De relatie tussen ervaren ouderlijke emotionele steun en het prosociale gedrag van adolescenten en de modererende rol van het empathisch vermogen van adolescenten in de late adolescentie.

Abstract

Prosocial behavior in adolescents is crucial for maintaining relationships and is positively associated with quality of life. The period of adolescence seems to be of enormous importance in the development of prosocial behavior. Prosocial behavior increases until late adolescence after which it stabilizes. However, there are still many uncertainties about what factors play a role in the development of this behaviour. Parents, through emotional support, seem to be able to play a role in promoting prosocial behavior in adolescents, as this provides a secure foundation to develop psychosocial skills. This study focuses on the relation between perceived parental emotional support and the prosocial behavior of adolescents and the possible moderating role of adolescents' empathic abilities during late adolescence. Data was used from 383 adolescents and parents; the participants are part of the longitudinal RADAR study. Adolescents reported annually on their prosocial behavior, perceived parental emotional support and empathic ability. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis shows that there is a relation between perceived parental emotional support and adolescents' prosocial behavior. This relation does not appear to be moderated by the empathic capacity of adolescents. The results of this study can contribute to the development of interventions to promote prosocial behavior in adolescents