Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial that Altruism Moderates the Effect of Prosocial Acts on Adolescent Well-bein
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EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial that Altruism Moderates the Effect of Prosocial Acts on Adolescent Well-being Sarah M. Tashjian 1 Danny Rahal1 Maira Karan1 Naomi Eisenberger1 Adriana Galván1,2 Steve W. Cole3,4 Andrew J. Fuligni1,2,3,4 ●
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Received: 15 September 2020 / Accepted: 16 November 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Despite growing public and scientific interest in the positive benefits of prosociality, there has been little research on the causal effects of performing kind acts for others on psychological well-being during adolescence. Developmental changes during adolescence, such as greater perspective taking, can promote prosociality. It was hypothesized that performing kind acts for others would improve adolescent well-being (positive and negative affect, perceived stress) and increase prosocial giving. As part of a randomized controlled trial, 97 adolescents (Mage = 16.224, SD = 0.816, range 14–17; 53.608% female) were assigned to either perform kind acts for others (Kindness to Others, N = 33), perform kind acts for themselves (Kindness to Self, N = 34), or report on daily activities (Daily Report, N = 30) three times per week for four weeks. Wellbeing factors were measured weekly and giving was tested post-intervention. Overall, changes over time in well-being did not differ across conditions. However, altruism emerged as a significant moderator such that altruistic adolescents in the Kindness to Others condition showed increased positive affect, decreased negative affect, and decreased stress. Increased positive affect was also linked to greater prosocial giving for Kindness to Others adolescents. These findings identify individual differences that may shape the effects of doing kind acts for others on well-being during adolescence. Keywords
Adolescents Affect Intervention Prosocial ●
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Introduction
These authors contributed equally: Sarah M. Tashjian, Danny Rahal Supplementary information The online version of this article (https:// doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01362-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Sarah M. Tashjian [email protected] * Andrew J. Fuligni [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
The benefits of prosociality for positive development and psychological well-being are apparent in adolescence (Memmott-Elison et al. 2020). However, much of the extant work on prosociality during this developmental period is correlational. A recent intervention study in adults reported modest support for the positive effect of performin
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