ERIC Number: ED662279
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0140-1971
EISSN: N/A
Examining a New Prosocial Risk-Taking Scale in a Longitudinal Sample of Ethnically Diverse Adolescents
Emma Armstrong-Carter; Kathy T. Do; Joao F. Guassi Moreira; Mitchell J. Prinstein; Eva H. Telzer
Grantee Submission, Journal of Adolescence v93 p222-233 2021
Introduction: This longitudinal study designed and tested the validity of a new measure of pro-social risk taking -- risks that individuals take in order to help others. Methods: The sample was racially and ethnically diverse adolescents in the rural Southeastern United States (N = 867; Mage = 12.82 years, 10-14 years at Wave 1; 50% Girls, 33% White non-Latinx, 27% Latinx, 20% Black, 20% Mixed/Other race/ethnicity). Adolescents completed self-report measures of the new prosocial risk-taking scale at baseline and one- and two-year follow-ups. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated excellent model fit with a 6-item single factor score. Further, the scale demonstrated good test-retest reliability at one and two-year follow ups. The scale also demonstrated convergent validity, such that prosocial risk taking was positively correlated with prosocial tendencies, empathy, and sensation seeking, and negatively correlated with negative risk-taking behavior and risk tolerance. Finally, we found significant differences by race/ethnicity (but not by gender) in prosocial risk taking, which were not attributable to measurement invariance, and should be interpreted in the context of ongoing societal inequalities between youth. Conclusions: The new Prosocial Risk-Taking Scale yielded reliable scores in our sample. It may be used in future research to investigate individual differences in adolescents' prosocial risk taking, developmental change in prosocial risk taking, and the significance of prosocial risk taking for adolescents' emotional and social adaptation.
Descriptors: Race, Ethnicity, Goodness of Fit, Factor Analysis, Empathy, Prosocial Behavior, Correlation, Risk, Health Behavior, Longitudinal Studies, Rating Scales, Validity, Helping Relationship, Measurement Techniques, Rural Areas, Gender Differences, Developmental Stages, Adolescents, Emotional Adjustment, Social Adjustment, Middle School Students
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED); National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Graduate Education (DGE); Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH); National Institutes of Health (NIH) (DHHS); National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Social and Economic Sciences (SES)
Authoring Institution: N/A
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305B140009; 1650116; T32HD07376; R01DA039923; 1459719