Text description: Prosocial behaviours and the positive impact on mental health

Infographic 1

Infographic: Children's prosocial behaviours.

  • Age 4-12 years - parents reported a gradual increase
  • Age 13-17 years - parents reported a decline

Figure 1: Children show more prosocial behaviours as they grow older but this declines in the teenage years.

Line chart: Children become increasingly caring as they grow older but caring declines in the teenage years.

Figure 2: Overall, children’s poor mental health increases with age.

Line graph: Children’s poor mental health increases with age with noticeable jumps at age 8 and 15 years.

Shows the SDQ emotional symptoms score for both males and females.

Figure 3: The proportion of children with ‘clinically’ poor mental health increases with age.

Bar chart: The proportion of children with ‘clinically’ poor mental health increases with age.

Shows the non-clinical and clinical percentage from age 4 to age 17.

Figure 4: The benefit to mental health of developing a prosocial orientation declines as children age from 4 to 13 years.

Line graph: The benefit to mental health of developing a prosocial orientation declines as children age from 4 to 13 years.

Quote

Participating in volunteering activities is associated with better mental health for teenagers.