Predicting adolescent prosocial behavior from self-regulation in middle childhood and justice sensitivity

Abstract

Prosocial behavior and responding to unfair treatment depend on many factors, including effective self-regulation that allows to act against primary self- interests. Furthermore, justice sensitivity (JS) may also promote just behavior. Acting in accordance with JS in the face of own disadvantages may also require self-regulation. The present study investigated the relation between self-regulation in childhood (e.g., inhibition, updating, flexibility, emotion regulation) and distributions in adolescence in the dictator, ultimatum, and third-person game and the mediating role of JS. It used data from a German large-scale study with 501 participants (T1: 6–11 years, M_age = 8.36, SD = 0.93, 52 % female; T4: 16–21 years, M_age = 18.28, SD = 1.00, 53 % female, 2 % genderqueer/other). Latent mediation analyses showed direct effects of childhood affective decision making and flexibility on adolescent prosocial behavior, with additional effects when considering gender. JS contributed to direct effects, but no indirect effects were found, suggesting independent influences of self-regulation and JS on prosocial behavior.