Loneliness and prosocial behaviour (PB) are closely linked, with prior research suggesting a bidirectional relationship: loneliness may reduce social engagement, while low PB may increase social isolation. However, it remains unclear whether this relationship reflects stable trait-level processes or short-term state-level dynamics. Both a longitudinal design and a daily diary approach were used to address this question. In a ten-year longitudinal study, 434 Italian participants (Mage = 15.87, SD = 0.79; 52.8% female) were followed from adolescence to young adulthood across five waves. A Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model with latent variables was used, controlling for age and sex. At the between-person level, loneliness and PB were strongly negatively correlated (β = −.52, p < .001). At the within-person level, bidirectional cross-lagged effects emerged: higher loneliness predicted subsequent decreases in PB (βs = −.15 to −.31, p <.01), and higher PB predicted subsequent decreases in loneliness (βs = −.13 to −.23, p <.05). In the daily diary study, 250 participants (Mage = 25.46, SD = 3.38; 56.8% female) completed daily measures of loneliness and PB over 21 consecutive days. Dynamic Structural Equation Modelling showed no significant spillover effects between daily PB and loneliness, suggesting these constructs do not influence each other from one day to the following. However, significant carryover effects were found for both PB (β = 0.17, p <.001) and loneliness (β = 0.24, p <.001), indicating temporal stability across days. Overall, results indicate that the bidirectional relationship between loneliness and PB is evident at the trait level across developmental time, but not at the daily state level. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between trait-level and state-level processes when studying social development and suggest that interventions should target loneliness and PB simultaneously to promote healthy developmental trajectories.
Link Between Prosocial Behaviour and Loneliness: Ten-Year Longitudinal and Daily Studies / Zasso, S., Contreras, C., Di Brango, N., Sette, S., Zuffiano, A., Gerbino, M., Pastorelli, C.. - (2026). (XXth Conference of the European Association for Research on Adolescence (EARA) Utrecht, The Netherlands. ).
Link Between Prosocial Behaviour and Loneliness: Ten-Year Longitudinal and Daily Studies
Simone Zasso
Primo
;Camila ContrerasSecondo
;Noemi Di Brango;Stefania Sette;Antonio Zuffiano;Maria Gerbino;Concetta PastorelliUltimo
2026
Abstract
Loneliness and prosocial behaviour (PB) are closely linked, with prior research suggesting a bidirectional relationship: loneliness may reduce social engagement, while low PB may increase social isolation. However, it remains unclear whether this relationship reflects stable trait-level processes or short-term state-level dynamics. Both a longitudinal design and a daily diary approach were used to address this question. In a ten-year longitudinal study, 434 Italian participants (Mage = 15.87, SD = 0.79; 52.8% female) were followed from adolescence to young adulthood across five waves. A Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model with latent variables was used, controlling for age and sex. At the between-person level, loneliness and PB were strongly negatively correlated (β = −.52, p < .001). At the within-person level, bidirectional cross-lagged effects emerged: higher loneliness predicted subsequent decreases in PB (βs = −.15 to −.31, p <.01), and higher PB predicted subsequent decreases in loneliness (βs = −.13 to −.23, p <.05). In the daily diary study, 250 participants (Mage = 25.46, SD = 3.38; 56.8% female) completed daily measures of loneliness and PB over 21 consecutive days. Dynamic Structural Equation Modelling showed no significant spillover effects between daily PB and loneliness, suggesting these constructs do not influence each other from one day to the following. However, significant carryover effects were found for both PB (β = 0.17, p <.001) and loneliness (β = 0.24, p <.001), indicating temporal stability across days. Overall, results indicate that the bidirectional relationship between loneliness and PB is evident at the trait level across developmental time, but not at the daily state level. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between trait-level and state-level processes when studying social development and suggest that interventions should target loneliness and PB simultaneously to promote healthy developmental trajectories.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
