classmates they liked - especially if these classmates were well-liked by peers in general. In addition, adolescents low in likeability were more susceptible to this influence than adolescents high in likeability. The influence resulted both in increases and - especially - decreases in prosocial behavior, depending on the level of prosociality of the liked peer. Findings suggest that likeability represents an important aspect of peer status that may be crucial for understanding the significance of peer influence with respect to prosocial behaviors during adolescence. Pre-Registration: https://osf.io/u4pxm .

Psychosocial Competencies Among Clinic-Referred and Community-Based Children: Known-Groups Validity of the Psychosocial Strengths Inventory for Children and Adolescents (PSICA)

Child psychosocial competencies protect against the development of psychopathology, ameliorate existing psychosocial problems, and predict positive long-term developmental cascades. Assessment of these competencies can improve identification of children in need of psychosocial services, enrich treatment planning, and improve treatment progress and outcome monitoring. Yet, appropriate measures are limited. One promising option is the Psychosocial Strengths Inventory for Children and Adolescents (PSICA), although its discriminative properties were formerly unknown. The present study evaluated the PSICA's sensitivity, specificity, and optimal cutoff scores with 228 youth (38 clinic-referred and 190 community-based youth with case-control matching) ages 2-10 years (Mage = 5.8, 71% boys, 77% White). Results indicated large, significant discrepancies, with clinic-referred youth rated as having less overall psychosocial competence overall and across domains of compliance, prosociality, and attention. Caregivers also reported significantly less satisfaction with the psychosocial competence of clinic-referred versus community youth. Discriminative accuracy of the PSICA's Frequency and Satisfaction scales, and its subscales, were good-to-excellent. Such discriminative accuracy and empirically derived, if preliminary, cutoff scores further support the PSICA as a pragmatic, psychometrically strong tool to screen children for referral into services, and potentiate future investigations into the PSICA's use in treatment planning and evaluation.

Diversity in osteopathic medical school admissions and the COMPASS program: an update

In the United States, the 40 colleges of osteopathic medicine and 157 schools of allopathic medicine face challenges in recruiting candidates who are underrepresented in medicine (URiM), and gaps in racial disparity appear to be widening. In this commentary, the authors provide an analysis of the data collected from 8 years of conducting a URiM recruitment and welcoming social events. The event is sponsored by a student special interest group called Creating Osteopathic Minority Physicians Who Achieve Scholastic Success (COMPASS) at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine - New York (TouroCOM-NY). The results of the 8-year data analysis supports the conclusion that the COMPASS program has benefited the school environment through increased diversity.

Empathy and psychopathology in children and adolescents: the role of parental mental illness and emotion regulation

Objective

Although empathy is known to be a strength, recent studies suggest that empathy can be a risk factor for psychopathology under certain conditions in children. This study examines parental mental illness as such a condition. Further, it aims to investigate whether maladaptive emotion regulation (ER) mediates the relationship between empathy and psychopathological symptoms of children.

Methods

Participants were 100 children of parents with a mental illness (55% female) and 87 children of parents without a mental illness (50% female) aged 6 - 16 years and their parents.

Results

Greater cognitive empathy was related to more psychopathological symptoms in COPMI, but not in COPWMI. In addition, in COPMI maladaptive ER mediated this relationship. In contrast, greater affective empathy was associated with more psychopathological symptoms regardless of whether parents had a mental illness.

Conclusion

Our findings highlight the importance of implementing preventive programs for COPMI that specifically target the reduction of maladaptive ER.

Common and distinct equity preferences in children and adults

Fairness plays a crucial role in children's social life and has garnered considerable attention. However, previous research and theories primarily examined the development of children's fairness behaviors in the conflict between self-interest motivation and fairness-complying motivation, neglecting the influence of advantage-seeking motivation. Moreover, despite the well-established role of gain/loss frame in human decision-making, it remains largely unclear whether the framing effect modulates fairness behaviors in children. It was hypothesized that children would exhibit advantage-seeking motivation resulting in more selfish behaviors in the loss context. To examine the hypothesis, we combined an adapted dictator game and computational modeling to investigate various motivations underlying fairness behaviors of children in both loss and gain contexts and to explore the developmental directions by contrasting children and adults. In addition, the current design enabled the dissociation between fairness knowledge and behaviors by asking participants to decide for themselves (the first-party role) or for others (the third-party role). This study recruited a total of 34 children (9-10 years, Mage = 9.82, SDage = 0.38, 16 females) and 31 college students (Mage = 19.81, SDage = 1.40, 17 females). The behavioral results indicated that children behaved more selfishly in first-party and more fairly in third-party than adults, without any significant framing effects. The computational results revealed that both children and adults exhibited aversion to advantageous and disadvantageous inequity in third-party. However, they showed distinct preferences for advantageous inequity in first-party, with advantage-seeking preferences among children and aversion to advantageous inequity among adults. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of children's social preferences and their developmental directions.

