The protective role of prosocial behaviors on antisocial behaviors: The mediating effects of deviant peer affiliation

Abstract Prosocial behaviors, actions intended to help others, may serve a protective function against association with deviant peers and subsequent delinquent and antisocial behaviors. The present study examined the relations among specific types of prosocial behaviors, deviant peer affiliation, an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of adolescence (London, England.) England.), 2014-06, Vol.37 (4), p.359-366
Main Authors: Carlo, Gustavo, Mestre, Maria Vicenta, McGinley, Meredith M, Tur-Porcar, Ana, Samper, Paula, Opal, Deanna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior - psychology
Adolescents
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Aggression
Aggressiveness
Altruism
Antisocial personality disorder
Biological and medical sciences
Delinquency
Deviant Behavior
Female
Females
Humans
Juvenile Delinquency
Male
Medical sciences
Pediatrics
Peer Group
Peers
Prosocial behaviors
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Risk assessment
Social Adjustment
Social Behavior
Social behavior disorders. Criminal behavior. Delinquency
Spain
Teenagers
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Summary:Abstract Prosocial behaviors, actions intended to help others, may serve a protective function against association with deviant peers and subsequent delinquent and antisocial behaviors. The present study examined the relations among specific types of prosocial behaviors, deviant peer affiliation, and delinquent and aggressive behaviors. Six hundred and sixty-six adolescents (46% girls; M age = 15.33, SD  = .47) from Valencia, Spain completed questionnaires of prosocial behaviors, affiliation with deviant peers, antisocial behaviors, and aggression. Results showed that antisocial behaviors were negatively related only to specific forms of prosocial behaviors. Further analyses showed that deviant peer affiliation mediated the relations between compliant prosocial behavior and delinquency and aggression. Although altruism was not directly related to delinquency and aggression, it was indirectly linked to the behaviors via deviant peer affiliation. Discussion focuses on the relevance of specific forms of prosocial behaviors to antisocial behaviors and the risk of deviant peers for prosocial youth.
ISSN:0140-1971
1095-9254
DOI:10.1016/j.adolescence.2014.02.009