Abstract

Despite the increasing interest in research on the development of early childhood prosocial behaviors, there is a lack of validated tools for their assessment in infancy. The present work displays the results of a validation study of the Child Prosocial Behavior Questionnaire (CPBQ), a tool for measuring such behaviors in early childhood. The CPBQ measurement model and the factorial invariance between males and females were verified (N = 409) through multi-group confirmatory factor analysis. The adaptation index analysis reveals an optimal fit of the measurement model consisting of 10 items and three latent dimensions, respectively helping, sharing and comforting. In addition, the CPBQ structure is invariant between males and females. The results suggest that the Questionnaire is as an agile and reliable measure for measuring prosocial behaviors in children between 16 and 42 months. The use of the CPBQ in the field of research, educational intervention and clinical assessment is discussed.