Growing up in society requires people to interact and socialize with each other to live together peacefully. Empathy and prosocial behavior are desirable qualities that help develop a harmonious...Show moreGrowing up in society requires people to interact and socialize with each other to live together peacefully. Empathy and prosocial behavior are desirable qualities that help develop a harmonious society. Multiple studies have examined the effects of empathy on prosocial behavior and the advantages of supportive friendships. However, these relationships have not been studied much in emerging adulthood. This study aims to establish associative links between empathy, prosocial behavior, and best-friendship quality in emerging adulthood (n = 209, age range: 18-25 years old). Previous research established that people have an altruistic motivation to behave prosocially when faced with empathy-evoking situations, suggesting that empathy positively affects prosocial behavior. Moreover, both empathy levels and prosocial behavior are associated with friendship quality. However, contrary to previous research findings, this study found no significant relationship between empathy and prosocial behavior and no moderating effect of best-friendship quality. On the other hand, our analysis revealed a significant relationship between best-friend relationships and empathy, as well as between best-friend relationships and prosocial behavior. This aligns with previous studies on how supportive friendships can positively influence your prosocial behavior and empathy development. The findings of this study contribute to the idea that supportive friendships can promote a person’s prosocial behavior and empathy, specifically in emerging adulthood.Show less