The Impact of Callous-Unemotional Traits on Achievement, Behaviors, and Relationships in School: A Systematic Review

Disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) are associated with significant academic, behavioral, and relationship challenges in the school setting. Children with co-occurring DBDs and callous-unemotional (CU) traits show a distinct pattern of early starting, chronic, and aggressive disruptive behavior and are resistant to traditional DBD interventions. There is growing evidence that CU traits have important consequences for children's school functioning. The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesize research on CU traits in school with a focus on academics, relationships, and behavior. We searched PsycINFO, PubMed, and Education Full-Text to identify 37 empirical studies that met inclusionary criteria. Findings suggest that CU traits are associated with poor academic performance, high levels of aggression and conduct problems, and difficulty forming relationships at school, often above and beyond the impact of DBDs alone. Findings and future directions are discussed including how the current study can support key stakeholders in promoting the success of students with elevated CU traits.

The impact of caregiver mental health on child prosocial behavior: A longitudinal analysis of children and caregivers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

BACKGROUND

Prosocial behavior has positive social, cognitive, and physical health effects on the individual exhibiting the behavior as well as on society as a whole, and is integral to overall mental and physical wellbeing. The development of prosocial behavior is rooted in early childhood and learned through observation. As such, those spending time with children, especially their caregiver, play a critical role in their prosocial development. The current study investigates the impact of caregiver mental health on the prosocial development of young children over time.

METHODS

This paper presents a secondary analysis of child prosocial development in the Asenze Study, a longitudinal, population-based cohort study based in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Children were followed-up over time from an average age of five to seven years along with their caregivers. Linear GEE regression analysis was used to assess whether a change in presence of a mental health disorder in a caregiver during this 2-year interval (using the Client Diagnostic Questionnaire) impacted the development of their child's prosocial behavior (using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire).

RESULTS

After adjusting for early child-care, child HIV status, SDQ child prosocial subscale, SDQ total difficulties score, and household order score (CHAOS), children whose caregivers acquired a mental health disorder had a significantly smaller increase in prosocial behavioral development compared to children whose caregivers never had a mental health disorder.

CONCLUSIONS

Identifying contextually relevant modifiable factors such as this will help stimulate the development of interventions to promote prosocial development in childhood.

Sexual violence affects adolescents' health and prosocial behaviour beyond other violence exposure

Background: Sexual violence is a public health issue among adolescents globally but remains understudied in Sub-Saharan Africa.Objective: The present study focused on the association of cumulative exposure to different types of sexual violence with mental and physical health problems and prosocial behaviour.Method: We conducted a survey with a regionally representative sample of both in-school and out-of-school adolescents, aged 13-17 years, living in south-western Nigeria. Self-reported exposure to sexual violence, behavioural problems, physical complaints, and prosocial behaviour were assessed.Results: About three quarters of the participants reported the experience of sexual violence (74.6%). Multiple regression models revealed that the more types of sexual violence an individual reported, the more mental and physical health problems, and the fewer prosocial behaviours they reported when controlling for other forms of violence exposure. Latent class analysis revealed three severity classes of sexual violence. Symptoms of mental and physical health indicators were significantly higher as exposure increased by group whereas prosocial behaviours were non-significantly fewer in the opposite direction.Conclusion: This study revealed a consistent and unique relation between sexual violence exposure and negative health outcomes among adolescents. Further research on sexual violence in Sub-Saharan Africa and its associations is needed.

Parental personality disorder symptoms and children's social skills: a prospective community study

