Introduction to the Special Section: Prosocial development in risky and vulnerable contexts

Abstract

The introduction highlights a developmental perspective on children’s and youth prosocial behavior in risky and vulnerable contexts. The six empirical papers published in this Special Section are considered within a multilevel, multidimensional framework and reflect a diversity of methodological approaches. The studies each provide foundational work that informs theory, builds our knowledge base, and has important intervention implications. We highlight the contributions of each study and present recommendations for future developmental research on prosocial behaviors.

How young people’s perceptions of their physical education lessons and social skills varied in terms of sociodemographic features. The case of a rural area of China

“…In addition, another interesting result was that antisocial behavior was perceived as higher in students with lower income (50,000 yuan or less). Future studies should continue focusing on how students develop prosocial and antisocial behaviors in rural areas, because the developmental trajectories of millions of children are impacted by the environments in which they are born and raised (Taylor and Carlo, 2021). A more prosocial, behavior-specific approach has important real-world implications for intervention development and policymaking.…”

“…In order to create new programs, policies, and methods for teaching PE, we believe that the findings of this study will be helpful to educators, policymakers, and teachers. This study hypothesizes, based on Taylor and Carlo (2021), Fin et al (2017), and Manzano-Sánchez and Valero-Valenzuela (2018 studies, that students who participate in after-school PA or sport, are involved in team sports in the PE lessons, and belong to families with high yearly income: (i) will perceive higher support from parents, teachers and friends, (ii) will present a higher level of satisfaction of their basic needs, (iii) will be more intrinsic motivated to the PE lesson, (iv) and will present higher level of inappropriate social skills.…”

“…Children from low socioeconomic-status families and minority groups are highly vulnerable to these risk factors, and they frequently confront academic, social, and behavioral challenges (Cheung, 2017). According to Taylor and Carlo (2021), the developmental trajectories of millions of children are impacted by the dangerous and unsuitable environments in which they are born and raised. This is the case for a considerable proportion of students involved in the present study, who are usually referred to as "left-behind children. "…”

Predicting social skills in disadvantaged Chinese high school students through physical education

“…The results of the study can teach us what is the current situation of the disadvantaged students of this area of rural China in relation to PE, their motivations and their needs, and how these aspects can contribute to the development of their social skills ( Cheon et al, 2019 ). It is crucial to remember that social skills serve as the cornerstone of harmony, peace and collaboration ( Taylor and Carlo, 2021 ) what becomes even more important for the millions of children who are born into and nurtured in risky and adverse situations like the sample of our study. As we have seen during this manuscript, PE is a fundamental factor that can affect the development of these social skills, sometimes improving them or even worsening them in other situations, depending on the situation of each student ( Cheon et al, 2018 ).…”

“…Furthermore, China is a large agricultural country and rural children who remain in their village while one or both of their parents with parents working in large cities away from home are referred as “left-behind children.” They have a strong willingness to go to college, but they lack study guidance, professional reporting, and career planning resources to support their future studies. Therefore, they are in a disadvantaged position facing academic and social skills problems ( Hu et al, 2020 ) which affect their developmental trajectories ( Taylor and Carlo, 2021 ). However, new regulations and initiatives are being adopted for the promotion of physical activity and sport in recent years due to the rapid development of China’s economy ( Zou, 2022 ).…”