Helping behavior may mitigate academic risk for children from low-income neighborhoods

Children raised in neighborhoods with low socio-economic status are at risk for low academic achievement. A new longitudinal study followed young children from such neighborhoods from birth until age seven to explore whether children's capacity to act kindly or generously towards others (prosocial behavior) - including peers, teachers, and family—is linked to their ability to perform well in school. The study showed that prosocial behavior may mitigate academic risk across early childhood.