Parental Expectations and Prosocial Behavior of Adolescents From Low-Income Backgrounds

Abstract

Parental expectations are influenced by cultural models, which in turn are subject to a great influence from historically fluctuating features of the socioeconomic background. Parental expectations seem to be linked to children's social and emotional development in terms of empathy and prosocial behavior. The current study aims to (a) compare low-income adolescents' perceptions of parental expectations of prosocial and antisocial behavior across three Latin countries (Argentina, Colombia, and Spain), (b) compare the empathy and prosocial behavior between the three countries, (c) compare the prosocial behavior between the three countries, and (d) study the effect of perceived parental expectations and empathy on the prosocial behavior of adolescents in all three of the countries studied in this research. The sample was made up of 446 Argentinean adolescents, 474 Colombian adolescents, and 632 Spanish adolescents. The Expected Parental Reactions Scale, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and Prosocial Behavior Questionnaire were used to measure the variables included in this study. Results reveal considerable differences between children's perceptions of parental expectations in different countries. Results also show the existence of significant differences between male and female adolescents. In all three countries, girls score more highly than boys in prosocial behavior and empathy. Furthermore, we find that low-income Argentinean adolescents score more highly than Spanish and Colombian adolescents in prosocial behavior measures. Finally, expected parental reactions toward prosocial behavior and empathy seem to have an influence on the adolescents' development of prosocial behavior in all three countries.

Systematic review of prosocial behavior measures

“…The PB has 15 items and is answered by children; and the CCP (55 items) is a measure with several versions (adolescents, parents and teachers). The latter was validated in the Valencian population in Spain (Martorell, González, Ordoñez & Gómez, 2011) and the Colombian population (Mesurado et al, 2014).…”

Vínculo de apego, estilos parentales y empatía en adolescentes

“…En cuanto a la relación entre las dimensiones de la empatía y el género, los resultados del presente estudio concuerdan con los obtenidos en investigaciones en las que se ha observado que las mujeres obtienen puntuaciones más elevadas que los varones en este constructo (Gorostiaga et al, 2014;Mestre-Escrivá et al, 2002Mesurado et al, 2014;Rose y Rudolph, 2006;Sánchez-Queija, Oliva y Parra, 2006). A partir de estos resultados, se conjetura que el género femenino se caracteriza por una respuesta emocional empática, y aunque ambos géneros tienen una capacidad cognitiva similar para comprender o tomar la perspectiva del otro, las mujeres reaccionan más afectivamente (Mestre-Escrivá et al, 2009).…”

What Makes a Partner Ideal, and for Whom? Compatibility Tests, Filter Tests, and the Mating Stability Matrix

“…The process that leads to the building of the TUs through the interlocking of male and female direct and indirect rewards with their different nature can also be regarded as an incentivization of within-couple male-female super-cooperation-that is, an unconditional reciprocal commitment [80] to reward the other both in sexual and in psycho-emotional terms as part of the couple bond [81]. This form of super-cooperation, by shifting the partners' focus from self-centered to other-centered goals and benefits, has multiple adaptive implications: Securing a favorable environment for joint effective parenting [82]; eliciting mutual trust [83] and self-sacrifice for the sake of the other [84]; improving the couple's resilience [85]; favoring cultural transmission of pro-social traits [86]; and even promoting the human development of both partners [87].…”