ISSN 0439-755X
CN 11-1911/B

Acta Psychologica Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (7): 813-827.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2022.00813

• Reports of Empirical Studies • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The developmental cascades of prosocial behavior tendency, internalizing and externalizing problems for early adolescence in China: A within-person analysis

DUAN Wenting1, SUN Qiwu1, WANG Ming2(), WU Caizhi1, CHEN Zhenzhen1   

  1. 1Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior (CCNU), Ministry of Education; School of Psychology, Central China Normal University; Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430079, China
    2Center for Mental Health Education, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
  • Received:2021-03-23 Published:2022-07-25 Online:2022-05-19
  • Contact: WANG Ming E-mail:danielwm@whut.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    general funding project of the excellent student work project of universities in Hubei Province(2019XGJPX3023)

Abstract:

Understanding the developmental cascades of prosocial behavior, internalizing and externalizing problems is of great value in promoting adolescent mental health. The 3-year longitudinal data of 894 junior school students were analyzed at the within-person level, and compared with the traditional cross-lagged panel model. The results showed that: (1) at the within-person level, prosocial behavior tendency had moderate or weak co-variation with internalizing and externalizing problems, and T1 prosocial behavior tendency negatively predicted T2 internalizing problems, T2 prosocial behavior tendency negatively predicted T3 externalizing problems, which has a weak effect. (2) for girls, T2 internalizing problems positively predicted T3 externalizing problems, while for boys, internalizing problems and externalizing problems did not predict each other; (3) four factors of prosocial behavior tendency (public, compliant, emotional and altruistic) negatively predicted internalizing problems in T2, which have a weak effect. (4) the results obtained by within-person analysis are different from those by traditional cross-lagged analysis, and different models have different results. Conclusion: the development of prosocial behavior tendency in early adolescence reduces internalizing and externalizing problems, which has gender difference. The analysis at the within-person level has great value in the research of adolescent psychopathology development.

Key words: prosocial behavior tendency, internalizing and externalizing problems, random-intercept cross-lagged panel model, general cross-lagged panel model, developmental cascades