Attachment Insecurity and Altruistic Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: Mediating Effect of Different Dimensions of Empathy

Yangu Pan, Shuang Liang and Daniel T. L. Shek ()
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Yangu Pan: Research Institute of Social Development, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China
Shuang Liang: Research Institute of Social Development, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China
Daniel T. L. Shek: Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 16, 1-15

Abstract: Although Western studies showed that attachment insecurity was negatively related to adolescent altruistic behavior, few studies have investigated this issue among Chinese adolescents, and little is known about the mechanisms underlying the impact of attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety on adolescent altruistic behaviors. This study investigated the mediating role of different dimensions of empathy (empathic concern, perspective taking, and personal distress) on the association of attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety with altruistic behavior among Chinese adolescents. A total of 1005 7th and 8th grade Chinese students ( M age = 12.86 years, SD = 0.69) from three middle schools in Chengdu, China completed measures of attachment insecurity, interpersonal reactivity index, and altruistic behavior. Results indicated that attachment avoidance, not attachment anxiety, negatively predicted adolescent altruistic behavior among Chinese adolescents. Moreover, higher attachment avoidance predicted less empathic concern and perspective taking, which in turn predicted less altruistic behavior, while higher attachment anxiety predicted more empathic concern and personal distress, which further predicted more and less altruistic behavior, respectively. These findings highlight the importance of promoting adolescent empathic concern and perspective taking and reducing personal distress to strengthen adolescent altruistic behavior.

Keywords: attachment avoidance; attachment anxiety; empathy; altruistic behavior; adolescents; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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