No two emergency situations are alike. A combination of human and contextual factors makes each emergency and disaster unique in its time line, its aftermath, and especially its impact on affected populations. In all of these situations, however, people engage in prosocial behavior that benefits others. We provide an overview of altruistic and other prosocial behavior in typical human development and of developmental distinctions between helping, sharing, and comforting. We focus on the expression of these behaviors in emergency situations, using the COVID-19 pandemic to illustrate how prosociality shifts and adapts in a specific context. Finally, we suggest that a developmental framework may help researchers and professionals in the field achieve a more comprehensive understanding of the many facets and underlying mechanisms of prosociality in emergency contexts.

Abstract. Altruistic behavior is a subset of prosocial behavior, aimed at intentionally benefitting another while incurring a cost to the actor. It develops throughout childhood as underlying social–emotional and cognitive mechanisms become mature. Prosocial behavior in childhood is considered as a predictor of later well-being and academic achievement, yet educators and clinicians have few means of measuring it. This study aimed to translate and validate a French version of the Altruism Scale for Children originally developed in English by Swank et al. (2020) that focuses on altruistic behavior with individuals varying in closeness and animals. Children aged 7 through 11 from public and private elementary schools in France ( N = 743), all following the same core curriculum, completed the 30-item questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted on the obtained data. The final French version of the Altruism Scale for Children contains 20 questions and distinguishes two facets of altruistic intention, namely, toward close and more distant social contacts. It can be considered as a useful instrument to gain a better understanding of a child’s prosocial behavior throughout contexts.

No two emergency situations are the same. A combination of human and contextual factors makes each emergency and disaster event unique in its timeline, its aftermath, and especially its impact on affected populations. Common to these situations, however, is a demonstration of prosocial behavior intended to benefit other victims. Can shared features of emergencies, viewed through the lens of evolutionary, cognitive, developmental and social psychology shed light on these prosocial and altruistic actions? In this narrative review, we survey the onset of prosociality and altruistic behavior in typical human development, and we focus on how it is expressed in emergency situations. We consider how prosociality shifts and adapts in the specific context of a pandemic. Finally, we suggest that a multidisciplinary research approach may help overcome methodological limitations and achieve more comprehensive understanding of prosociality’s underlying mechanisms in emergency contexts.

Altruistic behavior, aimed at intentionally benefitting another while incurring a cost to the actor, develops throughout childhood as underlying social-emotional and cognitive mechanisms become mature. Prosocial behavior in childhood is considered as a predictor of later well-being and academic achievement, yet educators and clinicians have few means of measuring it. This study aimed to translate and validate a French version of the Altruism Scale for Children originally developed by Swank et al. (2020) that focuses on altruistic behavior with individuals varying in closeness as well as animals. Children ages 7 through 11 from public and private elementary schools in France (N = 743), all following the same core curriculum, completed the 30-item questionnaire. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted on the obtained data. The final French version of the Altruism Scale for Children contains 20 questions and distinguishes altruistic behavior towards close and more distant social contacts. It can be considered as a useful instrument for clinicians and educators to gain a better understanding of a child’s prosocial behavior throughout contexts.