Psychometric Evidence of a Multidimensional Measure of Prosocial Behaviors for Spanish Adolescents

Prior theories and scholars rarely distinguished between distinct forms of prosocial behaviors (i.e., actions intended to benefit others) and most scholars operationalize prosocial behaviors as a global construct. Furthermore, stringent tests of psychometric properties of prosocial behavior measures...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of genetic psychology 2015-07, Vol.176 (4), p.260-271
Main Authors: Mestre, Maria V., Carlo, Gustavo, Samper, Paula, Tur-Porcar, Ana M., Mestre, Ana Llorca
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior - ethnology
Adolescents
Behavior
culture
Factor Structure
Female
Gender differences
Humans
Male
measurement
Perspective Taking
Prosocial Behavior
prosocial behaviors
Psychometrics
Psychometrics - instrumentation
Social Behavior
Spain - ethnology
Surveys and Questionnaires - standards
Sympathy
Teenagers
theory
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Summary:Prior theories and scholars rarely distinguished between distinct forms of prosocial behaviors (i.e., actions intended to benefit others) and most scholars operationalize prosocial behaviors as a global construct. Furthermore, stringent tests of psychometric properties of prosocial behavior measures are rare, especially in countries other than the United States. The present study was designed to examine the structure and functions of a multidimensional measure of prosocial behaviors in youth from Spain. Six hundred and 66 adolescents (46% girls; M age = 15.33 years, SD = 0.47 years) from Valencia, Spain, completed the Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised (PTM-R), measures of sympathy, perspective taking, and a global measure of prosocial behavior. Results showed that the hypothesized 6-factor structure of the PTM-R had good fit, the best fit model as compared to alternative models, and that there were several unique patterns of relations between specific forms of prosocial behaviors and sympathy, perspective taking, and the global measure of prosocial behavior. Furthermore, although there were significant gender differences in some forms of prosocial behaviors, the structure of the PTM-R was equivalent across gender. Discussion focuses on the implications for theories and measurement of prosocial behaviors.
ISSN:0022-1325
1940-0896
DOI:10.1080/00221325.2015.1052726