Developmental cascades in youth social-emotional adjustment, prosocial behavior, and academic achievement

IF 2.5 2区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-16 DOI:10.1016/j.appdev.2026.101932

Gen Li, Sarah M. Kiefer, Tony X. Tan, Eunsook Kim, Chloe Lancaster

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Abstract

The Positive Youth Development framework emphasizes that youths' strengths are dynamic and evolve through continuous interaction over time. This study aimed to examine the longitudinal reciprocal relationships among three strengths: social-emotional adjustment, prosocial behavior, and academic achievement. Data were drawn from the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II), focusing on youth aged 6 to 18 years (N = 1046) across three time points. Results from the multiple-group random-intercept cross-lagged panel model indicated stage-specific developmental patterns among three educational stages. For elementary school students, early social-emotional adjustment predicted increased prosocial behavior at the mid-point, which in turn supported later academic achievement. During the transition to middle school, early social-emotional adjustment positively influenced both prosocial behavior and academic achievement. Among secondary school students, early social-emotional adjustment promoted mid-term prosocial behavior, which subsequently reinforced later social-emotional adjustment. These findings highlight the critical role of early social-emotional adjustment in promoting prosocial behavior and academic achievement across educational stages and underscore the facilitating role of prosocial behavior.

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青少年社会情绪适应、亲社会行为与学业成就的发展级联

积极青年发展框架强调青年的优势是动态的，并通过持续的互动随着时间的推移而发展。本研究旨在探讨社会情绪适应、亲社会行为与学业成就三者之间的纵向互惠关系。数据来自第二次全国儿童和青少年福祉调查（NSCAW II），重点关注三个时间点的6至18岁青少年（N = 1046）。多组随机截距交叉滞后面板模型的结果显示了三个教育阶段的特定发展模式。对于小学生，早期的社会情绪调整预示着中点亲社会行为的增加，而亲社会行为反过来又支持后来的学业成就。初中生早期社会情绪适应对亲社会行为和学业成绩均有正向影响。中学生早期社会情绪调整对中期亲社会行为有促进作用，而中期亲社会行为对后期社会情绪调整有强化作用。这些发现强调了早期社会情绪调整在促进亲社会行为和学业成就方面的关键作用，并强调了亲社会行为的促进作用。

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来源期刊

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL-

CiteScore

5.10

自引率

3.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology focuses on two key concepts: human development, which refers to the psychological transformations and modifications that occur during the life cycle and influence an individual behavior within the social milieu; and application of knowledge, which is derived from investigating variables in the developmental process. Its contributions cover research that deals with traditional life span markets (age, social roles, biological status, environmental variables) and broadens the scopes of study to include variables that promote understanding of psychological processes and their onset and development within the life span. Most importantly.