Promoting Prosocial Behavior Among Colombian Adolescents: A Replication of the CEPIDEA Program

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

Abstract

Several studies highlighted that promoting prosocial behaviors (i.e., voluntary actions undertaken to benefit others; Batson, 2011) during adolescence is associated with several positive outcomes (i.e., better peer relationships and academic achievement) and lower levels of internalizing and externalizing problems. A school-based universal intervention program designed for promoting prosocial behavior in adolescence was originally developed in Italy and named Promoting Prosocial and Emotional Skills to Counteract Externalizing Problems in Adolescence (CEPIDEA). Using the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT; Bandura, 1986) as the reference framework, we hypothesized that self-efficacy in the interpersonal domain could operate as mediational variables linking the effect of the intervention to students' prosocial behavior. Although previous studies have shown the efficacy of CEPIDEA in increasing prosocial behavior among Italian adolescents (Caprara et al., 2015), the robustness of the effects of the CEPIDA program in different cultural context (Tolan, 2020) as well as the putative mediational role of the interpersonal self-efficacy needed to be investigated. Thus, the CEPIDEA was replicated in three cities of Colombia: Medellin, Manizales, and Santa Marta. Colombia, set in a post-conflict scenario, has to cope with important issues such as the reconciliation process between citizens and guerillas, inequality, poverty and corruption (Central Intelligence Agency, 2020). Accordingly, in the implementation of the program in Colombia, a particular emphasis was given the importance of interpersonal skills as basis of prosocial behavior that, in turn, could facilitate alternative conflict resolution.
The aim of the present study was twofold. First, we examined the efficacy of CEPIDEA implemented in three cities of Colombia (Medellín, Manizales, and Santa Marta) on the increase of prosocial behavior. Second, we explored the possible mediated effect of interpersonal self-efficacy in increasing prosocial behavior.
Using a randomized pretest-posttest design, 752 students took part in the study (two intervention schools and two control schools for each site). Specifically, 381 students belonged to the intervention group (57,2% boys; Mage=12.77, SD= 1,05) and 371 students were part of the control group (55.3% boys; Mage=12.58, SD= 0.94). As shown in Table 1, ANCOVA results indicated a slight positive effect of the CEPIDEA intervention on the change in prosocial behavior from pretest to posttest in the city of Medellin (b = .210, SE = .053, p <.001, Cohen’s d = .302), Manizales (b = .145, SE = .039, p <.001, Cohen’s d = .436), and Santa Marta (b = .112, SE = .049, p =.021, Cohen’s d = .375). Interestingly, the hypothesized positive mediation effect (CEPIDEA program → increase in interpersonal self-efficacy → increase in prosocial behavior) was significant only in the Manizales sample, (ab=.018, [95% CI: .001 .046]).
Overall, these findings indicated the goodness of the CEPIDEA program to promote prosocial behavior among Colombian adolescents as well as suggested the need to understand under which conditions interpersonal self-efficacy could operate as a mediational mechanism. The implications of these results for promoting positive youth development are discussed.

Authors

• Flavia Cirimele, Sapienza University of Rome
  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
  Non-Presenting Author