The Impact of Philanthropic Acts on Adolescents

Pro-sociality – A Qualitative Exploration

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, AFFILIATION NO. 430119

LAXMI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL,
SCHOOL NO. 10105
SNEHA G DADU SARIGAM -POST BAG NO. 15,
VALSAD - 396155, GUJARAT, INDIA. [email protected]

ABSTRACT
This study aimed to investigate how philanthropic activity impacts school-going adolescents.
To achieve this, students of grades 9 to 12 at Laxmi International School in Gujarat, India,
were requested to bring small gifts voluntarily to share with underprivileged students. A
group of twenty-six representative students, comprising 19 girls and 7 boys aged between
14 and 18, were selected to visit Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV), a government
hostel for underprivileged and tribal girls in the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
The purpose of the visit was to personally hand over the gifts to the girls at KGBV. After the
visit, a study was conducted through a semi-structured questionnaire and focus-group
discussions to collect data from the participants. The data was analyzed using thematic
content analysis. The findings revealed that the participants reported an improvement in their
pro-social values after engaging in this philanthropic act. The intervention primarily aimed to
expose the students to less fortunate children of the same age group to develop a sense of
empathy, gratitude, and social responsibility. This qualitative study ponders on the power of
philanthropic activities and how school communities can initiate activities that go beyond
school boundaries to develop an empathetic generation of youngsters.
Keywords - Philanthropic act, Pro-sociality, Adolescents

INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Adolescence is a critical period of transition from childhood to adulthood, marked by
significant socio-emotional changes. How an adolescent interacts with others can
significantly impact their interpersonal skills. Environmental factors play a crucial role in
developing the social brain during this phase, making it an essential time for social evolution.
Unfortunately, the pandemic has had a profound effect on this generation of teenagers,
leaving them isolated at home and limiting their interactions to virtual mediums (Crone, E. A.,
& Achterberg, M. 2022).
A school is a place where adolescents learn not only academic knowledge but also social
and moral values. Post covid, increased conflicts in the interpersonal skills of adolescents
have been observed on the school front. Educators often raised concerns about how
students were unable to understand others' emotions, lacked interest and motivation in
school activities, were ungrateful for the resources they possessed, and lacked social
responsibility.
The school organized an event called "Raksha Utsav" to address the issues at hand. They
partnered with Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, a hostel for underprivileged tribal girls in
Dadra and Nagar Haveli, as a way to implement the Prime Minister's goal of connecting
private and government schools. In 2022, An article in Sentinel Assam published how Assam
initiated the move, in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to twin government
and private schools during his meeting with state chief secretaries. The SSA, Assam, had
instructed all inspectors of schools (ISs), district elementary education officers (DEEOs) of
all districts, and district mission (SSA) coordinators to pair government schools under their
jurisdiction with a private school. District schools were encouraged to participate in common
activities with their paired private schools, including teacher exposure visits, hosting
government school students with private school students, joint sports competitions and other
co-curricular activities, sharing best practices, and organizing workshops/seminars on
academic issues/areas jointly. Initiatives like this not only expose students to new
experiences but also help them develop positive and helpful behaviors toward others, thus
improving their prosocial values.
Objective of the study
During adolescence, according to Erik Erikson's psycho-social stages of development,
teenagers begin to form their personal identities. This process mainly occurs outside of their
home environment, with their social circles playing a crucial role. A significant contribution of
psychosocial theory is identifying adolescence as the period where individuals establish a
personal identity, a set of values and commitments that influence significant life choices
during the transition to adulthood (Newman. M. 2011). Behavior that is motivated by
adolescents’ concern for others is thought to reflect optimal social functioning or prosocial
behaviors (American Psychological Association, 2008).
Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model highlights the role of environmental factors in shaping
human development through complex interactions with individuals. Socialization is the
process by which individuals acquire beliefs, values, social norms, and practices necessary
for successful interaction with society. (Göncü and Gauvain, 2012). The educators planned
the activity by considering the promotion of such qualities in the students. The primary goal
of the activity was to encourage adolescents to develop empathy, gratitude, and social
responsibility towards others. The school teamed up with a nearby government hostel to
organize an activity that would enable their students to interact with less fortunate students
beyond their school campus. Studies suggest that social influence has a strong association
with prosocial behavior. This indicates that socialization and support for prosocial norms can
significantly impact behavior. (Lai et al., 2015)
Literature Review
Many educational institutions place significant importance on instilling virtues of benevolence
and philanthropy, yet they fall short of setting a positive precedent. “The Social Development
integrates perspectives from social control theory, social learning theory," and differential
association theory. The model hypothesizes that children must learn patterns of behavior,
whether prosocial or antisocial, from their social environment. According to F. Catalano, R.,
et. al. (2004), children undergo socialization through four processes. These include
perceiving opportunities to engage in activities and interactions with others, actually getting
involved, developing skills for involvement and interaction, and perceiving rewards from
being involved and interacting with others. Engaging in philanthropy not only helps others
but also enhances one's own psychological well-being. Altruism theories propose that
volunteering rewards individuals in multiple ways, leading to better psychological well-being
(Andreoni, 1988, 1990).
Philanthropic approaches can enhance the altruistic actions in teenagers. Adolescents and
teenagers show increased empathy when supporting and enhancing the well-being of
others, being selfless and sincere. (Chaikovska et al. 2020). Studies have shown that
exposure to strangers triggers the release of oxytocin, which in turn promotes pro-social
behavior and generosity (Barraza & Zak, 2009). This emphasizes the importance of
conducting such activities outside the school campus can help students promote pro-social
values. Volunteering and charity work can have a positive impact. Findings show that
altruistic values are positively significant in explaining variations in pro-social behavior.
(Cnaan et al., 2012).
There is more need for an in-depth study on how such activities can help in improving an
adolescent's overall psychological well-being. The study emphasizes the flexibility of human
pro-social behavior and the necessity for more collaborations between scholars and
practitioners to investigate how Experiential Philanthropy Interventions can enhance long-
term generosity among future donors. (Proulx, Jason D. E. 2023)

