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The Relations between Prosocial Behaviors and Self-Regulation: Evidences from the Validation of the PTM-R for Portuguese Early Adolescents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2016

Francisco Simões  and
Maria Manuela Calheiros
Francisco Simões*
Affiliation:
Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), CIS-IUL, Lisboa (Portugal)
Maria Manuela Calheiros
Affiliation:
Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), CIS-IUL, Lisboa (Portugal)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Francisco Simões. Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (CIS, ISCTE-IUL). Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Social. Lisboa (Portugal). E-mail: francisco.simoes@iscte.pt
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Abstract

The main goal of this study is to understand the relationship between different types of prosocial behaviors and different forms of self-regulation, as part of the adaptation and validation of the Portuguese version of the Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised (PTM-R). A total of 403 early adolescents (M = 11.81; SD = .92; 52.91% girls) completed self-reported measures. The evaluation of psychometric properties of the PTM-R involved a confirmatory factorial analysis, followed by the examination of factorial internal consistency and factorial invariance analyses across gender groups and school retention groups (retention vs. no-retention). The results support the premise that a 6-factor model similar to the original measure is the most appropriate factorial solution for the PTM-R Portuguese version (χ2(174) = 1.725, p < .001, CFI = .95, RMSEA = .030, SRMR = .08). The levels of internal consistency for the different subscales ranged from .67 to .78. Further convergent and divergent validity tests reveal that different forms of prosocial behavior are more often related to girls’ cognitive, affective and behavioral regulation and that students who failed at least one school year and thus had to repeat it denote poorer relations between prosocial behaviors and self-regulation dimensions, as opposed to more successful students. In conclusion, the Portuguese version of the PTM-R has adequate psychometric properties and its use for research purposes in the field of social development may be appropriate. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for future research on prosociality.

Keywords

adolescenceprosocial behaviorself-regulationtest validation
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 19 , 2016 , E73
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2016 

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