Costa Rican Youth's Morality: Exploring the Influences of Context, Gender, and Secure Attachment in Prosociality

• In Event: 52.083 - Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: 52.083-6 - Moral Development and Educational Context

Abstract

Considering the debate about the role of universal and contextual factors in the moral development, this study explored the relationships amongst secure attachment, empathy and prosocial behaviour of 315 Costa Rican adolescents from rural and urban milieus. In this regard, the literature review showed that, although there are different approaches, many scholars agreed that the development of prosocial moral competencies includes interplay between biological, emotional, behavioural, cognitive and sociocultural dynamics. In order to contribute to such discussion, this study draws on some of the contemporary concerns regarding the development of prosocial morality: 1) cross-cultural precursors associated with secure attachment that influence prosocial tendencies, 2) the impact of the context on moral development, and 3) gender differences in other-oriented empathy skills.

Author

• Natacha Monestel-Mora, The University of British Columbia