METHODOLOGY
The study utilized a mixed-method approach to gather comprehensive insights. A focus
group discussion was conducted for the participants who were part of the visit to KGBV.
Later a semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data was collected
through open ended questionnaire with twenty adolescents as participants, providing in-
depth individual perspectives on their experiences and reflections on philanthropy. In
addition to this, a focus group discussion was organized to encourage participants to engage
in collective dialogue, share their thoughts, and explore common themes. Thematic content
analysis was employed to systematically analyze the rich qualitative data obtained from both
questionnaire and focus group discussions. This method allowed for the identification of
recurring themes, patterns, and emerging insights, ensuring a robust examination of the
influence of philanthropy on adolescents’ prosocial values toward social causes and
community engagement.
The collected data underwent analysis using the thematic analysis method, adhering to the
six phases outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006). In the initial phase, researchers looked at
the data by reviewing interview responses and taking notes. Subsequently, in the second
phase, noteworthy elements within the data were methodically assigned codes, and the
pertinent data associated with each code was gathered. Likewise, the third phase involved
amalgamating these codes into potential themes while collecting the relevant data for each
theme. In phase 4, an evaluation of the themes was carried out to assess their efficacy in
relation to the coded excerpts and the overall dataset. Additionally, a thematic map for
analysis was developed. As part of the fifth phase, the themes were defined and named,
contributing to the refinement of the overarching narrative. The final phase was dedicated to
generating a research report that adhered to recommended standards for reporting
qualitative research (O’Brien et al., 2014) and upheld scientific principles (Nosek et al.,
2015).

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

This study aimed to understand the impact of the philanthropic acts on the adolescent
students. The findings demonstrated a positive impact on students’ post-activity.
After conducting and analyzing the data, we found two main themes: support for pro-social
values (which has been previously noted in literature) and addition to pro-social values (a
newly discovered theme in this study). A summary of the findings can be found in Table 1.
The codes used are frequently used statements and words in the participants' responses.
The themes are abstract ideas developed from these codes, while the categories further
distinguish and classify the themes.

TABLE 1: Themes and categories developed through thematic content analysis.

