Predictors of prosocial behavior and school well-being in native and immigrant very-low-income adolescents: The role of needs satisfaction

According to the Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1991), this study investigated the relationships among needs satisfaction, prosocial behavior and school psychological well-being in native and immigrant very-low-income adolescents. Participants (N=250; Mage=12.75; SDage=2.35; age-range: 9-18; 41.6% girls; 19.2% immigrants) completed measures of prosocial behavior, school well-being, and three needs satisfaction (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) across two measurement points (6-month time lapse). A multivariate regression model investigated the role of gender, age, immigrant background and the three needs at T1, in predicting respectively prosocial behavior and school well-being at T2, controlling for the corresponding baseline levels. The model showed good fit: χ2(2)= 0.13, p= .93, RMSEA= .000, CFI= 1.00, SRMR= .005. Need for autonomy, beta= .13, p= .04, and age, beta= .13, p= .01, significantly predicted prosocial behavior, whereas need for competence, beta= .17, p= .02, significantly predicted school well-being. Moreover, a multigroup analysis showed that the need for relatedness significantly predicted prosocial behavior among immigrants, beta= .35, p= .03, but not among natives, beta= .001, p= .99, (Wald test χ2(1)= 3.56, p= .05). Our findings enlightened the specific role of need for relatedness for the positive development of immigrant adolescents, with implications for research, prevention and education.