Acquiring age-appropriate social skills, arguably a major prerequisite for favorable psychosocial development in children, is targeted in a range of interventions. Hence, identifying factors that limit this acquisition may inform preventative and treatment efforts. Personality disorders are characterized by pervasive and enduring dysfunctional interpersonal functioning, including parenting, and could thus entail risk for offspring in not developing adaptive interpersonal skills. However, no study has tested this possibility. A representative sample drawn from two birth cohorts of Norwegian 4-year-olds (n = 956) and their parents was followed up at ages 6, 8, and 10 years. Parents' personality disorder symptoms were measured dimensionally with the DSM-IV and ICD-10 Personality Questionnaire, and children's social skills were evaluated by the Social Skills Rating System. A difference-in-difference approach was applied to adjust for all unmeasured time-invariant confounders, and parental symptoms of depression and anxiety were entered as covariates. Increased Cluster B symptoms in parents of children aged 4 to 6 years predicted decreased social skill development in offspring (B = -0.97, 95% CI -1.58, -0.37, p = 0.002). On a more granular level, increased symptoms of borderline (B = -0.39, CI -0.65, -0.12, p = 0.004), histrionic (B = -0.55, CI -0.99, -0.11, p = 0.018), and avoidant (B = -0.46, CI-0.79, -0.13, p = 0.006) personality disorders in parents predicted decreased social skill development in offspring. Subclinical levels of borderline, histrionic and avoidant personality disorders in parents may impair the development of social skills in offspring. Successfully treating these personality problems or considering them when providing services to children may facilitate children's acquisition of social skills.

Examining the role of life purpose in high school students' self-esteem through structural equation modelling

The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which high school students' sense of purpose explained variance their self-esteem. Life purpose is a multidimensional construct that encompasses long-term goals, commitments, and intentions to fulfill aspirations that are meaningful to self and have consequences for the world beyond-the-self. For this study, we explored the role of three distinct dimensions of awareness of purpose, awakening to purpose, and altruistic purpose in predicting students' self-esteem. High school students' (N = 234) between 14 and 18 years, completed surveys on self-esteem and sense of purpose. A structural model was tested, in which the three latent factors of awakening to purpose, awareness of purpose, and altruistic purpose were specified to predict a latent factor of self-esteem. Analyses were conducted using maximum likelihood estimation method. Findings showed that both awareness of purpose and altruistic purpose contributed positively to adolescents' self-esteem. Awakening to purpose, on the other hand, was not significantly related to adolescents' self-esteem once their awareness of purpose and altruistic purpose were taken into account. This study expanded the growing body of research on the role of purpose in contributing to school students' personal wellbeing and development. We have discussed the findings of this study and previous literature in the context of practical implications that could support school personnel, teachers, and counselors to engage in wellness-oriented approaches that could strengthen students' sense of purpose, and thereby their self-esteem.

Exploring Parenting Styles Patterns and Children's Socio-Emotional Skills

In this study, we adopted parenting styles as a multidimensional and latent construct that includes different aspects of parenting, rather than solely focusing on a single parenting style. In a Web-based survey with 1203 Greek parents, we identified parenting styles and their SDQ reports on their children. According to our results by Latent Profile Analysis, we must use a more complex approach concerning parenting styles. We identified a "Highly Authoritative style" profile with high levels of authoritative, low levels of authoritarian and middle levels of permissive parenting styles. We additionally identified a profile called "Relaxed Authoritative style", with still high but lower levels of authoritative style, low but slightly heightened levels of authoritarian style, and middle levels of permissive style. A further profile, named "Permissive Focused Authoritative style", had a mix of high levels of authoritative, moderate levels of permissive, and elevated levels of authoritarian parenting styles. Finally, in a profile named "Inconsistent Parenting style", we identified parents with a blend of still high, but the lowest of all four levels of authoritative and highest levels of permissive and authoritarian parenting styles. When combining the four identified parenting patterns with the SDQ results, we identified the "highly authoritative parenting style" profile to be the least connected to internalizing or externalizing problems of the respective children.

The relationship between teacher support and positive emotions in Chinese higher vocational students: multiple mediating effects of procrastination behavior and interpersonal assistance

Background

In China, more than 5 million students enter higher vocational colleges each year, and the positive emotions of their students merits much attention.

Purpose

This study aimed to explore the effect of teacher support on positive emotions among higher vocational students by further investigating the mediating role of procrastination behavior and interpersonal assistance.

Methods

A questionnaire survey was conducted with 676 higher vocational students from Zhejiang Province, China. We used SPSS 26.0 for data analysis, which included correlation analysis, regression analysis and bootstrap-mediated effects tests.

Results

Teacher support positively predicted positive emotions (β = 0.302, p < 0.001) and interpersonal assistance (β = 0.170, p < 0.001), while procrastination behavior negatively predicted interpersonal assistance (β = -0.161, p < 0.001) and positive emotions (β = -0.088, p < 0.01). Interpersonal assistance positively predicted positive emotions (β = 0.279, p < 0.001). This study found that teacher support positively predicted positive emotions; either procrastination behavior or interpersonal assistance independently mediated the relationship between teacher support and positive emotions. These two variables (procrastination and interpersonal assistance) also acted as a chain mediator between teacher support and positive emotions. The direct effect of teacher support and the mediating role of interpersonal assistance had a greater effect.

