The associated effects of parent, peer and teacher attachment and self-regulation on prosocial behaviors: A person-and variable-centered investigation

Abstract

Adolescence is a critical juncture in the development of prosocial behaviors, which contribute to the overall well-being of youth. Thus, it is important to understand how multiple socialization agents and self-regulation simultaneously foster prosocial behaviors. Using both variable-centered and latent person-centered approaches, the current study examined the relative, concurrent contribution of multiple socialization agents (parent, peer, and teacher attachment) and self-regulation on Taiwanese adolescents’ global prosocial behaviors. This study included 1473 Taiwanese high school students (50.4% junior high schoolers, 57.9% females, Mage = 14.87 years) who completed measures of parent, peer, and teacher attachment, self-control, and prosocial behaviors. Four profiles emerged from the person-centered approach. The profile with highest scores on self-control and all measures of attachment reported the highest prosocial behaviors. The other three profiles differed in their attachment patterns but demonstrated roughly similar levels of self-control. Among the three profiles, the groups with the lowest scores on prosocial behaviors appeared to have low to moderate attachment quality, whereas the group with high peer attachment scored significantly higher in prosocial behaviors than the other two groups. Results from the variable-centered approach found no direct effects of parent attachment on prosocial behaviors, though effects of self-control and peer and teacher attachments were evident. Our findings suggest that the quality of attachment and self-regulation commonly promote prosocial behaviors in youth. Furthermore, peer and school-based relationships may serve as unique and salient socialization contexts for prosocial behaviors during adolescence. Limitations and recommendations for future research were discussed.