The effect of personality traits and personal values on adolescent prosocial orientation

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between youth prosocial orientation, and personality traits and personal values in a sample of Lithuanian adolescents, in order to assess differences in personality and personal values between those adolescents who are engaged in community and school life and those who are not. Mean age of participants was 18.20 (SD = 0.69), who were high school students from one administrative region. Participants (N = 490), completed a questionnaire assessing adolescent prosocial orientation, along with measures of personality traits (NEO-FFI) and personal values (PVQ). Cluster analysis identified 5 distinct groupings of adolescents: Very involved, Involved, Average involvement, Some Involvement and Uninvolved adolescents. Comparisons revealed several significant differences among the groups in terms of personality traits and values. Results are discussed with regard to the role that personality traits and personal values may play in fostering the prosocial orientation of adolescents.