Prosocial behavior, or acting for the benefit of others, is a key aspect of human social interaction [1, 2]. It has various positive consequences, including higher psychological well-being, stronger relationships, and better physical and mental health [3, 4]. Not everyone engages in prosocial behavior to the same extent, and research has attempted to identify factors that influence such individual differences [5]. One line of inquiry has focused on social and demographic characteristics such as gender [6], age [7], and place of residence [8] as potential predictors of prosocial tendencies. In recent years, the growing visibility and acceptance of gender and sexual orientation diversity has led to the emergence of a new area of research: the role of this diversity in prosocial behavior. The aim of this study is to contribute to this field by examining differences in various aspects of prosocial behavior among people with different social and demographic characteristics from a population of Slovak heterosexual adults. We examined individual differences in digital and public prosocial behaviors, as well as overall prosocial behavior, towards the LGBTQIA+ community in the context of gender, age, place of residence, and interpersonal experiences related to gender and sexual orientation diversity. These selected baseline sociodemographic variables were chosen because there are no scientific studies in the Slovak Republic that track specific prosocial behaviors towards the LGBTQIA+ community in the context of these variables. Our results shed light on how social and demographic characteristics and experiences related to gender and sexual orientation diversity may be associated with forms of digital, public, and overall prosocial behavior.

Differentiating between public and digital prosocial behaviors is important because they represent distinct forms of prosocial behavior with unique motivations and outcomes. Public prosocial behaviors are actions performed in front of others, often driven by the desire for rewards, approval, or maintaining a positive public image [9]. These behaviors are considered relatively selfishly motivated and low-cost [10]. On the other hand, digital prosocial behaviors refer to acts of kindness, cooperation, and support performed in online or digital environments [11]. These behaviors can include sharing helpful information, offering emotional support, or participating in online communities [12]. One key difference between public and digital prosocial behaviors is the level of visibility and social pressure. Public prosocial behaviors are performed in the presence of others, which can create social pressure and the need to maintain a positive image [9]. In contrast, digital prosocial behaviors can be performed anonymously or with reduced social pressure, allowing individuals to engage in prosocial acts without the fear of judgment or scrutiny [13, 14]. Another difference lies in the nature of the interactions. Public prosocial behaviors often involve face-to-face interactions or physical presence, allowing immediate feedback and emotional responses [11, 12]. Digital prosocial behaviors, on the other hand, occur in virtual spaces and rely on digital communication platforms, such as social media or online communities [11, 15]. These platforms allow individuals to engage in prosocial behaviors on a larger scale, reaching a wider audience and potentially having a greater impact [15].

Previous research has consistently shown that gender is a significant factor in prosocial behavior towards minorities. Numerous studies have found that women exhibit more prosocial behavior towards minorities than men. These findings are consistent with past research showing that women are more likely than men to engage in prosocial behaviors such as helping and volunteering [16, 17]. Women tend to support policies that benefit marginalized groups in society across a diverse range of policy issues and perspectives [18]. According to Norrander [19], women are more inclined to support policies that aim to expand assistance to various disadvantaged groups in society, which include not only women but also people who are socially disadvantaged in terms of ethnicity, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status. A study by Eagly et al. [20] examined socially compassionate political attitudes between the years 1973 and 1998. Their findings revealed a consistent and significant difference in the context of gender, with women more likely to express support for these socially compassionate attitudes than men. In addition, focused research examining women’s long-term political involvement has found a significant correlation in their community characteristics, specifically women’s interpersonal relationships [21]. The above findings suggest that women’s political behavior to promote social welfare may be driven by their empathy and concern for others and their commitment to improving social conditions.

On top of the effect of gender, age also plays a significant role in prosocial behavior towards minorities, although the role is more ambiguous. The results of previous studies are inconsistent and have shown that prosocial behavior varies in relation to age. A study by Abrams et al. [22] found that younger participants were more likely to express prejudice towards minorities than older participants and less likely to behave in a prosocial manner towards them. Researchers suggest that younger individuals may have less experience in social situations, leading to more negative attitudes and behaviors toward minorities. Based on the references available, there is mixed evidence as to whether younger people are less prosocial towards minorities than older people. Studies suggest that older adults may exhibit more prosocial behaviors toward their loved ones and others, including minorities, compared to young adults [23, 24]. Another study focusing on prosocial behavior in the context of the bystander effect shows that older adults may have stronger intentions to intervene in LGBTQIA+ discrimination situations compared to younger adults [25]. In addition, there is evidence that prosocial behavior may be influenced by the relationship between individuals, with adolescents exhibiting more prosocial behavior toward friends than strangers or family members [26].

