Introduction

Prosocial behavior, a concept often used in positive psychology, also has been referred to as positive social behavior in the fields of social psychology and developmental psychology. The concept has served to explain the humility, courtesy, mutual help, friendship, self-sacrifice, and other behaviors that individuals exhibit in social interactions that contribute to social harmony and good relationships among people (Penner et al., 2005a; Cuadrado & Tabernero, 2015). In an era characterized by the rapid development of big data, Internet, and artificial intelligence, pro-social behavior plays an important role in college students’ ability to gain a competitive advantage and pursue their consistent development both in school and society.

College students’ prosocial behaviors have been shown to help them to attain honor, achieve happiness, and improve their social adaptation (Hilbe & Sigmund, 2010). Therefore, in-depth research on the factors that influence the prosocial behavior of college students is of great significance to the realization of the harmony, efficiency, and healthy development of social relations. Existing studies have found that both social and individual factors affect prosocial behavior (Weinstein & Ryan, 2010). The rise of research in social psychology encouraged scholars to pay greater attention to the influence of family environment on individual prosocial behavior, including parent-child relationships, parenting style, and family socioeconomic status (Koster et al., n.d.). The family has influenced individual socialization. Family members have observed and learned from one another through consistent contact. They have formed similar values, attitudes, cognitive styles, and habits (Eisenberg, 2007).

Family socioeconomic status is based primarily on the resources owned. Its impact on the prosocial behavior of college students has been the subject of a broad range of studies. However, there has been little research on the mechanism by which family socioeconomic status impacts prosocial behavior.

Research in the field of family investment theory has served to demonstrate that family socioeconomic status was one of the factors that affected the prosocial behavior of college students. There has been an assumption that families with greater social and economic status of the family devote greater amounts of manpower and material resources to their children. Consequently, children from these families have received greater support for their physical and mental development (Matthews & Gallo, 2010a). Moreover, students who benefited from these resources demonstrated greater humility and courtesy. They also engaged more frequently in acts of mutual assistance and friendship in their social interactions. Therefore, the higher family socioeconomic status would result in the prosocial behavior of children.

The development of pro-social behavior is dependent upon engagement in interpersonal relationships. The parent-child attachment represents the first step in an individual’s development of interpersonal relationships. This attachment refers to the lasting and strong emotional connection between parents and children. Ashley M (2017) defined Parent-child attachment is the strong and enduring connection formed between children and parents (Groh et al., 2016a). Therefore, parent-child attachment should be affected by the family’s socioeconomic status. Attachment theory suggests that a good parent-child attachment relationship would promote a positive relationship between parents and children. Consequently, children would be more likely to feel loved and to trust society—characteristics that would promote prosocial behavior (Kerns & Brumariu, 2014a). Previous studies have shown that the lack of parent-child interaction and warmth in the family may result in externalization problems (Paths from mother-child, 2015a). Individuals with good parent-child attachment relationships have shown more prosocial behaviors (Nie et al., 2016a).

The study of emotion regulation self-efficacy, as well as its effect as an endogenous factor on the prosocial behavior of college students, also has garnered greater attention from scholars (Modecki et al., 2017). Emotion regulation self-efficacy refers to the individual’s ability and confidence in regulating and managing their own emotions (Caprara et al., 2008a). Moreover, individuals with difficulty in emotion regulation have been shown to have poor social adaptation capabilities (Ricarda et al., 2016) and often experienced a state of self-imbalance (Griffin & Griffin, 1998). Studies have demonstrated that individuals with greater emotion regulation self-efficacy were better able to adapt to the environment. Emotion regulation self-efficacy could promote individual prosocial behaviors (Caprara & Steca, 2005).

This study was designed to further understand about prosocial behaviors. First, cognitive theory informed the decision to explore the ways that family socioeconomic status impacts college students’ prosocial behavior. Additionally, cognitive theory was used to identify the psychological mechanism that enabled college students’ prosocial behavior. The framework used—based on the combined effects of family socioeconomic status, parent-child attachment, and emotion regulation self-efficacy—extended cognitive theory to help explain the prosocial behavior of college students. Second, the research revealed the mechanism of family socioeconomic status on prosocial behaviors. Moreover, it served to demonstrate the impacts of family socioeconomic status on other factors. Third, this work demonstrated that positive parent-child attachment and emotion regulation self-efficacy could improve the prosocial behavior of college students. The family’s emphasis on parent-child attachment and the development and recognition of emotional regulation self-efficacy could help improve college students’ abilities to act with prosocial behaviors. These efforts could help to shape a healthier psychological atmosphere that would contribute to enhanced inner motivation and prosocial behaviors among college students.

