A Cross-National Study on Prosocial Behaviors in Emerging Adulthood During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Emerging adulthood is marked by changes and exploration of life directions and is significantly impacted by crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-national study examined the psychological, relational, and contextual factors associated with prosocial behaviors— adherence to COVID-19 measures and helping strangers—among emerging adults (ages 18–25) from 14 countries during the pandemic. We assessed empathy, social identification with those affected by COVID-19, family and friend support, and perceived pandemic-related burden while exploring the moderating effects of country-level restrictions and cultural values. Results showed that empathy and social identification were consistently linked to adherence and helping behaviors, with stronger associations observed in countries with moderate to high COVID-19 restrictions. The findings highlighted the complex role of empathy and social identity in fostering prosocial behavior under varying cultural contexts and suggested pathways for enhancing community resilience during global crises.
Authors
- Christian Berger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1909-7490)
- Laura K. Taylor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2353-2398)
- Gustavo Carlo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4967-241X)
- Maarten van Zalk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0185-8805)
- Skyler T. Hawk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9010-5556)
- María Cristina Richaud (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6408-4897)
- María Gerbino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7572-2118)
- Susan Branje (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9999-5313)
- Claire F. Garandeau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0395-020X)
- Alexia Carrizales (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2985-6510)
- Rita Žukauskienė (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0884-7578)
- Zehra Gülseven (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8975-9229)
- Marije van Meegen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3556-713X)
- Anna Llorca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0540-7884)
- Jolien Van der Graaff (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1522-7596)
- Laura M. Padilla‐Walker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9275-6627)
- Asiye Kumru (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1514-4248)
- Yuh‐Ling Shen
Institutions
- Brigham Young University (US)
- University College Dublin (IE)
- Mykolas Romeris University (LT)
- National Chung Cheng University (TW)
- University of Turku (FI)
- Universitat de València (ES)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (CL)
- Osnabrück University (DE)
- Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Utrecht University (NL)
- Austral University (AR)
- Purdue University West Lafayette (US)
- Netherlands Youth Institute (NL)
- Özyeğin University (TR)
- Virginia Tech (US)
- Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Emerging Adulthood
- Published
- 2025-05-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968251339685
- Primary Topic
- COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00