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23 - Community and Neighborhood Influences on Prosociality in Children and Youth

from Part III - Development of Prosociality in Context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2023

By
Benjamin Edwards  and
Jacqueline Allen
Edited by
Tina Malti  and
Maayan Davidov
Tina Malti
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Maayan Davidov
Affiliation:
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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Summary

There is limited research examining community and neighborhood influences on prosociality in children and youth. In this chapter we outline three relevant theories that address how neighborhood and community processes influence prosocial behavior and review the empirical literature on the topic. Our review suggests that measures of neighborhood socioeconomic status, demography, and disorder have little direct association with prosociality in children and youth but that adolescent prosocial behavior is linked to social capital and collective efficacy. The community intervention evidence shows that providing increased opportunities for prosocial involvement may support greater prosocial behavior of adolescents, possibly by boosting community social capital. Further development of more specific theoretical models and further empirical research is required to better understand the complex neighborhood and community mechanisms across neighborhoods, cities, nations, and cultures.

Keywords

prosocial behaviorchildadolescentneighborhoodneighborhood socioeconomic statussocial capitalcollective efficacy
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Prosociality
Development, Mechanisms, Promotion
 , pp. 459 - 476
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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