Conclusion

The study deeply explored the effects of teacher support on positive emotions among Chinese higher vocational students and found that teacher support plays an important role in positive emotion management. At the same time, we found the key roles played by procrastination behavior and interpersonal assistance between teacher support and positive emotion, which could provide data support and decision-making reference for enhancing higher education students' well-being and positive emotions. This study can be regarded as a case study of social support theory and demonstrates the applicability of the theory in the field of positive emotions of higher vocational students.

The Child-Mother-Father-Teacher Relationship Network in Kindergarten and Its Association with Children's Social and Academic Development: An Ecological Perspective

This study examines how a set of the child's proximal relationships (mother-child, father-child, and teacher-child) and parent-teacher relationships relate to the child's prosocial and learning behaviors in kindergarten. The sample included 95 mother-father-child triads (child mean age 5.9 years) and 42 kindergarten teachers. All adults reported on their relationship with the child and on their perceptions of parent-teacher relationships. Teachers reported on the child's behaviors. Main findings: (1) All proximal relationships and the teachers' relationships with mothers and fathers were related to children's outcomes; and (2) different patterns of associations were found between father-child and mother-child relationships, and teacher-child relationship, parent-teacher relationships, and children's outcomes. These findings hint to the different roles of fathers and mothers in their children's development and to distinguished patterns of relationships of mothers and fathers with kindergarten teachers.

Effect of prosocial behavior on school bullying victimization among children and adolescents: Peer and student-teacher relationships as mediators

INTRODUCTION

In this study, we examined the relationship between prosocial behavior and school bullying victimization in children and adolescents. We also tested the mediating effects of peer alienation and student-teacher closeness, as well as the moderating effect of the educational stage.

METHODS

In total, 538 children and adolescents were recruited from three suburban schools in Beijing, China (252 boys, 286 girls; mean age = 12.47; 237 elementary school students, 101 middle school students, and 200 high school students). The participants were asked to complete the measures of prosocial behavior, peer alienation, and student-teacher closeness at the initial time point and reported school bullying victimization 3 months later.

RESULTS

We found that prosocial behavior was directly and negatively associated with traditional bullying victimization (i.e., physical, nonphysical, and relational); however, it had no direct association with cyberbullying victimization. Prosocial behavior was indirectly associated with school bullying victimization (except in the relational dimension) via peer alienation, but no indirect effect of student-teacher closeness was found. Besides, the associations between prosocial behavior, peer alienation, student-teacher closeness, and bullying victimization were found equally among elementary, middle, and high school students.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that prosocial behavior is an important factor associated with decreased school bullying victimization, and peer relationships play a mediating role in this association. Our study extends the current understanding of prosocial behavior primarily as a consequence of child and adolescent development to an antecedent (of school bullying victimization), which contributes to a more comprehensive view of prosocial behavior.

Behaviors in kindergarten are associated with trajectories of long-term welfare receipt: A 30-year population-based study

This study examines the link between behavior in kindergarten and adult-life welfare receipt. Teacher-rated behavioral assessments were obtained for inattention, hyperactivity, aggression-opposition, anxiety, and prosociality when children (n=2960) were aged 5-6 years and linked to their tax return records from age 18-35 years. We used group-based based trajectory modeling to identify distinct trajectories of welfare receipt and multinomial logistic regression models to examine the association between behaviors and trajectory group membership. The child's sex, IQ, and family background were adjusted for. Four trajectories of welfare receipt were identified: low (n = 2,390, 80.7%), declining (n = 260, 8.8%), rising (n = 150, 5.2%), and chronic (n = 160, 5.4%). Relative to the low trajectory, inattention and aggression-opposition at age 6 years were associated with increased risk of following a declining, rising, and chronic trajectory of welfare receipt, independent of hyperactivity and anxiety. Prosocial behaviors were independently associated with a lower risk of following a chronic trajectory. This study shows that kindergarten children exhibiting high inattention and aggression-opposition and low prosocial behaviors may be at increased risk of long-term welfare receipt in adulthood. The implications for early screening, monitoring, and prevention are discussed.

