Longitudinal Relations Between School Climate and Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of Gratitude
Biao Li,1 Xiao Hu,2 Litao Chen,3 Chuyi Wu4 1School of Education Science, Guangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Laibin, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Education, Shiyuan College of Nanning Normal University, Nanning, People’s Republic of China; 3College of Music, Guangxi Norma...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Dove Medical Press
2023-02-01
|
| Series: | Psychology Research and Behavior Management |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.dovepress.com/longitudinal-relations-between-school-climate-and-prosocial-behavior-t-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-PRBM |
| _version_ | 1811165009865080832 |
|---|---|
| author | Li B Hu X Chen L Wu C |
| author_facet | Li B Hu X Chen L Wu C |
| author_sort | Li B |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Biao Li,1 Xiao Hu,2 Litao Chen,3 Chuyi Wu4 1School of Education Science, Guangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Laibin, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Education, Shiyuan College of Nanning Normal University, Nanning, People’s Republic of China; 3College of Music, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, People’s Republic of China; 4School of Education Science, Guangxi Minzu University, Nanning, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xiao Hu, Department of Education, Shiyuan College of Nanning Normal University, Nanning, People’s Republic of China, Email huxiaoiris@gmail.comPurpose: The school climate, which refers to the quality and character of school life, is associated with a wide range of developmental outcomes. Although researchers have shown considerable interest in uncovering the links between school climate and prosocial behavior, the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Therefore, the current study was designed to investigate the mediating role of gratitude between school climate and adolescents’ prosocial behavior.Methods: A sample of 632 Chinese adolescents (363 girls and 269 boys; Mage = 16.83 years at time 1, SD = 0.68 years) completed a battery of sociometric and self-report questionnaires that measured school climate, gratitude, and prosocial behavior in three waves.Results: Correlation analysis showed that school climate, gratitude, and prosocial behavior were all significantly and positively intercorrelated across the three waves. Importantly, gratitude completely mediated the relationship between school climate and prosocial behavior (β = 0.005 [95% confidence interval = 0.001, 0.013]) in the three-wave longitudinal mediation model.Conclusion: As a positive disposition, gratitude fosters prosocial behavior and serves as a mediator between school climate and prosocial behavior. This study provides a theoretical explanation for cultivating adolescents’ prosocial behavior and theoretical guidelines for interventions of schools and other socializing agents.Keywords: prosocial behavior, gratitude, school climate, adolescents, longitudinal mediation model |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T15:31:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d48a44cfbb3445b58d9ce4786b4487cf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1179-1578 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T15:31:42Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | Dove Medical Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Psychology Research and Behavior Management |
| spelling | doaj.art-d48a44cfbb3445b58d9ce4786b4487cf2023-02-13T17:59:03ZengDove Medical PressPsychology Research and Behavior Management1179-15782023-02-01Volume 1641943081610Longitudinal Relations Between School Climate and Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of GratitudeLi BHu XChen LWu CBiao Li,1 Xiao Hu,2 Litao Chen,3 Chuyi Wu4 1School of Education Science, Guangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Laibin, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Education, Shiyuan College of Nanning Normal University, Nanning, People’s Republic of China; 3College of Music, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, People’s Republic of China; 4School of Education Science, Guangxi Minzu University, Nanning, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xiao Hu, Department of Education, Shiyuan College of Nanning Normal University, Nanning, People’s Republic of China, Email huxiaoiris@gmail.comPurpose: The school climate, which refers to the quality and character of school life, is associated with a wide range of developmental outcomes. Although researchers have shown considerable interest in uncovering the links between school climate and prosocial behavior, the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Therefore, the current study was designed to investigate the mediating role of gratitude between school climate and adolescents’ prosocial behavior.Methods: A sample of 632 Chinese adolescents (363 girls and 269 boys; Mage = 16.83 years at time 1, SD = 0.68 years) completed a battery of sociometric and self-report questionnaires that measured school climate, gratitude, and prosocial behavior in three waves.Results: Correlation analysis showed that school climate, gratitude, and prosocial behavior were all significantly and positively intercorrelated across the three waves. Importantly, gratitude completely mediated the relationship between school climate and prosocial behavior (β = 0.005 [95% confidence interval = 0.001, 0.013]) in the three-wave longitudinal mediation model.Conclusion: As a positive disposition, gratitude fosters prosocial behavior and serves as a mediator between school climate and prosocial behavior. This study provides a theoretical explanation for cultivating adolescents’ prosocial behavior and theoretical guidelines for interventions of schools and other socializing agents.Keywords: prosocial behavior, gratitude, school climate, adolescents, longitudinal mediation modelhttps://www.dovepress.com/longitudinal-relations-between-school-climate-and-prosocial-behavior-t-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-PRBMprosocial behaviorgratitudeschool climateadolescentslongitudinal mediation model |
| spellingShingle | Li B Hu X Chen L Wu C Longitudinal Relations Between School Climate and Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of Gratitude Psychology Research and Behavior Management prosocial behavior gratitude school climate adolescents longitudinal mediation model |
| title | Longitudinal Relations Between School Climate and Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of Gratitude |
| title_full | Longitudinal Relations Between School Climate and Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of Gratitude |
| title_fullStr | Longitudinal Relations Between School Climate and Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of Gratitude |
| title_full_unstemmed | Longitudinal Relations Between School Climate and Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of Gratitude |
| title_short | Longitudinal Relations Between School Climate and Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of Gratitude |
| title_sort | longitudinal relations between school climate and prosocial behavior the mediating role of gratitude |
| topic | prosocial behavior gratitude school climate adolescents longitudinal mediation model |
| url | https://www.dovepress.com/longitudinal-relations-between-school-climate-and-prosocial-behavior-t-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-PRBM |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lib longitudinalrelationsbetweenschoolclimateandprosocialbehaviorthemediatingroleofgratitude AT hux longitudinalrelationsbetweenschoolclimateandprosocialbehaviorthemediatingroleofgratitude AT chenl longitudinalrelationsbetweenschoolclimateandprosocialbehaviorthemediatingroleofgratitude AT wuc longitudinalrelationsbetweenschoolclimateandprosocialbehaviorthemediatingroleofgratitude |