Theoretical Background and Research Hypotheses

Definition of Family Socioeconomic Status

Family socioeconomic status reflects the individual’s ability to obtain material and social resources and is used to measure the individual’s objective economic status (Matthews & Gallo, 2010b). Family socioeconomic status has been shown to impact college students’ reading levels, learning abilities, employment decisions, and other relevant behaviors. It also has had impacts on the personality, psychology, and the prosocial behaviors of college students (Kraus & Callaghan, 2016; Guinote et al., 2015). Family socioeconomic status is significantly correlated with individual cognitive ability (Ayoub,M. Gosling,S.D., Potter,J., Shanahan,M., &Robert,B.W., 2017). The impacts on self-cognition as well as social cognition also have affected individual prosocial behavior. Higher family socioeconomic status has been correlated with stronger self-cognition as well as a tendency toward greater prosocial behaviors (Kraus et al., 2012; Kraus et al., 2009).

Prosocial Behavior and Social Cognitive Theory of College Students

The theory of social cognition posits that the external environment, cognitive factors, and human behavior all consistently interact. The interactions among different external environments, individual cognition, and behaviors result in constant change (Bandura, 1986). Psychological research shows that personal experience has an important influence on behavioral decision-making. Personal experience may cause people to make decisions that differ from those that would result from rational choices based on expected utility theory; these could lead to behavioral bias (Hertwig et al., 2004). The university years typically have been viewed as a period when students’ cognition gradually forms and matures. The continuous changes in the external environment provoke constant changes in college students’ individual cognition as well. Different family socioeconomic statuses also could result in distinct manifestations of college students’ prosocial behaviors. Prosocial behaviors are a sign and an important part of the socialization of college students. Previous studies have shown that college students who exhibited prosocial behaviors were happier (Yang & Kou, 2015). Consequently, they enjoyed greater emotional health (Laible et al., 2004). Emotional health made their lives and studying easier. It also helped to decrease pressure from social competition. Moreover, pro-social behaviors improved college students’ self-efficacy and self-esteem (Risco et al., 2016), which form an integral part of self-identification, enhanced self-confidence, and ability to cope with adversity. Prosocial behaviors also promoted better interpersonal relationships among college students (Rotenberg et al., 2005). Social support provided by family, classmates, and friends permitted college students to alleviate negative emotions such as loneliness and anxiety. The theoretical framework that informs this study is shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1
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Theoretical framework

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Family Socioeconomic Status and Parent-Child Attachment

Parent-child attachment refers to the strong and enduring emotional connection established between parents and children (Groh et al., 2016b). Scholars have argued that parent-child attachment could prevent externalized problem behavior (Janssens et al., 2016). The level of parent-child attachment has been shown to deter the possibility of externalized problem behavior (Kerns & Brumariu, 2014b). Family socioeconomic status is the foundation of the parent-child attachment relationship. Previous studies have demonstrated that higher family socioeconomic status coupled with investments in the parent-child relationship contributed to the formation of a good parent-child attachment. College students with good parent-child attachment relationships demonstrated greater skill at Perspective-taking (Joireman et al., 2002).. Family socioeconomic status often has determined the time and quality of parent-child attachment. Positive parent-child attachment experiences in a person’s early years have been shown to promote the formation of positive personalities. Individuals who grew up in a loving and caring environment developed the habit of trusting their surroundings and social groups (Ingram et al., 2004). Empirical research also has shown that the absence of family warmth led to incomplete parent-child interactions (Paths from mother-child, 2015b). Family socioeconomic status positively affected the parent-child attachment relationship. Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis.

