Promoting Adolescents’ Prosocial Behaviors From the South America: Evidence From Three Randomized Controlled Interventions

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Recently, research have emphasized that adolescents’ prosocial behaviors, such as helping, caring, and sharing, are associated with high level of youths’ well-being and low externalizing and internalizing problems over time (Eisenberg et al., 2015). Yet, school-based interventions specifically aimed to promote prosocial behaviors in adolescents are scarce. This symposium presents recent findings from the implementation of three randomized prosocial interventions in South America. The effectiveness and potential mediating mechanism of those interventions are discussed.
The first paper examines the replication in Colombia of an Italian school-based intervention, named CEPIDEA. In detail, it investigates (a) the effectiveness of the intervention in promoting adolescents’ prosocial behavior, and (b) the role of self-efficacy beliefs as mediating mechanisms of the intervention on prosocial behavior.
The second paper investigates the effect of ProCiviCo program, a school-based intervention developed in Chile and based on the CEPIDEA model, focused on the promotion of social cohesion within classrooms by improving befriending tendencies among students from different social classes.
The third paper examines the effect of Hero, an Argentinian computerized online home-based program, in improving adolescents’ prosocial behavior during COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina, and investigates the increase of positive emotions as mediating mechanism of the program.
The symposium gives an overview of effective practices for promoting adolescents’ prosocial behaviors in a region, the South America, where social inequalities are characteristic and are increasing. Similarity, differences among programs, and issues related to the adaptation and to the effectiveness of interventions in different social contexts.

Sub Unit

• Solicited Content: Global South

Chair

• Bernadette Paula Luengo Kanacri, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Discussant

• Maria Gerbino, Sapienza University of Rome

Individual Presentations

• Promoting Prosocial Behavior Among Colombian Adolescents: A Replication of the CEPIDEA Program - Presenting Author: Flavia Cirimele, Sapienza University of Rome; Non-Presenting Author: Maryluz Gomez Plata, Sapienza University of Rome; Non-Presenting Author: Antonio Zuffiano, Sapienza University of Rome; Non-Presenting Author: Liliana Uribe Tirado, Universidad de San Buenaventura; Non-Presenting Author: Mariela Narváez Marín, Universidad de Manizales; Non-Presenting Author: Gonzalo Tamayo Giraldo, Universidad de Manizales; Non-Presenting Author: Carmelina Papa Barbosa, Universidad del Magdalena; Non-Presenting Author: Eriona Thartori, Sapienza University of Rome; Non-Presenting Author: Marcela Ruiz García, Universidad de San Buenaventura; Non-Presenting Author: Bernadette Paula Luengo Kanacri, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Non-Presenting Author: Gian Vittorio Caprara, Sapienza University of Rome

• Promoting Prosocial Behaviors in Contexts of Inequalities: Friendship Selection in a Prosocial School-based Intervention in Chile - Presenting Author: Bernadette Paula Luengo Kanacri, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Non-Presenting Author: Gloria Jiménez-Moya, Escuela de Psicología; Non-Presenting Author: Diego Palacios, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile; Non-Presenting Author: Christian Berger, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

• “Hero” a Home-based Program for Promoting Prosocial Behaviors and Positive Emotions During COVID-19 Pandemic - Presenting Author: Belén Mesurado, Universidad Austral; Non-Presenting Author: Claudia E. Vanney, Universidad Austral