The Developmental Trajectories of Prosocial Behavior in Adolescence: a Growth-Mixture Model

The individual differences between the emerging onset and tracing patterns of prosocial behavior’s developmental trajectory remain relatively unclear, although the general developmental trajectory of prosocial behavior in adolescence is well established. The goals of this study were (1) to explore discrete classes of developmental trajectories of prosocial behavior over time and (2) to identify predictors that classify the distinctive latent classes in developmental trajectories across time. Data for this study originated from the Korean Children Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS). The KCYPS is an annual longitudinal panel survey conducted since 2010, and the population consists of all middle school students in South Korea. We uncovered four subgroups within the developmental trajectories of prosocial behavior among South Korean adolescents: (1) high/increasing, (2) low/moderate, (3) low/decreasing, and (4) high/stable. We also found significant population heterogeneity in developmental trajectories of prosocial behavior. Additionally, we confirmed gender, parental support, and peer support as crucial predictors of following the high/increasing prosocial behavior trajectory in adolescence. Our findings suggest that multifarious interventions are required to address various influences on the development of prosocial behavior in middle adolescence. The interventions for adolescents with lower levels of prosocial behavior need to have programmatic features to improve prosocial behavior.