  • H1: Family socioeconomic status has a positive impact on parent-child attachment

Family Socioeconomic Status and Emotion Regulation Self-Efficacy

Emotion regulation self-efficacy is defined as the degree of confidence that an individual is able to effectively control their own emotions. It comprises two dimensions: the expression of positive emotions and the management of negative emotions (Nie et al., 2016b). Studies have found that emotion regulation self-efficacy is affected by the individual’s environment and the behavior of the people around them (Caprara et al., 2008b). Therefore, family socioeconomic status may affect an individual’s emotion regulation self-efficacy. An individual’s ability to manage emotions contributes to greater emotional stability. Studies have shown that family socioeconomic status had a significant effect on the individual’s ability to manage emotions. Families with high family socioeconomic status paid more attention to the ability to manage emotions. Attention to emotion regulation served to help individuals adapt to society (Luberto et al., 2012). We propose the following hypothesis.

  • H2: Family socioeconomic status has a positive effect on emotional regulation self-efficacy

Family Socioeconomic Status and Prosocial Behavior

Parents have had a direct impact on the prosocial behavior of college students. If the family’s socioeconomic status was higher, the children exhibited higher levels of prosocial behaviors (Cross & Fletcher, 2011). Scholars have noted that family members’ occupations, as well as income and educational levels, affected an individual’s growth and perceptions of society. College students’ prosocial behaviors depend on a social cognition formed since childhood. Families with high socioeconomic status and sufficient resources typically were not concerned about the returns that prosocial behaviors would provide (Xuezhang et al., 2014). Families with high family socioeconomic status were more integrated in their communities or groups, as evidenced in their greater participation in a variety of volunteer activities (Penner et al., 2005b). We propose the following hypothesis.

  • H3: Family socioeconomic status has a positive impact on the prosocial behavior of college students

The Mediating Role of Parent-Child Attachment

Prosocial behaviors are behaviors that individuals undertake in social life that are beneficial to society and others. Prosocial behaviors are characterized by interactions with others and are produced in the context of interpersonal communication. Parent-child attachment is one of the earliest forms of interpersonal communication and forms the basis of emotional connections (Ainsworth & Bowlby, 1991). The socioeconomic status of a family informs those parent-child attachments. An individual’s future social relationships and development of social abilities also rely on those attachments. It could be said that parent-child attachment mediates between family socioeconomic status and prosocial behavior. We propose the following hypothesis.

  • H4: Parent-child attachment plays an intermediary role between family socioeconomic status and college students’ prosocial behavior.

The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation and Self-Efficacy

Researchers have noted that parent-child attachment and family parenting styles predicted emotion regulation self-efficacy (Siman et al., 2015). When children sent signals to their parents, the parents’ responses impacted the children’s emotional state. Therefore, emotion regulation represented one form of attachment (Mcdonald et al., 2016). In the process of parent-child interactions, the individual could learn how to regulate their emotions. Over time, this lesson could solidify into habits that the individual carries with them over the course of their lives. Therefore, parent-child attachment had a regulatory effect on emotion self-efficacy. Emotion regulation would be affected by the family’s social and economic status, parenting styles, relationships with others, and situations. Family socioeconomic status predicted and affected individual emotion regulation self-efficacy and (Gresham & Gullone, 2012). Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis.

  • H5: Emotion regulation self-efficacy plays a mediating role between family socioeconomic status and college students’ prosocial behavior

The Continuous Mediating Role of Parent-Child Attachment and Emotion Regulation Self-Efficacy

Family socioeconomic status has been shown to reflect the intensity of family interventions for college students., Sarsour,K., et al. (2011) found that individual emotion regulation self-efficacy was improved in two ways when college students thought that they were valued by their family. First, recognition and support from the family allowed students to experience more positive emotions in their lives, which enhanced their prosocial behaviors. Second, greater opportunities and resources assured them of their ability to engage in prosocial behavior (Sarsour et al., 2011). Emotion regulation self-efficacy proved to be an important factor in students’ ability to sustain their efforts and complete tasks when faced with difficult situations. It served to regulate the individual’s cognition of difficulties, helped with their ability to cope, and stimulated prosocial behavior. Emotion regulation self-efficacy and parent-child attachment have proven to be important measures of family socioeconomic status (Maedgen & Carlson, 2000). Emotion regulation self-efficacy positively affected parent-child attachment; higher levels of prosocial behavior among college students with stronger emotion regulation self-efficacy frequently were accompanied by stronger parent-child attachment. Family socioeconomic status has impacted college students’ emotion regulation self-efficacy. Consequently, it also first impacted parent-child attachment through emotion regulation self-efficacy, an important factor in prosocial behavior. We propose the following hypothesis.

