Is altruism born of suffering? Prosocial development in the wake of adverse life experiences

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Prior theory (e.g., Janoff-Bulman, 2010) and research (e.g., Kaufman & Cicchetti, 1989) link experiences of adversity to decreases in behaviors intended to benefit others (i.e., prosocial behavior; Batson & Powell, 2003). However, a subset of individuals facing adversity demonstrate growth across multiple domains of functioning, including increases in prosocial behavior (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004). This symposium compiles recent work on the antecedents to positive adaptation in contexts of prior or concomitant adversity (i.e., resilience) to elucidate why, in some cases, experiences of adversity may eventuate in prosocial outcomes.
The first paper documents prospective relations between preschooler’s narrative coherence and prosocial resilience in later childhood (i.e., better-than-expected prosocial outcomes relative to early adversity exposure). The second paper examines community violence exposure, community cohesion, and a sense of agency to influence one’s community as predictors of youth’s prosocial behavior toward both ingroup members and strangers. The final paper shows that empathy is a significant conduit to prosocial behavior for youth growing up in the protracted conflict in Northern Ireland, and these relations were explained by youth’s positive attitudes toward ethnic minorities and prosocial intentions and actions toward refugees.
Joined by an expert discussant on processes of risk and resilience in childhood, this symposium draws on diverse samples to explore whether and why children facing adversity may evidence prosocial resilience.

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chair

• Brianne Coulombe, University of South Carolina Aiken

Discussant

• Tuppett M. Yates, University of California - Riverside

Individual Presentations

• Children's prosocial resilience in the face of adversity: The role of narrative coherence - Presenting Author: Brianne Coulombe, University of South Carolina Aiken; Non-Presenting Author: Tuppett M. Yates, University of California - Riverside

• A person-centered examination of community characteristics and prosocial behaviors among young adults - Presenting Author: Sahitya Maiya, University of New Hampshire; Non-Presenting Author: Alexandra Nicole Davis, University of New Mexico

• Outgroup helping, collective action, and political activism toward ethnic minorities in a setting of protracted conflict - Presenting Author: Laura K. Taylor, University College Dublin (UCD); Non-Presenting Author: Shelley McKeown Jones, University of Bristol