Reciprocity heightens academic performance in elementary school students

Social relationships are pivotal for human beings. Yet, we still lack a complete understanding of the types and conditions of social relationships that facilitate learning among children. Here, we present the results of a study involving 855 elementary school children from 14 different public schools in Chile designed to understand their social learning strategies in classrooms. We mapped students' social relationships using a behavioral experiment-a non-anonymous social dilemma-that allows us to measure cooperation and infer reciprocal and asymmetrical relationships between peers. We implemented the experiment synchronously in each classroom using networked tablets and a friendly user interface to mitigate cognitive barriers and boost students' engagement. Using regression models, we found a positive and significant association between reciprocity and academic performance. This result holds after controlling for class attendance, sex, parents' education, social status, individual cooperative dispositions, and fixed effects per class group. Finally, using a difference-in-difference framework, we found robust evidence that reciprocity heightens academic performance by comparing two consecutive academic semesters. This effect is heterogeneous and is considerably more prominent for the top 20% students experiencing higher levels of reciprocity in their social relationships. We expect these results to inform cooperative learning interventions in elementary education.

Perceived significant others' values: Are they important in the relationship between personal values and self-reported prosociality?

BACKGROUND

Personal values have been extensively found to be relevant variables linked to prosociality; they are desirable and trans-situational goals that serve as guiding principles in people's lives to select modes, means and actions, these reflecting what people consider relevant and worthy. Research has investigated how cultural background influences people's personal values and prosociality, but little is known about the influence of the perception of the values endorsed by significant others, namely the people belonging to the micro-relational context with whom daily interactions and exchanges are possible. Based on Schwartz's theory of basic human values, we analyzed the moderating role of the perceptions of significant others' values in the relationship between personal values and self-reported prosociality.

PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE

Two hundred and forty-five Italian young adults (66.9% women) aged between 18 and 30 years (M = 22.58, SD = 2.53) completed a self-report questionnaire.

RESULTS

Specifically, openness to change values were a significant positive predictor of self-reported prosociality when respondents perceived low importance assigned both to openness to change and self-transcendence by significant others, whereas conservation values were a significant positive predictor of self-reported prosociality when respondents perceived low importance assigned to self-enhancement by significant others.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings show a complex interplay between personal values and perceived significant others' values in shaping young adults' self-reported prosociality.

Social and Emotional Variables as Predictors of Students’ Perceived Cognitive Competence and Academic Performance

Research extensively highlights the importance of social-emotional skills in learning and development. In this study, we evaluated whether social and emotional variables directly impact students’ perceived cognitive competence and academic performance through a structural equation model. Survey responses ( N = 29,384) were collected from 114 K-12 schools in a large school district in Alberta. Results showed that cognitive competence was directly predicted by social cognition and social competence but indirectly by emotional competence through the mediating effect of social competence. Academic performance was also directly predicted by social cognition. Cognitive competence was positively associated with academic emotions, while academic performance was negatively associated with them. Overall, our findings suggest that learning is a highly social process, and investing in the development of social-emotional skills must be a priority, with a primary focus on creating positive and supportive learning environments. Future research may adjust this model and target more specific social-emotional variables.

Behavioral Strengths and Difficulties and Their Associations with Academic Performance in Math among Rural Youth in China

Behavioral strengths and difficulties among children and adolescents may be significantly associated with their academic performance; however, the evidence on this issue for rural youth in developing contexts is limited. This study explored the prevalence and correlates of mental health from three specific dimensions—internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and prosocial behavior—measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and the association of these dimensions with academic performance in math among a sample of 1500 students in rural China. Our findings indicated that students in rural China had worse behavioral difficulties and poorer prosocial skills when compared to most past studies conducted inside and outside of China. In addition, total difficulties and prosocial scores on the SDQ were significantly associated with student math test scores, as students whose externalizing, internalizing, and prosocial scores were in the abnormal range scored lower in math by 0.35 SD, 0.23 SD, and 0.33 SD, respectively. The results add to the growing body of empirical evidence related to the links between social environment, mental health, and academic performance in developing countries, highlighting the importance of students’ mental health for their academic performance, and of understanding risk factors in the social environment among rural youth in developing countries.