  • H6: Family socioeconomic status influences the prosocial behavior of college students through the continuous mediation of parent-child attachment and emotion regulation self-efficacy.

Research Methods

Sample Selection and Data Collection

Participants were selected from six schools in two provinces with medium levels of higher education development through an intentional sampling method. The survey was conducted by email. The research team deployed a two-stage survey to avoid the influence of deviations from the same source method. The researchers obtained contact information for 600 students from the academic offices of the selected universities. The research team sent invitations to participate by email, together with the questionnaire on family socioeconomic status, parent-child attachment, and emotional regulation self-efficacy. The email included information about the purpose of the study as well as a statement that conveyed an assurance that all personal information would remain confidential. A total of 517 completed questionnaires were received. Two months later, a second questionnaire was sent to the 517 students who responded to the email. A total of 458 valid questionnaires were received. The effective recovery rate was 76.33%. The distribution of the sample characteristics is shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Sample characteristics
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Variable Measurement

In most studies, family socioeconomic status has included parents’ occupations, parents’ levels of education, and family income as indicators. In this paper, parents’ occupations and education levels were determined by the answers provided on the questionnaire, combined with five classifications of occupations in China. Household income was measured by the number of household assets reported. The family assets included computers, air conditioners, real estate, and cars. A single parameter model of project response was used to estimate family income. Parent-child attachment was measured using the parent-child attachment scale developed by Armsden and Greenberg in 1987. The results of exploratory factor analysis show that the cumulative variance explained by the scale was 77.61%. The Cronbach α coefficient was 0.909, indicating that the scale had good reliability. Emotion regulation self-efficacy was measured using the scale developed by Caprara et al. The Cronbach α coefficient of the scale was 0.901, indicating that the scale had good reliability. Pro-social behavior was measured using the prosocial behavior scale developed by Piff et al. The Cronbach α coefficient of the scale was 0.863, indicating that the scale had good reliability.

Differentiating Validity Test

This study used confirmatory factors and a competitive model to compare and analyze the four factors of family socioeconomic status, parent-child attachment, emotion regulation self-efficacy, and college students’ prosocial behavior. The results are shown in Table 2. In the four-factor model, χ2/df = 1.144, RMSEA = 0.036, GFI = 0.982, CFI = 0.993, and TLI = 0.989. All indicators were better than other models, indicating that the four-factor model was the model that best fit the actual data. The four factors of family socioeconomic status, parent-child attachment, emotion regulation self-efficacy, and college students’ prosocial behaviors were independent of each other and exhibited good discrimination validity.

Table 2 Model confirmatory factor analysis results
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Common Method Deviation Test

In this study, the subjects were surveyed in two stages in order to avoid common method deviations. Prior to administration of the questionnaire, the respondents were first informed of the anonymity and confidentiality of the research data to ensure the authenticity and effectiveness of the data collection. Exploratory factor analysis of the collected data revealed that the principal component analysis extracted a total of four factors; the cumulative explained total variance was 68.89%, and the maximum factor explained variance did not exceed the recommended value of 50%. Table 2 illustrates that the fit of the four-factor model was good, and the common method deviation of the sample data was within the acceptable range.

Results

Descriptive Statistics and Related Analysis

In order to explore the relationship between family socioeconomic status, parent-child attachment, emotional regulation self-efficacy, and college students’ prosocial behavior, a correlation analysis was conducted. The analysis results are shown in Table 3. There was a significant positive correlation between the four variables, which provides preliminary evidence for the subsequent exploration of the relationship between family socioeconomic status, parent-child attachment, emotional regulation self-efficacy, and college students’ prosocial behavior.

Table 3 Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis results
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Hypothesis Testing

The sequential regression method proposed by Baron et al. was suitable for an intermediary effect test, for multiple intermediary effect tests proposed by Preacher et al.. This study used a structural equation model and process program, combined with the bootstrap method to test the hypothesis.

