ArticlePloS one2021
Using prosocial behavior to safeguard mental health and foster emotional well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: A registered report protocol for a randomized trial.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed.
- Association between preschool children's media use, parental joint media engagement and prosocial behavior: A longitudinal cohort study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Caring Too Much or Too Little? Relations Among Motivations for Social Withdrawal, Empathy, and Prosociality in Emerging Adulthood.Scandinavian journal of psychology · 2025Article
- Effect of AI empathy perception on employees' prosocial behavior: mediating role of warmth and moderating role of AI anthropomorphism.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- 'Do Good, Expect the Worst': The Indirect Effect of Social Cynicism on Prosocial Behavior via Empathy and Trust.International review of social psychology · 2025Article
- Wellbeing, nature connection and vaccine attitudes: A convergent mixed methods study in Wim Hof Method practitioners.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- The impact of songs with prosocial lyrics on implicit cognition and prosocial behavior: a prospective event-related brain potential study.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Predictors of Health-Protective and Helping Behaviors during the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Role of Social Support and Resilience.Psychological reports · 2024Review
- The Impact of Coping Styles on the Mental Health of Outstanding Physical Education Students in Shanghai During the Normalization Epidemic: The Chain Mediation Role of Meaning in Life and Prosocial Behavior.Psychology research and behavior management · 2024Article
- The parental COVID-19 anxiety and emotional exhaustion in healthcare workers: exploring the roles of resilience, prosocialness, and optimism.Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) · 2023Article
- Measurement of Prosocial Tendencies: Meta-Analysis of the Generalization of the Reliability of the Instrument.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Can prosocial values improve brain health?Frontiers in neurology · 2023Article
- Social support and prosocial behavior in Chinese college students during the COVID-19 outbreak: a moderated mediation model of positive affect and parental care.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Reflection of Types of Prosocial Behavior During COVID-19 in Collectivistic Asian Countries-India and Indonesia.Qualitative health research · 2022Article
- Helping Others Helps Me: Prosocial Behavior and Satisfaction With Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- The Relationship Between Physical Exercise and Prosocial Behavior of Junior Middle School Students in Post-Epidemic Period: The Chain Mediating Effect of Emotional Intelligence and Sports Learning Motivation and Gender Differences.Psychology research and behavior management · 2022Article
- Consumption replaces charity: Altruistic consumption behaviors and motivations targeting vulnerable groups-Research based on poverty alleviation consumption in China.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- The Effect of Family Atmosphere on Chinese College Students' Pro-social Behavior: The Chained Mediation Role of Gratitude and Self-Efficacy.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Relative Deprivation and Prosocial Tendencies in Chinese Migrant Children: Testing an Integrated Model of Perceived Social Support and Group Identity.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
- To Help or Not to Help? Prosocial Behavior, Its Association With Well-Being, and Predictors of Prosocial Behavior During the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
- The Influence of College Students' Empathy on Prosocial Behavior in the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Social Responsibility.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic, the accompanying lockdown measures, and their possible long-term effects have made mental health a pressing public health concern. Acts that focus on benefiting others-known as prosocial behaviors-offer one promising intervention that is both flexible and low cost. However, neither the range of emotional states prosocial acts impact nor the size of those effects is currently clear, both of which directly influence its attractiveness as a treatment option. Using a large online sample from Canada and the United States, we will examine the effect of a three-week prosocial intervention on two indicators of emotional well-being (happiness and the belief that one's life is valuable) and mental health (anxiety and depression). Respondents will be randomly assigned to perform prosocial, self-focused, or neutral behaviors each week. Two weeks after the intervention, a final survey will assess whether the intervention has a lasting effect on mental health and emotional well-being. Our results will illuminate whether prosocial interventions are a viable approach to addressing mental health needs during the current COVID-19 pandemic, as well for those who face emotional challenges during normal times.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.