Objectives Previous literature suggests age-related increases in prosociality. Does such an age–prosociality relationship occur during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, or might the pandemic—as a stressor that may differently influence young and older adults—create a boundary condition on the relationship? If so, can empathy, a well-known prosocial disposition, explain the age–prosociality relationship? This study investigated these questions and whether the target (distant others compared to close others) of prosocial behaviors differs by age. Methods Participants completed a series of surveys on dispositional empathy and prosocial behaviors for a study assessing their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 330 participants (aged 18–89) from the United States who completed all of the surveys included in the present analyses. Results Age was positively related to greater prosociality during the pandemic. Although empathy was positively associated with individuals’ prosociality, it did not account for the age–prosociality association. Interestingly, increasing age was associated with greater prosocial behaviors toward close others (i.e., family, friends). Discussion Results are discussed in the context of socioemotional goals and substantiate that findings of age differences in prosocial behaviors occur during the period of limited resources and threat associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 大流行期间的衰老、同理心和亲社会行为

目标 以前的文献表明亲社会性的增加与年龄有关。在 2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 大流行期间是否会出现这种年龄-亲社会关系，或者大流行——作为可能对年轻人和老年人产生不同影响的压力源——是否会为这种关系创造一个边界条件？如果是这样，同理心，一种众所周知的亲社会倾向，能否解释年龄-亲社会关系？本研究调查了这些问题，以及亲社会行为的目标（疏远的人与亲密的人相比）是否因年龄而异。方法 参与者完成了一系列关于性格同理心和亲社会行为的调查，以评估他们在 COVID-19 大流行期间的经历。来自美国的 330 名参与者（年龄 18-89 岁）完成了本分析中包含的所有调查。结果 在大流行期间，年龄与更大的亲社会性呈正相关。尽管同理心与个人的亲社会性呈正相关，但它并没有解释年龄-亲社会性的关联。有趣的是，年龄的增长与对亲密他人（即家人、朋友）的亲社会行为增加有关。讨论结果是在社会情感目标的背景下讨论的，并证实亲社会行为的年龄差异发现发生在与 COVID-19 大流行相关的资源和威胁有限的时期。尽管同理心与个人的亲社会性呈正相关，但它并没有解释年龄-亲社会性的关联。有趣的是，年龄的增长与对亲密他人（即家人、朋友）的亲社会行为增加有关。讨论结果是在社会情感目标的背景下讨论的，并证实亲社会行为的年龄差异发现发生在与 COVID-19 大流行相关的资源和威胁有限的时期。尽管同理心与个人的亲社会性呈正相关，但它并没有解释年龄-亲社会性的关联。有趣的是，年龄的增长与对亲密他人（即家人、朋友）的亲社会行为增加有关。讨论结果是在社会情感目标的背景下讨论的，并证实亲社会行为的年龄差异发现发生在与 COVID-19 大流行相关的资源和威胁有限的时期。