Longitudinal and reciprocal relations between adolescents' prosocial behavior, peer acceptance, self-efficacy beliefs and academic achievement

A limited number of studies has found that Prosocial Behavior (PB; i.e. voluntary actions aimed to benefit others, like helping, consoling, donating; Eisenberg, et al., 2006) was associated with academic achievement across adolescence (e.g., Gerbino et al., 2018; Wentzel, 1993). It was hypothesized that prosocial adolescents may be more motivated and engaged with school, because they experience a supportive and accepting environment (e.g., Jennings & Greenberg 2009). Similarly, Self-efficacy in Self-Regulated learning (SE-SRL; perceived capacities in self-monitoring, in setting goals and using self-motivational strategies for learning) is crucial for students' motivation and persistence (Bandura, 1997). Our study is aimed to identify the unique role of PB and Peer Acceptance (PA) in supporting SE-SRL and School Grades (SG) across middle school. We hypothesized that positive benefits of PB in supporting PA and SG may be accumulated over time through the repetitive interactions with peers. We also expect that PA contribute to SE-SRL and SG. We analyzed reciprocal relations between PB, PA and SE-SRL and Grades across middle school years. Participants were 450 adolescents (48.5% boys; mean age = 12) attending at T1 6th grade of junior high school. Participants were drawn from the Genzano Longitudinal Study. PB was assessed by peer nominations (Caprara & Pastorelli, 1993). SE-SRL was evaluated through 11 self-reported items (Caprara et al., 2008), peer acceptance was measured using peer nomination. School grades were reported by teachers. We tested a full cross lagged model, using structural equation modelling. Main results showed that 6th and 7th grade Peer Acceptance sustained later Self-Efficacy beliefs and Academic Grades. Differently, PB contributed to social acceptance, academic self-efficacy and school grades, only from 7th to 8th grades. Our study underlined that being prosocial, as well as, being accepted by peers, have a unique role in supporting adolescents’ successful school experience.