Joint Developmental Trajectories of Social Assertiveness and Prosociality: A Parallel Process Latent Class Growth Analysis.
Saved in:
| Title: | Joint Developmental Trajectories of Social Assertiveness and Prosociality: A Parallel Process Latent Class Growth Analysis. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Ma, Xinyue1, Yang, Panpan2,3, Li, Dan1 lidan501@126.com, Zhou, Jiaxi4, Liu, Mengting1, Han, Xianguo1, Liu, Junsheng5, Chen, Xinyin4 |
| Source: | Journal of Youth & Adolescence. Mar2026, Vol. 55 Issue 3, p608-623. 16p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Self-evaluation, *Assertiveness (Psychology), *Aggression (Psychology), *Child development, *Academic achievement, *School children, *Factor analysis, *Interpersonal relations, *Mental depression, Research funding, Questionnaires, Empirical research, Structural equation modeling, Multivariate analysis, Quantitative research, Teenagers' conduct of life, Social skills, Analysis of variance, Data analysis software |
| Geographic Terms: | China |
| Abstract: | Social assertiveness and prosociality are two related but distinct aspects of social competence that are important to youth's social success. They are likely co-occurrence and interact dynamically over time, but their interdependence and interaction have been overlooked in previous research. This study examined the joint developmental trajectories of the two aspects from middle childhood to early adolescence and tested their associations with aggression, shyness, academic performance and depressive symptoms. Participants included a sample of elementary school children in China (initially N = 1012, 51.2% girls, initial Mage = 9.49 years). Data were collected each year for 4 consecutive years from self-reports and peer nominations. The parallel-process latent class growth model identified three balanced and two imbalanced trajectories: (1) low-stable assertiveness and low-increasing prosociality, (2) both moderate-stable, (3) both high-stable, (4) low-stable assertiveness and high-increasing prosociality, and (5) high-increasing assertiveness and high-decreasing prosociality. In addition, academic performance was a promoting factor whereas the depressive symptom was a weakening factor for the co-developmental trajectories; shyness was positively associated with the two imbalanced developmental groups; aggression was positively associated with the assertiveness-predominant group and negatively associated with the prosociality-predominant group. These findings reveal the heterogeneity of the co-developmental patterns of assertiveness and prosociality and underline the necessity for tailored optimal interventions of social competence according to the diverse characteristics of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Youth & Adolescence is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
| Abstract: | Social assertiveness and prosociality are two related but distinct aspects of social competence that are important to youth's social success. They are likely co-occurrence and interact dynamically over time, but their interdependence and interaction have been overlooked in previous research. This study examined the joint developmental trajectories of the two aspects from middle childhood to early adolescence and tested their associations with aggression, shyness, academic performance and depressive symptoms. Participants included a sample of elementary school children in China (initially N = 1012, 51.2% girls, initial Mage = 9.49 years). Data were collected each year for 4 consecutive years from self-reports and peer nominations. The parallel-process latent class growth model identified three balanced and two imbalanced trajectories: (1) low-stable assertiveness and low-increasing prosociality, (2) both moderate-stable, (3) both high-stable, (4) low-stable assertiveness and high-increasing prosociality, and (5) high-increasing assertiveness and high-decreasing prosociality. In addition, academic performance was a promoting factor whereas the depressive symptom was a weakening factor for the co-developmental trajectories; shyness was positively associated with the two imbalanced developmental groups; aggression was positively associated with the assertiveness-predominant group and negatively associated with the prosociality-predominant group. These findings reveal the heterogeneity of the co-developmental patterns of assertiveness and prosociality and underline the necessity for tailored optimal interventions of social competence according to the diverse characteristics of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 00472891 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10964-025-02217-5 |
