Promoting Sympathy, Empathic Self-Efficacy, and Prosocial Behaviours Among Primary School Children

The present study investigated the efficacy of the CEPIDEAS Junior program, a universal intervention promoting prosocial behaviours and social adjustment in schools, on sympathy, empathic self-efficacy, and prosocial behaviour among primary school children. The longitudinal intervention was conducted in 18 schools in the metropolitan area of Rome, involving students from second, third, and fourth grades. Using a quasi-experimental design, a sample of 1045 students (M_age = 8.51, SD = 0.73; 471 girls) was divided into intervention (N = 527) and control groups. Teacher-reported sympathy, children's empathic self-efficacy, and peer-reported prosocial behaviour were assessed at the beginning and end of the intervention. Latent Difference Score (LDS) models revealed significant increases in sympathy and empathic self-efficacy in the intervention group compared to the control group, while the positive effect on prosocial behaviours did not reach statistical significance. The results indicated that the intervention program directly enhanced sympathy and empathic self-efficacy, highlighting the potential of the CEPIDEA school-based program, grounded on the Social-Cognitive Theory, in promoting students' socio-emotional skills.