Longitudinal paths between parents' use of rewards and young adolescents' moral traits and prosocial behaviors

Abstract

Background: Although prior research shows supportive evidence that parental practices are associated with adolescents' prosocial behaviors, limited evidence exists on the effects of parents' use of social and material rewards on distinct forms of prosocial behaviors, and the mediating effects of sociocognitive and socioemotive traits in these relations. Aims: The present study was designed to examine the longitudinal relations among parents' use of social and material rewards, youth prosocial traits, and prosocial behaviors.Materials & Methods: Participants were 417 adolescents (M age = 14.70 years; 225 girls) from Valencia, Spain who completed surveys on parents' use of social and material reward practices, prosocial moral reasoning, empathic concern, and six types of prosocial behaviors. Results: Path analyses showed that parents' use of social rewards was indirectly, positively related to emotional, dire, altruistic, public (negatively), and compliant prosocial behaviors via empathic concern. The use of social rewards was also indirectly positively linked to altruistic prosocial behaviors via both empathic concern and prosocial moral reasoning. In contrast, parents' use of material rewards predicted less prosocial moral reasoning, which in turn, was linked to more altruistic, prosocial behaviors. Discussion and Conclusions: The implications for parental socialization and self-determination theories of prosocial and moral development are discussed. K E Y W O R D S adolescents, empathy, moral reasoning, parenting, prosocial behaviors | INTRODUCTIONMost parents desire their children to exhibit prosocial characteristics such as empathic concern (i.e., feelings of sorrow or concern for needy others), prosocial moral reasoning (i.e., express care-based norms and principles to reduce suffering and avoid harm in others), and prosocial behaviors (i.e., kind and generous actions intended to benefit others) (Carlo, 2014;Eisenberg et al., 2006). These characteristics form the basis for morality and cooperative families, communities, and societies, and are deemed to mitigate conflict and aggression. Moreover, there is growing evidence that youth who exhibit high levels of these characteristics are psychologically and behaviorally healthy, have better quality interpersonal relationships, and perform better academically (Carlo, 2014). Therefore, there is much value in understanding the socialization and personal mechanisms that predict prosocial characteristics in youth.Developmental scholars have devoted much attention to understand the influence of parents' socialization on children's prosocial development. There is evidence, for example, that caregiver-child attachment, parental support, parental monitoring, and parenting styles (i.e., interaction levels of parental warmth and demandingness) are generally predictive of

Research on Predictors and Influence of Moral Behavior

“…Parents' motivation for children can be material rewards or social rewards. Material rewards are rewards such as gifts (mobile phones, watches), money, and privileges (such as playing games later) given by parents when children show behaviors desired by parents [6]. However, material rewards are ostensibly the most direct reinforcement of behaviors.…”

“…Grusec and colleagues [8] pointed out that frequent use of social rewards can produce strong moral motivations for individuals. Love, recognition, support, and so on can produce a self-concept conducive to maintaining moral behaviors [6]. Some research shows that parents' affection and encouragement for children's moral behaviors are beneficial to the moral development of children and reduce the occurrence of immoral behaviors.…”

Parental warmth and guilt induction: Associations with prosocial behaviors and the mediating role of values in Chinese adolescents

“…However, Carlo and Randall (2002) have identified six distinct types of prosocial tendencies, including emotional (e.g., helping in emotionally charged situations), dire (e.g., helping in emergencies), compliant (e.g., helping when requested), anonymous (e.g., helping without others’ knowledge), public (e.g., helping when others are present), and altruistic (e.g., helping due to a genuine concern for others without expecting personal gain). While dire, emotional, compliant, altruistic, and anonymous prosocial behaviors are other‐oriented, public prosocial behaviors are more self‐oriented in nature (Carlo et al., 2022; Carlo & Padilla‐Walker, 2020).…”