The topic of prosocial behavior in the context of the individual place of residence has received limited attention in scholarly literature. According to a 2019 report by the Movement Advancement Project [27], individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+ face increased rates of discrimination and lack of systematic support if they live in rural areas in comparison to urban areas. Research findings show that individuals living in rural areas show relatively lower levels of support for legal and policy issues affecting the LGBTQIA+ community. Other research studies [28] also report increased levels of bias against the LGBTQIA+ community among rural populations. An important contribution in the area of residential and geographic disparities in supporting the LGBTQIA+ community was made by [8]. Their analysis found significant disparities in support for the LGBTQIA+ community. It showed that people who live or have moved to urban areas display higher levels of support for the LGBTQIA+ community than people who live in rural areas. One likely explanation is that residents living in urban areas tend to live in places with larger population densities. A larger population leads to a greater likelihood of positive interactions with different groups, which fosters stronger intergroup contact and can potentially lead to greater support for minority groups and prosocial behavior [8]. However, it is important to note that some rural residents may also be advocates and supporters of the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community [29].

Positive interpersonal experiences with LGBTQIA+ people can have a significant impact on attitudes toward them and their rights [30]. Research suggests that individuals who have positive experiences with LGBTQIA+ people are more supportive of their rights. Studies have found that contact with LGBTQIA+ people leads to more positive evaluations of this group and greater support for pro-LGBTQIA+ policies [31]. In addition, individuals with greater knowledge of and contact with LGBTQIA+ people have more positive attitudes toward them [32]. Furthermore, individuals who grew up in families that supported LGBTIQA+ rights and were involved in activism from a young age are more likely to support LGBTIQA+ rights [33]. Personal contact with LGBTQIA+ people and living in a country with stronger LGBTQIA+ rights have also been found to predict greater support for LGBTQIA+ rights [34]. Research suggests that positive interpersonal experiences with LGBTQIA+ people can lead to greater support for their rights and pro-LGBTQIA+ policies [8, 31, 35]. Contact with individual LGBTQIA+ people has been found to increase positive evaluations of the group and support for pro-LGBTQIA+ policies [31]. Positive intergroup contact at the individual and contextual level is associated with greater support for LGBTQIA+ rights [8]. Personal contact with LGBTQIA+ individuals and living in a country with stronger LGBTQIA+ rights predicts greater support towards this minority group [34].

In recent months, a series of discriminatory actions targeting gender and sexual orientation minorities have taken place both in Slovakia and globally. This global discrimination, which can result in tragic events such as those that have taken place in Slovakia, can lead to a series of prosocial or altruistic actions aimed at improving the well-being of gender and sexual orientation minorities. However, these prosocial and altruistic actions may vary depending on the social and demographic characteristics of a given country. Based on these ideas, we decided to conduct a study to learn more about the differences in the context of social and demographic characteristics in prosocial behaviors and tendencies toward the LGBTQIA+ community in a cohort of Slovak adults.

When discussing the issue of LGBTQIA+ rights, it is widely acknowledged that urban areas tend to have a higher prevalence of individuals who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community [36]. From our research dataset, the only difference we identified was in the area of public prosocial behavior, with no significant differences in digital and overall prosocial behavior. The reason why participants from urban areas show higher levels of public prosocial behavior may be related to the heterogeneity of the environment. This environmental heterogeneity can increase contact with different groups of people and create a ground for greater empathy and pro-social behavior towards minorities. For instance, a study published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology found that urban residents were more likely to behave prosocially toward a black experimenter than rural residents. The authors suggest that this difference may be due to greater exposure to diversity in urban areas, which may lead to greater sensitivity to the experiences of members of minority groups [37]. Urban areas have been identified as places characterized by openness and tolerance towards the LGBTQIA+ community. This aspect makes urban locations attractive to individuals who prefer the availability of an environment in which being openly a member of the LGBTQIA+ community does not result in social ostracism or discrimination. Urban environments that offer a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for the LGBTQIA+ community may influence those who disagree with equal rights to leave these locations. A possible explanation for the differences in support of LGBTQIA+ rights between urban and rural areas is the manifestation of geographic clusters of people who share similar views on the issue [8].

From a gender perspective, we found that women exhibit higher levels of prosocial behavior, both public and overall, towards LGBTQIA+ people. Neurobiological research conducted by Soutschek et al. [38] found that sex differences in helping behaviors between men and women are related to the dopaminergic system. They found that the dopaminergic reward system is more sensitive to helping behaviors and shared rewards in women. In men, this system was more sensitive to selfish rewards. In contrast, some studies have found no significant differences between men and women in terms of overall prosocial behavior [39, 40]. Gender differences in prosocial behavior on the Internet have also been investigated. Although some studies suggest that women may exhibit more helping and supportive behavior online than men, the findings are not consistent across different studies. One study found that women exhibit higher levels of prosocial online behaviors, such as online emotional support and activism, especially at younger and older ages [41]. Another study found that women were more likely than men to make supportive or encouraging comments in online communication [42].

