Objective: To explore the relationship between depression symptoms and prosocial behaviors in rural junior middle school and its dynamic changes by establishing a latent variable growth curve and a cross-lag model by using tracking research design.Methods: Participants were junior school students in grade seven recruited from a rural school in Anhui province. They filled the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and a short version of Center for Epidemiological Survey Depression Scale(CESD-10) three times (once a year for 2 years).Results: The girls’ prosocial behavior is higher than boys’ in all grades. The depression score of adolescents in grade 9 is higher than that in grade 7 and 8. The relationships between prosocial behaviors and depressive symptoms were all negatively correlated in rural adolescents. Depressive symptoms in grade 7 and 8 could negatively predict prosocial behaviors in grade 8 and 9, respectively, while prosocial behaviors in grade 4, 5 and 8 could negatively predict depressive symptoms in grade 5,6 and 9.Conclusion: Community workers could intervene adolescents’ prosocial behavior, including helping and sharing, to improve their mental health and reduce depression.
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