‘Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay: The promotion of prosocial behaviour in adolescents’

BELÉN MESURADO

Oxford

Seminario; Education, Purpose and Human Flourishing in Uncertain Times (EPHF); 2022

University of Oxford

The Hero and Little Hero Programs are two short, online programs aimed to promote prosocial behavior (voluntary behavior aimed at helping another person or group of people). Hero and Little Hero were developed, tested and targeted at Spanish-speaking adolescents between 12 and 15 years of age, and children between 9 to 11 years of age. Hero is structured in five linked modules for promoting empathy, gratitude, positive emotions, forgiveness, and finally, prosocial behavior. Little Hero includes the same modules developed in Hero with the exceptions of forgiveness. The programs are presented as an adventure that consists of a trip to five islands, in the case of Hero, or as an adventure that consists of a trip to four stops in the forest, in the case of Little Hero. The stay in each of the modules coincides with an intervention session, which lasts approximately 30 to 40 minutes.This presentation will focus on the efficacy study of Hero and Little Hero programs to promote prosocial behavior and the socioemotional variables linked to it in children and adolescents of Latin American. During 2019-2020, the Hero Program was applied to 3234 adolescents, and Little Hero was applied to 1934 children of 5 Latin American countries: Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay. These five Latin American countries are quite similar to each other as regards their predominantly European heritage, the Christian culture and sharing the same language (Spanish). The differences are due to their vastly dissimilar histories and disparate socioeconomic realities. Between 30% and 40% of the Latin American population is poor. Given the social inequality that exists in these countries, it is essential to train new generations in the development of prosocial behaviors. Our results have shown that the adolescents who participated in the intervention program showed greater prosocial behavior towards strangers, friends, and family members than the participants in the control group. The results also indicated that the program was effective in promoting empathy, positive emotions, and attitudes of forgiveness against an aggressor. Furthermore, the children who participated in the Little Hero program showed greater prosocial behavior, empathy, and positive emotions than the control group. These results showed the important role played by the program in promoting socio-emotional virtues among Latin American children and adolescents.