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Meta-Analysis
. 2025 Mar;54(3):682-703.
doi: 10.1007/s10964-024-02079-3. Epub 2024 Sep 20.

Empathy as a Mediator of the Relation between Peer Influence and Prosocial Behavior in Adolescence: A Meta-Analysis

Wei Li  1 , Qi-Fan He  1 , Jian-Zeng Lan  1 , Attiq-Ur-Rehman  1   2 , Meng-Wei Ge  1 , Lu-Ting Shen  1 , Fei-Hong Hu  1 , Yi-Jie Jia  1 , Hong-Lin Chen  3
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Empathy as a Mediator of the Relation between Peer Influence and Prosocial Behavior in Adolescence: A Meta-Analysis

Wei Li et al. J Youth Adolesc. 2025 Mar.

Abstract

During adolescence, empathy and prosocial behavior contribute to the establishment of positive interpersonal relationships and social connections, promoting holistic development in youth. A substantial amount of research has provided compelling evidence that there is a relationship between peer relationships and empathy and prosocial behavior. Empathy, as a key mediating factor, links the influence of peers with prosocial behavior in adolescents, yet there is currently a lack of robust meta-analytic evidence regarding this mediating role. This study employed a two-stage structural equation modeling approach to synthesize existing research on peer influence, empathy, and prosocial behavior during adolescence. Systematic searches were conducted across three databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO), identifying a total of 49 studies, with a systematic assessment of study quality. The results indicated that empathy plays a mediating role between peer influence and prosocial behavior. Positive peer influence is positively correlated with empathy and prosocial behavior, while negative peer influence is negatively correlated with empathy and prosocial behavior, and empathy is positively correlated with prosocial behavior. This meta-analysis demonstrates that during adolescence, empathy mediates the connection between peer influence and prosocial behavior, representing a potential process that can explain the relationship between peer influence and prosocial behavior.

Keywords: Adolescent; Empathy; Meta-analytic structural equation modeling; Peer influence; Prosocial behavior.

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Conflict of interest statement

Compliance with Ethical Standards. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no competing interests.

References

References (*Included in the meta-analysis)

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