Prosocial Tendencies among Chinese American Children in Immigrant Families: Links to Cultural and Socio‐demographic Factors and Psychological Adjustment

Abstract

The present study examined relations between prosocial tendencies (dispositional sympathy and prosocial behavior) and psychological adjustment using a multimethod and multi-informant approach in a socioeconomically diverse sample of first-and second-generation Chinese American children from immigrant families (N 5 238, M age 5 9.2 years). We tested the concurrent associations between: (a) children's dispositional sympathy (rated by parents, teachers, and children, and observed prosocial behavior), (b) psychological adjustment (parent-and teacherreported externalizing problems and social competence); and (c) cultural and socio-demographic factors (children's Chinese and American orientations, family Socioeconomic Status (SES), only child status, and children's age, sex, and social desirability). Results from correlations and structural equation modeling suggested that different measures of prosocial tendencies related differently to children's psychological adjustment. Parent-and teacher-rated sympathy were associated with higher child social competence and lower externalizing problems within, but not across, reporter. By contrast, child-rated sympathy was associated with higher teacher-rated social competence, and observed prize donation was associated with lower teacher-rated externalizing problems. Different measures of prosocial tendencies also showed different relations to cultural and socio-demographic factors. These findings suggest that prosocial tendencies are not a unitary construct in Chinese American immigrant children: the manifestations of prosocial tendencies and their adjustment implications might depend on the context and/or targets of these tendencies.

Examining the link between economic strain and adolescent social behavior: Roles of social bonds and empathy

“…Previous literature yields debates around the association between poverty and empathy (Fabes et al, 1999; Folkman, Lazarus, Dunkel‐Schetter, DeLongis, & Gruen, 1986; Main, Zhou, Liew, & Lee, 2017). However, the perspectives of strain and family process consistently demonstrate that economic stress negatively affect adolescent empathy and prosocial development by providing more possibilities for the youth to experience hostility rather than caring in a harsh family environment (Carlo, Padilla‐Walker, & Day, 2011; Davis & Carlo, 2019).…”

Parent–Child Conflict Profiles in Chinese American Immigrant Families: Links to Sociocultural Factors and School‐Age Children's Psychological Adjustment

“…The sample consisted of 239 children (48.1% females, M age = 9.2 years, SD = 0.73, age range = 7.5–11.0), their parents, and teachers who participated in a two‐wave longitudinal study on socioemotional and academic development of Chinese American children from immigrant families in the San Francisco Bay Area (Chen et al, 2014; Main, Zhou, Liew, & Lee, 2017). The present paper used data from W2 (collected 1.5–2.5 years after W1) because conflict was not assessed at W1.…”

A Relational Framework for Integrating the Study of Empathy in Children and Adults

“…While behavioral measures circumvent self-presentation bias associated with self-report, there are limitations to their use with older children due to masking (i.e., concealing one’s emotions with the expression of another) or expressive suppression (i.e., concealing one’s emotions by inhibiting emotional expressions), and social desirability remains an issue with these methods (see Main, Zhou, Liew, & Lee, 2017; Zhou, Valiente, & Eisenberg, 2003). Sometimes behavioral measures are supplemented with physiological indices, including heart rate and skin conductance, hypothesized to reflect more affective, less cognitively mediated aspects of empathy (Eisenberg et al, 1996).…”