Peer-reviewed article
Emotion Regulation and Prosocial Behavior among Eleventh-Grade Students at SMA Negeri 1 Talamau, Indonesia
Dela Afriyeni, Rici Kardo, Suryadi ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study looked at emotion regulation and prosocial (helpful, caring) behavior among 65 eleventh-grade students at one rural senior high school in West Pasaman, Indonesia. Most students scored high on emotion regulation, and nearly half scored very high on prosocial behavior. The study tested whether the two were linked and found only a very weak positive relationship that was not statistically significant. The authors caution against assuming that better emotion regulation automatically means more prosocial behavior in this setting. They suggest school counseling could combine emotion regulation training with peer-based prosocial programs.
Key points
- 65 students were sampled from a population of 187 using proportionate random sampling.
- 61.54% of students showed high emotion regulation.
- 49.23% of students showed very high prosocial behavior, and none were in the low or very low categories.
- The correlation between emotion regulation and prosocial behavior was positive but very weak and not significant (r = .185, p = .141).
- Future research should use larger samples and examine empathy and school climate.
Limitations
The study is a cross-sectional correlation in one school with a small sample of 65 students, so it cannot show cause and effect or be generalised to other settings. It relied on self-report-style scales and did not test any intervention.
Abstract
Emotion regulation is widely assumed to support adolescents’ prosocial behavior, yet evidence from Indonesian senior high schools remains inconsistent, particularly in rural settings. This study described emotion regulation and prosocial behavior among eleventh-grade students at SMA Negeri 1 Talamau, West Pasaman, Indonesia, and examined the relationship between these variables. A quantitative correlational design involved 65 students selected from a population of 187 through proportionate random sampling. Data were collected using Likert-type emotion regulation and prosocial behavior scales comprising 37 items (α = .918) and 38 items (α = .937), respectively. Descriptive percentage analysis and Pearson product-moment correlation were conducted following normality and linearity testing. Most students exhibited high emotion regulation (61.54%), while nearly half demonstrated very high prosocial behavior (49.23%). No students were classified in the low or very low categories. The correlation was positive but very weak and statistically nonsignificant (r = .185, p = .141). These findings provide no evidence of a statistically significant linear association within this sample and caution against assuming that higher emotion regulation necessarily corresponds to greater prosocial behavior in this school context. The study contributes contextual evidence to research on adolescent socioemotional development and recommends combining emotion regulation training with peer-based prosocial programs in school counseling. Future research should involve larger samples and examine empathy and school climate alongside emotion regulation.