Adolescents who had emotional support from friends and family and who were biologically primed to respond well to others were more likely to show prosocial behavior and empathy toward others as they entered early adulthood, compared with adolescents who did not have such support. The findings come from a recent study from the University of California, Davis, of Mexican-origin adolescents living in the United States.
The study is part of an ongoing multi-generational assessment of Mexican-origin families living in the United States called the California Families Project. This was the first such study to examine how adolescent physiology and relationships work together to foster positive development during adolescence, the researchers said.
“We pay a lot of attention to adolescent problems, and of course that’s important, but we also need to learn more about what helps young people thrive and live better lives as kind, caring adults,” said Paul Hastings, a psychology professor and senior author on the paper.
Hastings said the research is important considering that in California, more than half of children and adolescents identify as Latino or Latinx, and most of these families identify Mexico as their country of origin. The people studied were living in Northern California at the time.
The study found that family support predicted youth’s compassionate and helpful actions toward those close to them, while youth who had good support systems of friends were more involved in volunteer work and other helpful community actions at age 19. Additionally, adolescents with a physiology that primed them to be sensitive to others were more likely to be empathetic, helpful, and kind.
The study was published in Developmental Psychology, a journal of the American Psychological Association, in August.
Researchers looked at 229 Mexican-born adolescents from fifth grade onward (ages 10 to 19), with data collected between 2006 and 2016. They assessed the adolescents’ electrocardiography (heart rhythm activity), their socialization in relationships with family and friends, and multiple aspects of their prosocial tendencies, including empathy, helping, kindness, and civic engagement with their communities.
The study was conducted by researchers who conducted individual assessments using questionnaires, behavioral tasks, and physiological monitoring of youths’ ability to control their physiological arousal. Youth reported on the social support they received from family and friends in surveys between ages 10 and 16. They then had their baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia, or RSA, measured at age 17. Empathy and prosocial behavior were assessed at ages 17 and 19.
“The unique benefit of having supportive friendships was evident in emerging adults’ engagement in broader community-oriented prosocial behaviors,” the researchers wrote.
“This finding suggests that feeling safe and connected may be particularly important for young people to be prepared to interact with the broader community,” Hastings said.
Additional authors on the paper include Jonas Miller of the University of Connecticut; Davis G. Weissman of California State University Dominguez Hills; Gustavo Carlo of UC Irvine; and UC Davis’ Richard W. Robins (psychology), Amanda E. Guyer (human ecology), and Ryan T. Hodge (human development).
The research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.