Exploring Multivariate Profiles of Psychological Distress and Empathy in Early Adolescent Victims, Bullies, and Bystanders Involved in Cyberbullying Episodes

(1) Background: Adolescents may be involved in cyberbullying as victims, perpetrators, or to a lesser extent, victim-perpetrators simultaneously. The present research investigated differences between participants acting in different bullying roles-namely, bully, victim, or bully/victim-and bystander roles-namely, defending, passive bystander, and passive/defending; (2) Methods: We used multivariate analysis of covariance to determine how, in the same individuals, direct involvement in cyberbullying episodes compares to participating in them as by-standers in relation to both psychological distress and empathy; (3) Results: Both victims and bully/victims were found to be at increased risk for suicidal ideation, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and emotional dysregulation compared with students who were neither victims nor perpetrators of cyberbullying episodes. Additionally, victims showed higher empathy scores when compared with bullies and bully/victims. All bystander roles showed increased emotional dysregulation compared with uninvolved students, but no differences emerged on other psychological distress measures. Finally, defending bystanders showed increased cognitive empathy. (4) Conclusions: During early adolescence, the direct experience of cyberbullying, as a bully or a victim (or both), show a stronger association with psychological distress than the mere participation in cyberbullying as a witness, regardless of the witness acting defensive toward the victim, or passive. However, both cyberbullying and bystanding roles provide a similar (small) explicative power over empathy variables.

Multi-informant validity evidence for the SSIS SEL Brief Scales across six European countries

The SSIS SEL Brief Scales (SSIS SELb) are multi-informant (teacher, parent, and student) measures that were developed to efficiently assess the SEL competencies of school-age youth in the United States. Recently, the SSIS SELb was translated into multiple languages for use in a multi-site study across six European countries (Croatia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, and Romania). The purpose of the current study was to examine concurrent and predictive evidence for the SEL Composite scores from the translated versions of the SSIS SELb Scales. Results indicated that SSIS SELb Composite scores demonstrated expected positive concurrent and predictive relationships with scores from the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and negative relationships with scores from the problem behavior scales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Although there were a few exceptions, these patterns generally were consistent across informants (parents, teachers, and students) and samples providing initial validity evidence for the Composite score from the translated versions of the SSIS SELb Scales. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.

Co-Development of Adolescents' Cooperative and Competitive Attitudes: How it Predicts Mental Health and Academic Achievement

This study used nationally representative longitudinal data in South Korea to examine how joint changes in adolescents' (N = 7324; M_age  ≈ 11 years) cooperative and competitive attitudes from sixth to ninth grade relate to mental health and achievement in 10th grade. The parallel process model showed that both cooperative and competitive attitudes declined over time. Higher cooperative attitudes at baseline indicated higher competitive attitudes, and a faster decline in cooperative attitudes indicated a faster decline in competitive attitudes. The intercept of cooperative attitudes was positively related to mental health but negatively related to achievement. Opposite patterns were found for the intercept of competitive attitudes. These findings highlight the usefulness of considering the co-development of cooperative and competitive attitudes.

Role of Program Curriculum in Building Social Skills and Sports Coaching in Academic and Career Development Under Sports Humanities and Sociology

This study focused on the role of program curriculum in building social skills and sports coaching in academic and career development in terms of sports humanities and sociology. Social skills coaching and sports coaching for the students are two significant factors that need to be considered by the universities around the globe to improve the organizational climate, which ultimately lead to better student's career and academic development. This study utilized data from 308 members of the sports federation enrolled in different programs in the universities in China through a questionnaire for investigating such influencing factors. The data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique using SmartPLS. This study found a substantial relationship of social skills with academic development and organizational climate. The relationship of sports coaching with organizational climate and career development is also discussed in this study. Furthermore, the organizational climate acts as a partial mediator between sports coaching and career development. However, this study revealed that organizational climate had an insignificant relationship with academic growth and organizational climate did not mediate between social skills coaching and educational development among students. While hiring the sports personnel, universities must consider the coach's competency using effective methods such as physical tests, preassessments, and psychological tests. Second, the universities in China have to develop a culture of social skills and sports to improve academic and career development.

Context is key: Parasympathetic regulation in the classroom differentially predicts preschoolers' socially competent behaviors

Research shows that children's early social competence predicts their later academic and interpersonal success. Accordingly, early childhood education programs increasingly aim to evaluate and support children's social skill development. Despite ample theoretical and empirical work demonstrating the role of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) in supporting neurophysiological processes that underlie social behaviors, no study has explicitly tested whether the assessment of PNS activity in childhood educational settings provides insight into children's social functioning. The current study addresses this gap by examining the influence of context-specific PNS regulation, assessed via respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), in predicting preschool children's socially competent behavior toward peers in the classroom. Results showed that: (1) RSA withdrawal (e.g., decreases relative to a baseline task) during unstructured classroom activities predicted children's socially competent behaviors during these unstructured activities but not during structured activities, whereas (2) withdrawal during structured classroom activities predicted children's socially competent behaviors during structured activities. These results indicate that PNS activity makes context-specific contributions to children's social behaviors and highlight the importance of assessing neurophysiological regulation in context.

