A Cross-National Study on Prosocial Behaviors in Emerging Adulthood During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Marije M.E. van Meegen; Jolien Van der Graaff; Susan Branje; Laura Padilla-Walker; Gustavo Carlo; Christian Berger; Alexia Carrizales; Claire F. Garandeau; Maria Gerbino; Zehra Gulseven; Skyler T. Hawk; Asiye Kumru; Anna Llorca-Mestre; María Cristina Richaud; Yuh Ling Shen; Laura K. Taylor; Rita Žukauskienė; Maarten van Zalk

doi:10.1177/21676968251339685

A Cross-National Study on Prosocial Behaviors in Emerging Adulthood During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Marije M.E. van Meegen^*, Jolien Van der Graaff, Susan Branje, Laura Padilla-Walker, Gustavo Carlo, Christian Berger, Alexia Carrizales, Claire F. Garandeau, Maria Gerbino, Zehra Gulseven, Skyler T. Hawk, Asiye Kumru, Anna Llorca-Mestre, María Cristina Richaud, Yuh Ling Shen, Laura K. Taylor, Rita Žukauskienė, Maarten van Zalk

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

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.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1047-1064
Number of pages	18
Journal	Emerging Adulthood
Volume	13
Issue number	4
Early online date	6 May 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968251339685
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 6 May 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood and SAGE Publishing.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the followingfinancial support forthe research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Jolien vander Graaff received a grant from the Faculty of Social Sciences of Utrecht University to fund data collection (no grant number avail-able). URL:https://www.uu.nl/en/organisation/faculty-of-social-and-behavioural-sciences.

Funders	Funder number
Faculty of Social Sciences of Utrecht University to fund data collection

Keywords

COVID-19
emerging adulthood
empathy
prosocial behavior
social identification

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Cite this

van Meegen, M. M. E., Van der Graaff, J., Branje, S., Padilla-Walker, L., Carlo, G., Berger, C., Carrizales, A., Garandeau, C. F., Gerbino, M., Gulseven, Z., Hawk, S. T., Kumru, A., Llorca-Mestre, A., Richaud, M. C., Shen, Y. L., Taylor, L. K., Žukauskienė, R., & van Zalk, M. (2025). A Cross-National Study on Prosocial Behaviors in Emerging Adulthood During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Emerging Adulthood, 13(4), 1047-1064. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968251339685

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van Meegen, MME , Van der Graaff, J , Branje, S, Padilla-Walker, L, Carlo, G, Berger, C, Carrizales, A, Garandeau, CF, Gerbino, M, Gulseven, Z, Hawk, ST, Kumru, A, Llorca-Mestre, A, Richaud, MC, Shen, YL, Taylor, LK, Žukauskienė, R & van Zalk, M 2025, 'A Cross-National Study on Prosocial Behaviors in Emerging Adulthood During the COVID-19 Pandemic', Emerging Adulthood, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 1047-1064. https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968251339685

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AU - Garandeau, Claire F.

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AU - Gulseven, Zehra

AU - Hawk, Skyler T.

AU - Kumru, Asiye

AU - Llorca-Mestre, Anna

AU - Richaud, María Cristina

AU - Shen, Yuh Ling

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AU - van Zalk, Maarten

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A Cross-National Study on Prosocial Behaviors in Emerging Adulthood During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

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