The reciprocal relations among prosocial behavior, satisfaction of relatedness needs at school, and subjective well-being in school: A three-wave cross-lagged study among Chinese elementary school students

We examined the reciprocal relations among prosocial behavior, satisfaction of relatedness needs at school, and subjective well-being in school among Chinese elementary school students using a 3-wave longitudinal study with a 6-month interval. A total of 1018 elementary school students ( M age = 9.44 years; 53.90% male) completed a multi-measure questionnaire that tapped the targeted variables at three time points. After controlling for gender, age, and parental educational level, the results revealed that (a) Prosocial behavior, satisfaction of relatedness needs at school, and subjective well-being in school reciprocally facilitated each other directly; (b) prosocial behavior indirectly enhanced subjective well-being in school via satisfaction of relatedness needs at school, and subjective well-being in school indirectly enhanced prosocial behavior via satisfaction of relatedness needs at school. Limitations and practical applications were discussed.