About this Research Topic
There is a renewed interest in the role that empathic, prosocial, and moral behavior play in promoting adolescent adjustment, including adolescent mental health, school success, and relationships with parents, peers, and teachers. Given recent events (e.g., school shootings, anti-LGBTQ+ movements, increases in violent rhetoric, and January 6), understanding the origins of adolescents’ compassionate, social justice related, and prosocial/helpful behaviors is important and timely. Adolescent’s moral development can be construed broadly to include their kind, helpful, and cooperative behavior, as well as their civic and political engagement, and their anti-racist, LGTBQ+ allyship, and other social justice related behaviors.
Ultimately, prosocial and moral behavior has its roots in biology and in the significant relationships that adolescents share with family and peers, and in their experiences in broader cultural and social contexts. Understanding the roots and outcomes of these moral behaviors provides researchers, policy makers and educators with the knowledge they need to intervene to promote positive youth adjustment and a more just world.
Goal:
The goal of this Research Topic is to advance and share knowledge about issues related to adolescent’s prosocial, moral, and social-justice related development. This special issue to provide a platform for researchers to discuss the connections between adolescent moral and prosocial development and other related developmental issues (such as anti-racism). It is also intended to inform interventions designed to promote positive youth development and social responsibility.
Scope and information for authors:
To meet these goals, we intend to bring together a series of high quality and novel empirical studies or theoretical papers that explore the developmental science of social justice and/or prosocial and moral development in adolescence. We are open to empirical pieces that use either cross-sectional or longitudinal methods and meta-analyses or systematic reviews. We encourage work on prosocial/moral development and social justice that involves quantitative or qualitative methods or mixed method approaches and that involves either basic or applied science on relevant topics. We would encourage work that focuses on individual, group, or relational perspectives on moral/prosocial development and social justice. We would especially encourage studies that utilize a large and diverse sample of adolescents or work done in diverse cultural contexts.
Aspects of mora and prosocial development that are appropriate for this Research Topic include, but are not limited to:
• socialization experiences that promote moral, prosocial, and social justice related skills and behavior (such as empathy or anti-racism)
• the roles of temperament or personality in promoting moral behavior or social justice related behaviors
• how affective and cognitive factors promote moral and prosocial behavior (or social justice)
• links between moral development and social justice
• moral engagement and disengagement
• origins of egalitarian attitudes and/or moral extensivity
• the roles of peer support and affiliation in promoting moral affect, reasoning, and behavior
• the roles of cultural values or social norms in promoting prosocial and moral behavior.
• how prosocial and moral behavior relates to aspects of adolescent mental health, adjustment, and peer and school success
• neighborhood, school, or other contextual factors that promote social justice behaviors or moral/prosocial behaviors in adolescence
• “Big Data: as they relate to adolescents’ moral and prosocial development and behavior
• biological and neuroscience roots of adolescent moral and prosocial behavior
• Intervention programs that promote empathy, moral/prosocial behavior, or social justice attitudes/behaviors in adolescents
Ultimately, prosocial and moral behavior has its roots in biology and in the significant relationships that adolescents share with family and peers, and in their experiences in broader cultural and social contexts. Understanding the roots and outcomes of these moral behaviors provides researchers, policy makers and educators with the knowledge they need to intervene to promote positive youth adjustment and a more just world.
Goal:
The goal of this Research Topic is to advance and share knowledge about issues related to adolescent’s prosocial, moral, and social-justice related development. This special issue to provide a platform for researchers to discuss the connections between adolescent moral and prosocial development and other related developmental issues (such as anti-racism). It is also intended to inform interventions designed to promote positive youth development and social responsibility.
Scope and information for authors:
To meet these goals, we intend to bring together a series of high quality and novel empirical studies or theoretical papers that explore the developmental science of social justice and/or prosocial and moral development in adolescence. We are open to empirical pieces that use either cross-sectional or longitudinal methods and meta-analyses or systematic reviews. We encourage work on prosocial/moral development and social justice that involves quantitative or qualitative methods or mixed method approaches and that involves either basic or applied science on relevant topics. We would encourage work that focuses on individual, group, or relational perspectives on moral/prosocial development and social justice. We would especially encourage studies that utilize a large and diverse sample of adolescents or work done in diverse cultural contexts.
Aspects of mora and prosocial development that are appropriate for this Research Topic include, but are not limited to:
• socialization experiences that promote moral, prosocial, and social justice related skills and behavior (such as empathy or anti-racism)
• the roles of temperament or personality in promoting moral behavior or social justice related behaviors
• how affective and cognitive factors promote moral and prosocial behavior (or social justice)
• links between moral development and social justice
• moral engagement and disengagement
• origins of egalitarian attitudes and/or moral extensivity
• the roles of peer support and affiliation in promoting moral affect, reasoning, and behavior
• the roles of cultural values or social norms in promoting prosocial and moral behavior.
• how prosocial and moral behavior relates to aspects of adolescent mental health, adjustment, and peer and school success
• neighborhood, school, or other contextual factors that promote social justice behaviors or moral/prosocial behaviors in adolescence
• “Big Data: as they relate to adolescents’ moral and prosocial development and behavior
• biological and neuroscience roots of adolescent moral and prosocial behavior
• Intervention programs that promote empathy, moral/prosocial behavior, or social justice attitudes/behaviors in adolescents
Keywords: Prosocial behavior, empathy, social justice, moral behavior, anti-racism, culture, kindness
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
