Early adolescence and prosocial/moral behavior I: The role of individual processes

In this introductory article the purpose of the special issue on prosocial and moral development during early adolescence is presented. This issue is the first of two special issues and focuses on the role that individual pro cesses play in influencing young adolescents' prosocial and moral developme nt. Presented also is a new meta-analysis of data on age and gender differe nces in prosocial behavior with particular focus on early adolescence. it w as found that prosocial behavior during adolescence rarely has been studied but that there are general increases in prosocial behavior during this tim e when compared with early age periods. Moreover, gender differences in pro social behavior (favoring girls) increase during this time A relatively sho rt review of the individual mechanisms by which these changes occur follow. A call for more research and suggestions for future directions in this res earch also is provided.