Prosocial behavior, psychological well-being, positive and negative affect among young adults: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Prosocial behaviors are considered important moral and social behavior. Various researchers have found that prosocial behavior increases well-being; research is scarce on the effects of prosocial behavior on psychological well-being, positive and negative affect among adults. Aim: The present study investigated the relationship between prosocial behavior, psychological well-being, and positive and negative affect on adults. Materials and Methods: The study included 80 adults (19–25 years) males and females. Snowball and incidental sampling method is used for data collection. The tools used for the study are the Prosocial Personality Battery, Ryff's psychological well-being scale, and the positive and negative affect scale. Results: A positive correlation was found between prosocial behavior and psychological well-being (0.396 which is significant at 0.01 level). A positive correlation was also observed between prosocial behavior and positive affect (0.274 which is significant at 0.01 level). A negative correlation was found between prosocial behavior and negative affect (−0.191 which is significant at 0.05 level). Conclusion: People involved in Prosocial behavior showed a positive correlation with Psychological well-being and positive affect and a negative correlation with negative affects.