<![CDATA[Volunteer communities are a critical context for the development of prosocial behavior, yet the extent to which empathy translates into helping actions may vary across social conditions. This study examined the moderating role of gender in the association between empathy and prosocial behavior among youth volunteers in the RASS community, South Sumatra, Indonesia. A quantitative correlational design was applied to data from 153 active volunteers selected through saturated sampling. Empathy and prosocial behavior were assessed using standardized self-report instruments, and the data were analyzed with Pearson correlation and moderation analysis via Hayes’ PROCESS Macro Model 1. The results showed a significant positive relationship between empathy and prosocial behavior. Gender significantly moderated this association, with the empathy–prosocial behavior link being stronger among male than female volunteers. These findings suggest that empathic dispositions are differentially translated into prosocial actions depending on gender-based psychosocial dynamics in volunteer settings. The novelty of this study lies in integrating psychological mechanisms (empathy), sociocultural characteristics (a collectivist and faith-informed volunteer context), and gender as a contextual moderator within a single analytical framework in a non-metropolitan Indonesian setting. The study contributes gender-sensitive, empirically grounded insights for designing volunteer development and intervention programs that strengthen prosocial engagement in ways aligned with local cultural and religious value]]>