Model Modification and Hypothesis Testing

The results from the SEM analysis showed that the model had a good fit. χ2/df = 1.181, RMSEA = 0.033, RMR = 0.007, GFI = 0.985, CFI = 0.995, NFI = 0.957, TLI = 0.983. Family socioeconomic status in the model was not significant to the path of college students’ prosocial behavior, p = 0.280. Therefore, H3 was incorrect. Consequently, the research team revised the null hypothesis model to remove the direct path of family socioeconomic status to college students’ prosocial behavior (see Fig. 2). Similarly, the SEM analysis of the modified model shows that the fit index of the modified model did not exhibit much change; the overall fit of the model was better. In the model, χ2/df = 1.156, RMSEA = 0.039, RMR = 0.008, GFI = 0.996, CFI = 0.993, NFI = 0.996, and TLI = 0.995. The path coefficients (standardized regression coefficients) between the modified model variables and the corresponding standard errors and CR values are shown in Table 4.

Fig. 2
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Modified model

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Table 4 Structural equation analysis results of the modified model
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SEM analysis results showed that the path coefficient of family socioeconomic status → parent-child attachment was 0.243, with p < 0.001, indicating that family socioeconomic status significantly positively predicted student parent-child attachment. Higher levels of family socioeconomic status corresponded to higher levels of parent-child attachment. Hypothesis H1 was verified. The path coefficient of family socioeconomic status→emotion regulation self-efficacy was 0.490, with p < 0.01, indicating that family socioeconomic status had a significant predictive effect on emotion regulation self-efficacy. Higher levels of family socioeconomic status corresponded to students’ stronger emotion regulation self-efficacy. Hypothesis H2 was verified. The path coefficient of parent-child attachment→emotion regulation self-efficacy was 0.682, with p < 0.001, indicating that students’ parent-child attachment had a significant predictive effect on emotion regulation self-efficacy; the higher the student’s parent-child attachment, the stronger the student’s emotion regulation self-efficacy. The path coefficient of emotion regulation self-efficacy → college students’ prosocial behavior was 0.543, with p < 0.001, indicating that students’ emotion regulation self-efficacy had a significant predictive effect on prosocial behavior. Stronger emotion regulation self-efficacy was associated with more prosocial behaviors. The path coefficient of parent-child attachment→college students’ prosocial behavior was 0.316, with p < 0.001, indicating that parent-child attachment had a significant predictive effect on prosocial behavior. Higher levels of parent-child attachment were associated with more prosocial behaviors. The above research conclusions provided an important basis for the test of the mediation effect.

Estimation, Testing, and Comparison of Intermediary Effects

The bootstrap method was used to estimate and test the mediation effect. The number of bootstrap samples was set to 5000, and the confidence level of the confidence interval was set to 95%. The results are shown in Table 5. The indirect effect of family socioeconomic status → parent-child attachment → college students’ prosocial behavior was 0.258, with 95% CI [0.115,0.432]. The indirect effect of family socioeconomic status→emotion regulation self-efficacy→college students’ prosocial behavior was 0.075, with 95% CI [0.016,0.178]. The indirect effect of family socioeconomic status → parent-child attachment → emotion regulation self-efficacy → college students’ prosocial behavior was 0.098, with a deviation-corrected CI [0.042, 0.225]. The confidence intervals of the above indirect effects did not contain 0. The three indirect effects were tested. The total indirect effect was 0.429, with a deviation-corrected CI [0.206,0.639]. The confidence interval of the total indirect effect did not contain 0, and the total indirect effect was tested. Therefore, H4, H5, and H6 were all statistically verified. Table 4 shows that the mediating effect of single parent-child attachment was the greatest, followed by the continuous mediation of parent-child attachment and emotion regulation self-efficacy. Therefore, the results supported all of the hypotheses, with the exception of H3.

