School Acceptance and Support Moderate the Relationship Between Parental Divorce and Adolescents’ Prosocial Behavior: A Longitudinal Study

The nurturing of offspring within divorced families has consistently been a matter of concern. Parental divorce is a pivotal environmental determinant influencing the progression of adolescents’ prosocial behavior. Apart from the family, school serves as another significant sphere for adolescents, hence, school acceptance and support might also bear a substantial impact on shaping adolescents’ prosocial behavior. This investigation undertook a comprehensive longitudinal survey to elucidate the correlation between parental divorce and prosocial behavior in adolescents, subsequently exploring the moderating role of school acceptance and support on the connection between parental divorce and prosocial behavior. A collective sample of 1,655 and 1,322 Chinese adolescents partook in this study during the first year (Term 1 - T1) and the subsequent year (Term 2 - T2), respectively. The findings demonstrated that parental divorce was negatively correlated with prosocial behavior in adolescents, both concurrently and longitudinally. Additionally, school acceptance and support altered the relationship between parental divorce and prosocial behavior. Specifically, school acceptance and support could ameliorate the detrimental effect of parental divorce on prosocial behavior in adolescents. This study provides a unique perspective which may be beneficial in fostering adolescents’ prosocial behavior in divorced households.