According to research, personal contact with LGBTQIA+ people can lead to more positive evaluations of this group and greater support for pro-LGBTQIA+ public policies [31], which is also supported by the results of our study. Studies have shown that personal contact with an outgroup, such as LGBTQIA+ people, reduces prejudice against that group [34]. Face-to-face contact has also been a better predictor of prosocial behavior directed at individual outgroup members [43]. However, the quality of the contact matters, as poor-quality contact with an LGBTQIA+ identifying person could have a limited impact on the overall attitudes of conservative people towards the LGBTQIA+ community [44]. Interpersonal contact with gender and sexual orientation minorities, as well as community exposure to LGBT people, is associated with more favorable views towards them [45]. Attitudes toward LGBTQIA+ persons generally grow more positive with greater interaction and familiarity [46]. Finally, there are strategies that can promote social change as opposed to just positive attitudes. These include increasing the types of contact that promote social change, secondary transmission of the effects of contact, imagined contact, indirect forms of contact, and positive media representations of LGBTQIA+ persons.

It was also identified that older adults exhibited higher levels of digital and overall prosocial behavior, dominating across most areas examined. Based on the available research, there is some evidence to suggest that middle-aged (middle adulthood) adults may exhibit more prosocial behavior toward minorities than people in late adolescence and young adulthood, but this finding is not consistent across studies. For instance, one study found that older adults tend to exhibit more prosocial behavior than younger adults [23]. As people get older, they tend to become more aware of social problems and better understand the experiences of marginalized groups. This heightened awareness may create space for greater empathy towards these groups and a desire to engage in pro-social behavior towards them. Studies have shown that older adults are more likely to engage in volunteer work and charitable activities, especially for marginalized groups [47]. In addition, older adults are more accepting of diversity and less likely to hold prejudice against minority groups [48]. Overall, evidence suggests that as people age, they may become more empathetic toward minority groups and more likely to engage in prosocial behavior toward them [49, 50].

Despite the significant addition to research knowledge that the present study has brought, it is important to note that it had several limitations. One limitation is that this study has focused primarily only on demographic and social factors that may be potential predictors of the types of prosocial tendencies in question. Further research should focus on both social and demographic factors but in cooperation with other psychological (e.g., attachment, empathy) or contextual variables (e.g., political orientation or cost of effort). Future research should also focus on variables tied directly to gender (e.g., masculinity, femininity, androgyny, or indifference).

The second limitation is the persistence of this type of behavior. It is not clear how long this type of behavior in relation to gender and sexual orientation minorities would persevere. In recent months, a series of tragic events against the LGBTQIA+ community have occurred in Slovakia [51, 52] (Bačová, 2022; Števkov, 2022). These tragic events may have contributed to increased levels of prosocial behavior, but this is not necessarily a stable phenomenon. In this case, a series of longitudinal research studies would need to be conducted to confirm the results of our study, especially in the context of demographic indicators.

Thirdly, despite the high representation of the heterosexual population (N = 1014), the frequency of participants across socio-demographic characteristics fluctuated considerably. Examples include a high prevalence of participants in the young adulthood group (N = 640) and a smaller representation of participants in late adolescence (n = 184) and middle adulthood (n = 190). The same cases were also identified in the place of residence variable, which was strongly dominated by participants from urban areas (n = 624) compared to participants from rural areas (n = 390). Future research could also examine psychological dispositions in concert with social and demographic characteristics. In the present study, only selected social and demographic variables were considered, whereas their interactions with psychological variables could make a more profound and nuanced understanding. Nonetheless, our insights can serve as a meaningful foundation upon which future research can investigate prosocial behaviors and tendencies in other major cities and regions around the world.

Prosocial tendencies towards gender and sexual orientation minorities, as well as discriminatory ones, need to be examined from a global perspective. This study provided the first bit of information in a context where empirical data are still lacking. Slovakia is a country where the law still systematically limits the rights of gender and sexual orientation minorities. In this context, it is important to focus on the positive aspects of cultural and social settings that significantly influence both the discriminatory and prosocial tendencies of their participants. Despite its limitations, this study has produced valuable data on differences in prosocial tendencies in the context of basic social and demographic characteristics in Slovakia.