Prosocial behavior as mediator on the association between empathy and close friendships throughout adolescence

This 3-wave study aims to examine the relationship between cognitive empathy (awareness and understanding of another’s emotion), affective empathy (experience of emotions consistent with those of the observed person), and self-perception of close friendships (one’s perception of the ability to form and maintain close friendships), both directly and indirectly through prosocial behavior (voluntary behavior intended to benefit another person) from late childhood to early adolescence. Participants were 127 adolescents aged between 10 and 14 years old who reported on their empathy, prosocial behavior, and self-perception of close friendships in three consecutive years, respectively. Simple mediation analyses revealed that cognitive and affective empathy did not have a significant positive effect on adolescents’ self-perception of close friendships two years later. Considering these findings, prosocial behavior was not found to be a mediator between adolescents’ cognitive or affective...Show moreThis 3-wave study aims to examine the relationship between cognitive empathy (awareness and understanding of another’s emotion), affective empathy (experience of emotions consistent with those of the observed person), and self-perception of close friendships (one’s perception of the ability to form and maintain close friendships), both directly and indirectly through prosocial behavior (voluntary behavior intended to benefit another person) from late childhood to early adolescence. Participants were 127 adolescents aged between 10 and 14 years old who reported on their empathy, prosocial behavior, and self-perception of close friendships in three consecutive years, respectively. Simple mediation analyses revealed that cognitive and affective empathy did not have a significant positive effect on adolescents’ self-perception of close friendships two years later. Considering these findings, prosocial behavior was not found to be a mediator between adolescents’ cognitive or affective empathy and their self-perception of close friendships from late childhood to early adolescence. Moreover, cognitive and affective empathy did not significantly predict prosocial behavior one year later, whereas prosocial behavior did significantly predict the self-perception of adolescents’ close friendships one year later. These results underline the significance of developing tailored intervention programs targeting prosocial behavior to foster adolescents’ self-perception as close friends, a competence that is crucial during this developmental period considering the greater influence of peers.Show less

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Prosocial behavior as mediator on the association between empathy and close friendships throughout adolescence