The Advent of Coronavirus Disease 2019 and the Impact of Mobile Learning on Student Learning Performance: The Mediating Role of Student Learning Behavior

The recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic pushed almost all institutions to adopt online and virtual education. The uncertainty of this situation produced various questions that perplexed educationists regarding what implications the pandemic would have on educational institutions, especially regarding how the switch to online education would impact the behavior and performance of students. The vast importance of this matter attracted the attention of researchers and served as the motivation for this research, which aims to resolve this confusion by studying the use of mobile learning (ML) among students for educational purposes during the COVID-19 period. This study also examines how this situation has affected student learning behavior (LB) and performance (SP) in the higher education setting. This research is based on collaborative learning theory, sociocultural learning theory, and ML theory. This quantitative research employed the convenient sampling technique to collect data through structured questionnaires distributed to 396 students of higher education institutions who carry a mobile device. This study used descriptive and inferential statistics to make the data more meaningful. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with AMOS software was used for hypothesis testing. The results showed that ML was a significant and positive predictor of SP and LB. Moreover, student LB partially mediated the relationship between ML and SP. The findings suggest that the academic performance of students can be enhanced by building a ML environment that aligns with the LB of students. Nevertheless, content suitable for ML must be developed, and future research should be conducted on this topic.

Does affirming children's autonomy and prosocial intentions help? A microtrial into intervention component effects to improve psychosocial behavior

Prior research has related children's prosocial behavior to overall well-being, and stimulating prosocial behavior is the aim of many social-emotional skills interventions. This study assessed if affirming children's autonomy stimulates their psychosocial behavior. We conducted a three-arm microtrial with four repeated measures to assess if a social-emotional skills intervention with an autonomy affirmation component had an additive effect on children's behavior as compared to a "regular" intervention focused exclusively on teaching social-emotional skills and a no-treatment control condition. Our sample consisted of 779 children in Grades 4-6 (M_age = 10.61, SD = 0.93). Findings from latent change modeling demonstrated that the social-emotional skills intervention with an autonomy affirmation component yielded superior effects as compared to the "regular" intervention and the no-treatment control condition on the improvement of internalizing and externalizing problem behavior in the three-month period after the intervention. The intervention with autonomy affirmation did not yield superior effects on prosociality and social skills, self-efficacy, and self-esteem or self-perceived competence. The absence of these effects may be attributed to the dosage of the interventions implemented-the affirmation of children's autonomy may require more than four sessions to sort observable effects. Overall, however, the findings of this study provide an initial suggestion that it may be beneficial to affirm children's autonomy and prosocial intentions when enhancing children's behavior.

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 (M_age 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.

Psychophysiological Regulation and Classroom Climate Influence First and Second Graders' Well-Being: The Role of Body Mass Index

This study examines the associations between physical and emotional well-being and classroom climate, cardiac vagal response, and body mass index (BMI) in a sample of 6- to-8-year-olds. Specifically, we expected a direct link between classroom climate, vagal withdrawal, BMI and children's physical and emotional comfort. Furthermore, we explored whether these individual and environmental characteristics influenced well-being in an interactive fashion. Participants were 142 (63 boys, 44%) first and second graders living in the North of Italy who were interviewed on their emotional and physical comfort. Heart rate and a measure of vagal influence on the heart (cardiac vagal tone) were recorded at rest and during an oral academic test. Height and weight were collected. Classroom climate was positively linked with physical well-being, whereas emotional well-being was negatively related with BMI. In addition, an inverted U-shaped effect of cardiac vagal withdrawal (i.e., cardiac vagal tone during stress minus resting vagal tone) on emotional well-being was found. Two regression models highlighted the role played by BMI when interacting with vagal withdrawal in predicting children's physical and emotional well-being. The interplay between BMI and cardiac vagal withdrawal played an important role in primary school children's well-being. From a clinical perspective, preventive training to improve autonomic regulation in concert with interventions promoting healthy eating attitudes might be critical for supporting primary school children's emotional and physical health.

Executive functions and imaginative play: Exploring relations with prosocial behaviors using structural equation modeling

BACKGROUND

Policy makers have long considered how to best educate children for success. Thus, this research explored whether imaginative play serves as a positive context for developing executive functions (EF) and prosocial behaviors necessary for academic success. Specifically, we hypothesized that EF would explain links between imaginative play and prosocial behaviors.

