Church Support as a Predictor of Children's Spirituality and Prosocial Behavior

Abstract

Church affiliation has been associated with many developmental benefits for children and adolescents, including higher levels of prosocial behavior; however, research has only minimally explored the mechanisms mediating these relationships. The current study examines the extent to which social support at church (i.e., church support) predicts children's prosocial behavior independent of family religious practices and, subsequently, the extent to which the relationships between family religious practices, church support, and prosocial behavior are mediated by spirituality. Self-report survey data were collected from 279 church-going children between the ages of 6 and 13. Results of a structural equation model (SEM) analysis found that church support independently predicted spirituality and prosocial behavior after controlling for family religious practices. Spirituality partially mediated the relationship between church support and prosocial behavior. On average, boys reported significantly lower levels of church support, which in turn predicted lower levels of prosocial behavior both directly and indirectly via spirituality. Implications for parents and church leadership are discussed.

Exploring Autonomy and Relatedness in Church as Predictors of Children’s Religiosity and Relationship with God

“…Crosby et al (2015) defined social support as a feeling of belonging, being cared for, and loved. Crosby and Smith (2015) found church support significantly predicted prosocial behavior and spirituality when controlling for family religious practices. Children who perceived their church to be friendly and loving were more likely to believe God was close and responsive.…”

“…Studies using SDT as a framework for investigating parental and church support for identified religiosity in children and adolescents have focused on autonomy and relatedness (Assor et al, 2005; Flor & Knapp, 2001). Research identifies positive connections between children’s religiosity and autonomy support in church (Beste, 2012; Ridgely, 2006) and relatedness in church (Crosby, Smith, & Frederick, 2015; Crosby & Smith, 2015). In order to ensure strong empirical support and narrow the scope of the study the researcher designed this current study to explore the needs of autonomy and relatedness in a church context.…”

Measuring Children's Church‐Based Social Support: Development and Initial Validation of the Kids’ Church Survey

“…For example, nurturing and supportive relationships within the church community may engender a corresponding concept of God, similar to the way parents’ behaviors do in early childhood (Dickie et al, ; Krause & Ellison, ). The resulting perception of God as loving and responsive is a significant facet of religious support (Pargament, ) which has been associated with a number of positive youth outcomes, including life satisfaction, prosocial behavior, and religious coping (Bjorck, Kim, Braese, & Gililland, ; Crosby & Smith, ; Van Dyke, Glenwick, Cecero, & Kim, ).…”

“…Parent support was measured using the six‐item parent subscale of the self‐report Social Support Scale for Children (Harter, ). Family religious practices was measured using a three‐item parent‐report measure adapted by Crosby and Smith () from existing inventories of adult and family religious practices. School support was measured using the five‐item peer support subscale and the four‐item teacher support subscale of the self‐report Psychological Sense of School Membership survey (Goodenow, ; Ye & Wallace, ).…”

Analysis of Moral Reasoning of Teachers and the Students with Respect to Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

“…Such evolution consists of overcoming the initial structural nature to build up another one qualitatively different [2][3][4][5]. Much research and philosophical reflection has been done on religiosity and motivation toward moral and pro-social behaviour [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Teachers are the most imperative tool in refining schools and contributing to student accomplishment [16,17].…”