Which come first, prosociality or civic activism?: longitudinal relations and the role of socioeconomic status

• In Event: Understanding factors that foster citizen values in the Chilean Society: empirical contributions from The Chilean Longitudinal Social Survey (ELSOC)

Abstract

The development of prosociality (i.e., the tendency to act in favour of others) has been considered a precursor of civic engagement. Likely, prosocial behaviors may predispose people to be involved in their communities and to participate as active citizens in the democratic life. Despite its relevance, less attention have been given to this relation in contexts marked by social inequalities. The current study aims to elucidate the bidirectional effect between prosocial actions and civic activism by considering the conditional role of socioeconomic status on these relations. Our sample is representative at national level and consist in 2521 Chileans participants (38% males; and 62% females), ranging in age from 17 to 88 (Mage= 46.52; SD =15.23) who were involved in the Chilean Longitudinal Social Survey (ELSOC). Three representative items of prosociality (e.g., have you talked with a person in trouble or depressed; α = .61 at W1; α = .62 at W2) and four items of civic activism (e.g., attended a political demonstration; α = .67 at W1; α = .68 at W2) were used. A cross-lagged model revealed that among participants with lower levels of education, prosociality was significantly and negatively related to latter civic activism (b = -.26, p = .001), but no significant effects were found for the predictive role of civic activism on latter prosociality. Implications for the promotion of cohesive citizenship are discussed.

Author

• Paula Luengo Kanacri