Citation

McMahon SD, Wernsman J, Parnes AL. J. Adolesc. Health 2006; 39(1): 135-137.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois 60614, USA. smcmahon@depaul.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.10.008

PMID

16781977

Abstract

Although prosocial behavior in adolescence is associated with many positive outcomes, few studies have examined the factors that contribute to the development of prosocial behaviors. This study examines empathy and gender as predictors of prosocial behavior among African American early adolescents. Results revealed a significant main effect for empathy, as well as an interaction between empathy and gender in predicting prosocial behavior. In general, youth with more empathy reported more prosocial behavior, and this effect was more pronounced for males than females. These findings suggest that the ability to understand another's perspective may be important in the development and expression of prosocial behaviors, particularly among males.

Language: en