Predicting prosocial tendancies from children's temperamental profiles: A person

描述（由申请人提供）：亲社会倾向（即以他人为导向的特征和行为，包括分享、帮助和共情）是社会能力的核心方面，也是幸福和健康适应的重要标志（Carlo, 2006; Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998）。尽管有证据表明亲社会倾向的生物学基础，但关于亲社会倾向的人格相关性的研究却少得惊人（Eisenberg, Fabes, Karbon, Murphy, et al., 1996）。先前的研究主要集中在亲社会行为的少数相当不同的性情相关因素上（例如，社交性、消极情绪和自我调节），并且有相对复杂的发现。研究结果好坏参半的部分原因可能与这样一个事实有关：在预测亲社会倾向和行为时，很少有人尝试将多种气质因素结合起来。然而，我们有充分的理由相信，在预测亲社会行为时，性情倾向并不是单独起作用的，而是共同起作用的。因此，本研究的目的是：1)基于气质的聚类方法识别亲社会群体；2)考察气质集群与亲社会行为的并行和纵向关系；3)检查这些关系是否受到人口变量（性别、收入和种族）的调节。我们计划进行聚类分析（使用气质的5个维度），以确定在NICHD数据库中相对不同的54个月大婴儿样本中存在的气质概况，以预测并发和儿童中期（一年级和三年级）的亲社会行为。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Prosocial tendencies (i.e., other oriented traits and behaviors focused on benefiting others, including sharing, helping, and empathy) are core aspects of social competence and an important marker of well-being and healthy adjustment (Carlo, 2006; Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998). Despite the evidence on the biological basis of prosocial tendencies, there is surprising little research on the personality correlates of prosociality (Eisenberg, Fabes, Karbon, Murphy, et al., 1996). Prior work has focused on a small number of fairly distinct temperamental correlates (e.g., sociability, negative emotionality, and self- regulation) of prosocial behavior and has had relatively mixed findings. Part of the reasons for the mixed findings may have to do with the fact that little attempt has been made to incorporate multiple temperamental dimensions in predicting prosocial dispositions and behavior. However, there is good reason to believe that temperamental dispositions do not work independently, but rather work together, to predict prosocial behavior. Thus, the aims of the proposed study are to: 1) identify groups of prosociality based on a cluster approach to temperament; 2) examine the concurrent and longitudinal relations between temperament clusters and prosocial behaviors; and 3) examine whether these relations are moderated by demographic variables (gender, income, and ethnicity). We plan perform a cluster analyses (using 5 dimensions of temperament) in order to identify profiles of temperament that exist among a relatively diverse sample of 54-month-olds from the NICHD data base to predict prosocial behaviors both concurrently and in middle childhood (first and third grades). PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The goal of this study is to examine how individual temperamental profiles predict prosocial behavior. It is important to understand the factors that predict prosocial behavior, because prosocial behavior is related to children's social competence and adjustment. Thus, children who are prosocial are less aggressive, have higher self- esteem, are better liked by peers, and are less depressed than children who are not prosocial.