Table 5 Mediating effect estimation and test results
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Discussion

This study proposed hypotheses about the relationships among family socioeconomic status, parent-child attachment, emotional self-efficacy, and college students’ prosocial behaviors. The hypotheses were tested with 458 samples from 2 provinces and structural equation models. The results indicated that family socioeconomic status had a positive impact on parent-child attachment and a positive impact on emotion regulation self-efficacy. Family socioeconomic status had an impact on college students’ prosocial behavior with the continuous mediating effect of parent-child attachment and emotion regulation self-efficacy. Parent-child attachment had the strongest mediating effect between family socioeconomic status and college students’ prosocial behavior. However, family socioeconomic status did not directly affect college students’ prosocial behavior.

First, the study employed cognitive theory to explain the production process of prosocial behavior. Prosocial behaviors could be viewed as relevant to organizational citizenship. Although prosocial behaviors and their impacts prove complex, they have benefited organizations and individuals. Students would evaluate the benefits and costs of an action before deciding whether to engage in prosocial behavior. Therefore, the prosocial behavior of college students is a planned behavior. Cognitive theory explains the generation or change of an individual’s actual behavior in a specific situation. Proponents of cognitive theory have argued that behavioral intention and perceived behavior control are the main factors that would directly affect an individual’s actual behavior. The individual’s attitudes about subjective norms and perceived behavior control would inform their intentions. This study integrated the psychological mechanisms that stimulated college students’ prosocial behaviors. The work represents an exploration and verification of how family socioeconomic status encouraged college students’ prosocial behaviors. Moreover, cognitive theory provided a framework to explain prosocial behavior.

Second, the study helped to identify the mechanism by which family socioeconomic status shaped college students’ behaviors. The focus on the relationship between family socioeconomic status and college students’ prosocial behavior lays the foundation for subsequent research on topics related to family socioeconomic status. This study confirmed that a higher level of family socioeconomic status resulted in more positive emotions among students who demonstrated better prosocial behaviors. Previous studies had focused primarily on the direct impact of family socioeconomic status. Moreover, few scholars had explored the mechanism by which family economic status was related to prosocial behavior. This study included a model with multiple mediation levels to demonstrate the complexity of the influence family socioeconomic status could have on prosocial behaviors. Future research could utilize such a model to examine similar issues.

Third, the research results showed that family socioeconomic status had a positive effect on parent-child attachment, emotion regulation self-efficacy, and prosocial behavior. Students who perceived family support had greater confidence in their ability to complete work tasks and proved more willing to exhibit prosocial behavior. This finding demonstrated that the positive role of the family socioeconomic status helped to promote the growth and development of students. Additionally, that status stimulated students’ motivation with regard to prosocial behavior and shaped attitudes and behaviors that benefited the society.

Finally, family socioeconomic status had no direct effect on college students’ prosocial behaviors. Rather, parent-child attachment and emotion regulation self-efficacy mediated that relationship. These findings provide the foundation for a new theoretical framework for understanding the mechanism by which family socioeconomic status influences prosocial behavior. Parent-child attachment helps to enhance students’ perceptions of their family’s socioeconomic status and enhance students’ positive attitudes towards prosocial behaviors. This positive attitude enhances students’ willingness to engage in prosocial behaviors. If a family’s socioeconomic status is relatively high, students believe that they can accomplish work tasks creatively. Moreover, a stable family socioeconomic status impacts the family socioeconomic status, the parent-child attachment, directly promotes children’s prosocial behaviors, and encourages prosocial behaviors through the pursuit of emotion regulation self-efficacy. Therefore, this research provides an understanding of the process by which family socioeconomic status influences prosocial behavior. The research also provides a theoretical basis for research on the influence of family socioeconomic status on prosocial behavior through additional intermediary variables.

Research Limitations and Prospects

The research had several limitations that merit attention. First, the sample comprised students from only two provinces in China. Therefore, the results may not be universal in scope. In the future, the focus of research could be extended to include students from other regions or countries. Second, during the sampling process, the sampling proportion in the second stage is not the optimal sampling proportion. The sample representativeness needs to be improved. Third, this study only explored the mediating role of parent-child attachment and emotion regulation self-efficacy. However, studies have shown that other factors, such as nostalgia, empathy, and parental upbringing, also have a significant impact on prosocial behavior. Therefore, future research could include a broader range of variables that potentially impact the relationship between family socioeconomic status and college students’ prosocial behavior.