METHOD

284 preschool children and their teachers completed measures of imaginative play, EF, and prosocial behaviors. Structural Equation Modeling examined mediational links between these constructs.

RESULTS

Imaginative play predicted both hot and cool EF, as well as prosocial behavior, even after controlling for age and vocabulary; furthermore, the relationship between imaginative play and prosocial behavior was fully mediated by hot EF.

CONCLUSION

Results suggest that imaginative play may serve as a positive context for developing EF and prosocial behaviors. Curricula and teachers should consider encouraging imaginative play to facilitate the development of EF and prosocial behaviors.

The Impact of Socialisation on Children's Prosocial Behaviour. A Study on Primary School Students

BACKGROUND

Studying prosociality in children is a complex but relevant issue related to the qualitative development of human interactions. The main objective of the present study is to identify the psychosocial factors that most promote or inhibit the adoption of prosocial behaviours among children.

METHOD

In Spring 2021, a survey was conducted amongst primary school children through a structured paper questionnaire. The data analysis has been carried out through bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques. Path analysis has been used.

RESULTS

The results highlight the role played by the parental education level, the perception of positive and negative emotions, the adherence to gender roles and the involvement in cyberbullying actions in predicting prosocial tendencies among children. On the other hand, adopting prosocial behaviours affects the screen-time as well as the devices' interference in face-to-face interactions and the attitude towards school.

CONCLUSIONS

The results are relevant and useful for the study of trends in prosocial behaviours among children. Family education level, individual status, peer interactions and social conditionings are variables that highly influence this multidimensional phenomenon. Further research is needed, including the definition of new measures and indicators concerning the context where children live and interact with others, with the aim of designing interventions aimed at facilitating relational well-being of children.

The Prosocial Outgrowth of Filial Beliefs in Different Cultures: A Conditional Mediation Model Analysis

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.

Exploring Positive School Attributes: Evidence From School Leader and Teacher Perspectives

The extent to which school stakeholders perceive positive school attributes remains unclear in the literature. This study seeks to provide an understanding of positive school attributes from the school leaders and teachers’ perspectives in the Malaysian school context. This study employed a qualitative case study research design with 14 informants selected from seven Malaysian secondary schools. The thematic analysis informed six emerging themes: (1) stimulating positive emotion, (2) promoting positive engagement, (3) fostering positive relationships, (4) cultivating positive meaning, (5) nurturing positive accomplishment, and (6) cultivating spirituality in expressing positive school attributes. Fostering positive relationships were specified as (1) teacher-teacher relationship, (2) teacher-student relationship, and (3) student-student relationship. Cultivating spirituality is a newly emerged theme that is added to the unique positive school attributes. These newly added components of the existing PERMA model can trigger further research in positive education studies.

Diversity in osteopathic medical school admissions and the COMPASS program

In the United States, the 37 colleges of osteopathic medicine and 154 schools of allopathic medicine face challenges in recruiting underrepresented minority (URM) applicants, and gaps in racial disparity appear to be widening. In this Special Communication, the authors describe a URM recruitment and support strategy undertaken in 2015 through a special interest group called Creating Osteopathic Minority Physicians who Achieve Scholastic Success (COMPASS) at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine-New York.

Emotional Intelligence and Pro-Social Behavior as Predictors of Academic Achievement Among University Students

This journal article was primarily carried out to pinpoint whether emotional intelligence and pro-social behavior predicts academic achievement of University students. To achieve this, data was gathered from 111 (m = 50, F = 53) students by using stratified simple random sampling technique. As the results of Pearson correlation coefficient showed that, there was statistically significant positive association between emotional intelligence and pro-social behavior. However, it was found that there was no relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement. On the other hand, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between pro-social behavior and academic achievement of students. Findings from multiple regression indicated that, emotional intelligence predicted pro-social behavior of students, whereas, emotional intelligence didn't predict academic achievement of students. On the other hand, pro-social behavior negatively and significantly predicted academic achievement of students. Besides, there was no significant gender difference in emotional intelligence and pro-social behavior. However, there was statistically significant disparity amidst male and female students in academic achievement and male students exceed female counterparts in general level of academic performance. As one sample t-test result depicted, Majority of students have high level of emotional intelligence, pro-social behavior and academic performance. The researcher forwarded the following recommendations for instructors, the university management and Medias. Socio-emotional training's should be provided to students, intensive studies should be conducted on this topic, teachers of the university should advocate the importance of emotional intelligence and pro-social behavior in the class room, the university and broadcasting Medias should give attention for the topic.