CODE THEMES CATEGORIES

“My mind was filled with a heavy heart and mixed
feelings”
“I was trying to understand the feelings, and emotions of Sense of Supports Pro
needy people.” empathy Social values
“I got a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by
less fortunate children”

“I learned to be happy in small things”

“I felt grateful for my parents” Feeling Supports Pro
grateful Social values

“I am feeling more accountable towards fulfilling a civic

duty
I'm starting free tuition for children who are not able to
Social Supports Pro
go to school and tuition.”
Responsibility Social values
“It made us aware of the conditions people live in
after meeting them I became very responsible for those
needy people”
“I have started spending more time fulfilling social
responsibility”

“People who are not provided anything still are willing to

study
Sense of Addition to Pro
how privileged we are to have such a good life with great
awareness Social values
facilities of education and health”

“The knowledge of helping others is hugely empowering

and it made me feel happier and fulfilled.”
Sense of Addition to Pro
“Sense of satisfaction knowing that I have made a
Contentment Social values
meaningful contribution to the well-being of the girls”
“I was honored by making the contribution”

“Brought my feet to the ground and made me think not to Feeling of Addition to Pro
take anything for granted” humility Social values
“Became down to earth”
“I used to complain about things I don't have but now I'm Addition to Pro
Realization of
thankful.” Social values
privilege
“I started valuing the things even more”

“Gave immense peace and fruitful happiness to me, as

well as my friends!” Addition to Pro
Joy of giving
“It helps in spreading happiness” Social values
“I have no words to describe my emotions”
“I got to know many things like how to be happy.”

The focus group discussion held with the adolescents who were the participants of the visit
expressed a wide range of emotions upon witnessing the students of KGBV. Many of them
initially felt mixed emotions, realizing the stark contrast between their own lives and the
challenges faced by the other group. However, as the discussion progressed, it became
evident that this exposure had a profound impact on their values and perspectives. During
the discussion, they mentioned feeling more empathetic towards less privileged people.
Empathy is believed to be the basis of prosocial and selfless actions, and studies show that
young people with higher levels of empathy tend to be more prosocial (Hoffman ML, 2000).
They also shared, how their gratitude for their privileges had grown significantly. When
people express gratitude, it can encourage the benefactor to engage in more prosocial
behaviors (McCullough et al., 2001). Most importantly, these teenagers expressed a
newfound sense of social responsibility and pledged to take action to bring positive change
to the lives of less fortunate people. Social responsibility is an important factor that
influences individual helping behavior and determines the level of prosocial behavior (Steele
et al., 2007). Statements like “It's my dream now to build an NGO for children who are not
privileged”. “I'm starting free tuition for children who are not able to go to school and tuition.”
this shows how the visit has undoubtedly played a crucial role in shaping these young minds,
fostering a commitment to making the world a better place.
The thematic content analysis showed that engaging in philanthropic acts and experiences
increased empathy, gratitude, and social well-being. This corresponds with the development
of pro-social values. These findings indicate that well-planned activities, coupled with
opportunities to practice learned values, can hasten the process of internalizing values.
According to the Warm Glow theory, individuals who donate to charitable causes can
experience positive benefits from the act of giving, such as inner satisfaction, which leads to
an overall improvement in psychological well-being.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the qualitative study conducted on adolescents participating in philanthropic
activities revealed a noteworthy improvement across various dimensions of their personal
and social development. The findings demonstrated a significant enhancement in pro-social
values, underscoring the positive impact of engaging in altruistic endeavors. Notably, the
adolescents reported a heightened sense of empathy, increased feelings of gratitude, and a
strengthened commitment to social responsibility. Moreover, their heightened sense of
awareness, contentment, and humility were evident, reflecting a deeper understanding of the
world around them. These outcomes collectively emphasize the transformative power of
philanthropy in shaping the character and values of adolescents, ultimately contributing to
the betterment of society.
In summary, this study underscores the transformative power of philanthropy on
adolescents. It reveals a remarkable positive shift in their empathy, gratitude, social
responsibility, and overall well-being. These findings affirm that fostering a culture of giving
not only enriches the individual but also promises to create a more compassionate and
socially conscious society. As these young philanthropists continue to inspire change, we
witness the enduring ripple effect of the joy of giving, shaping not only their lives but also the
communities they touch.

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