Longitudinal relations between adolescents' materialism and prosocial behavior toward family, friends, and strangers. (1st December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yang, Zhixu; Fu, Xinyuan; Yu, Xiaoxia; Lv, Yichen
• Is Part Of: Journal of adolescence. Volume 62(2018)
• Page Start: 162
• Page End: 170
• Publication Date: 2017-12-01
• Subjects: Materialism -- Prosocial behavior -- Cross‐lagged model -- Multidimensionality; Adolescent psychiatry -- Periodicals; Adolescent psychology -- Periodicals; Adolescence -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 305.23505
• DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.11.013
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0140-1971

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The present study examines the short‐term changes and longitudinal relations between adolescents' materialism and prosocial behavior toward family, friends, and strangers over a year. A total of 434 Chinese adolescents (mean age at Time 1 = 11.27; 54% girls) participated in the two time points. From 6 th grade to 7 th grade, boys' and girls' materialism increased, whereas their prosocial behavior toward family, friends, and strangers declined, despite the stable trend in boys' prosocial behavior toward strangers. Furthermore, a cross‐lagged model was conducted and the results showed that, adolescent materialism was associated longitudinally with decreased prosocial behavior toward friends and strangers, but not toward family. However, earlier prosocial behavior toward family, friends, and strangers were not associated with subsequent adolescent materialism. The findings point toward an understanding of materialism as a precursor rather than an outcome or byproduct to prosocial behavior.