Religiosity and its Relationship with Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of Intentional Self-regulation

Abstract

Objectives: The study aimed to examine the hypotheses that gender differences in religiosity and prosocial behavior are not statistically significant, that religiosity is positively associated with prosocial behavior among adolescents, and that this relationship is mediated by deliberate self-regulation. Methods: The study used a cross-sectional design, with adolescents self-reporting on questionnaires about religiosity, prosocial behavior, and deliberate self-regulation. A total of 394 Jordanian adolescents aged 18 to 19 from the University of Jordan participated, selected using a convenience sampling method. Results: The results showed that gender differences in religiosity and prosocial behavior were not statistically significant. Religiosity predicted prosocial behavior, and deliberate self-regulation mediated the relationship between religiosity and prosocial behavior. Conclusions: The findings provide evidence that religiosity is associated with prosocial behavior and deliberate self-regulation during late adolescence among Muslim adolescents. The results also align with findings from other studies conducted on adolescents of different religions and cultures. Furthermore, the results call for more academic attention to adolescents in the Middle East to gain a better understanding of their motivations for engaging in prosocial behaviors.