Cognitive Reappraisal and Need to Belong Predict Prosociality in Mexican-Origin Adolescents

Parasympathetic reactivity to recalled emotional experiences and adolescent prosociality

Prosociality, which refers to dispositions to allocate one's attention and energy to the needs of others, is indicative of social proficiency and adaptive functioning in adolescence. Greater abilities for self-regulation in adolescence are widely considered to foster prosociality (Hastings et al., 2023; Hodge et al., 2023), including physiological regulation, and particularly activity within the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS; Hastings et al., 2023). The current study examined the extent to which PNS reactivity to experiences of negative emotions were associated with adolescents' prosociality. In a sample of 220 adolescents (Mage = 13.67, SD = 1.08, 109 females), youths' respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity to thinking and talking about two negative emotions (i.e., disappointment, frustration), empathic responses to sad film clips, and self-reported prosocial engagement were assessed. Less RSA suppression while thinking about experiences of disappointment was positively associated with adolescents' prosocial engagement, whereas greater RSA suppression while experiences talking about disappointment was positively associated with both affective empathy and prosocial engagement. These findings align with models of vagal flexibility (Miller et al., 2015), suggesting that adolescents who adjust physiological regulation in accord with the demands of different emotional and social contexts may be better prepared for prosocial engagement.

At-risk youth receive similar benefits from equine- assisted psychotherapy and traditional psychotherapy; an applied analysis

Introduction

Equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP) is a promising modality for the treatment of emotional difficulties in youth. Few studies have compared the benefits of EAP to those of traditional psychotherapy for at-risk youth in community-based settings.

Method

We compare the effectiveness of individually administered EAP and traditional psychotherapy (TP) for improving adolescent mental health using data from a community-based participatory research partnership. Adolescent clients who were referred to a community-based non-profit agency for services related to emotional and behavioral difficulties comprised the sample (N = 94, mean age at intake was 14.33 years). We compared the improvement in mental health outcomes between intake and follow-up for participants who received weekly, individual TP (N = 65) with those who received weekly, individual EAGALA-certified EAP (N = 29). Licensed mental health professionals administered treatments (mean treatment period of 241 days).

Results

On average, clients' global psychological, social, and emotional wellness scores on the Mental Health Continuum improved by 18-23%. Clients' resilience, self-efficacy, social and emotional skills, perceptions of hope, and cognitive reappraisal skills also improved significantly (12% to 28%) with one exception; average emotion suppression scores did not change across the treatment period in either group (p = .77). Mixed linear models revealed that clients receiving EAP and TP experienced similar levels of improvement in all dimensions.

Discussion

These quasi-experimental data confirm that community-based non-profit programs that offer psychotherapy benefit at-risk youth and indicate that EAP and TP may provide similar benefits to struggling youth.

Parasympathetic regulation and support from family and friends predict prosocial development in U.S. Mexican-origin adolescents

Both parasympathetic nervous system regulation and receipt of social support from close relationships contribute to prosocial development, although few studies have examined their combined influences in adolescence and particularly within racially and ethnically minoritized populations. In this longitudinal study of 229 U.S. Mexican-origin adolescents (48% female-identifying), youths reported on receipt of social support from family and friends from 10 to 16 years, had their baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) measured at 17 years, reported their prosocial behavior and completed the Mind in the Eyes test to assess cognitive empathy at 17 and 19 years, and reported their prosocial civic behavior (i.e., community activity) at 19 years. Family social support predicted prosocial behavior at 17 years, and friend social support predicted prosocial civic behavior at 19 years. Compared to youths with lower or higher baseline RSA, youths with moderate RSA reported more prosocial civic behavior, had greater cognitive empathy, and tended to report more general prosocial behavior at 19 years. The quadratic association between baseline RSA and cognitive empathy was stronger for youths with greater family social support. These findings are the first to extend the evidence that moderate baseline parasympathetic nervous system activity supports prosocial development into late adolescence and with the U.S. Mexican-origin community, and these findings address calls for more integrative biopsychosocial studies of prosociality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Cognitive reappraisal and empathy chain-mediate the association between relative deprivation and prosocial behavior in adolescents

Background

Relative deprivation is one of the factors that influences the development of personality and behavior. However, it is still unclear whether and how relative deprivation decreases the prosocial behavior in adolescents. This study aimed to examine the association between relative deprivation and adolescent prosocial behavior and the role of emotion regulation strategies and empathy in modifying this association.

Methods

The present study included 609 secondary school students (M = 15.42 years, SD = 0.653) in Fujian Province, China. All participants completed the Relative Deprivation Questionnaire, Emotion Regulation Scale, the Basic Empathy Scale, and Prosocial Behavior Scale. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and Mplus 7.4.

Results

Relative deprivation was negatively correlated with cognitive reappraisal, but positively correlated with expressive suppression. Cognitive reappraisal was positively correlated with empathy and prosocial behavior, but expressive suppression was not. Empathy was positively correlated with prosocial behavior. Relative deprivation decreased prosocial behavior through (a) cognitive reappraisal, (b) empathy, and (c) chain mediation of cognitive reappraisal and empathy. No significant mediating effect of expressive suppression was found.

Conclusion

The results indicate that relative deprivation decreases adolescent prosocial behavior, and that cognitive reappraisal and empathy are the potential psychological mechanisms that affect the association between relative deprivation and adolescent prosocial behavior.