Individual and collective social cognitive influences on peer aggression: exploring the contribution of aggression efficacy, moral disengagement, and collective efficacy

Relations among lie-telling self-efficacy, moral disengagement, and willingness to tell antisocial lies among children and adolescents

This study examined a proposed model of relations among lie-telling self-efficacy, moral disengagement, and willingness to tell antisocial lies among children and adolescents. Children and adolescents aged 6 to 15 years completed measures of lie-telling self-efficacy and moral disengagement. They also read vignettes about a character committing a transgression and telling a lie to conceal the transgression. For each vignette, children and adolescents made a hypothetical decision about telling the truth or a lie if they were in the character's position to assess their lie-telling propensity. Lie-telling self-efficacy was related to willingness to tell lies, and this relationship was mediated by moral disengagement. Children and adolescents with higher lie-telling self-efficacy had higher moral disengagement, and those who had higher moral disengagement were more willing to tell antisocial lies. Overall, results support Bandura's social cognitive theory as a framework for understanding the psychosocial mechanisms underlying attitudes toward lie-telling. Moreover, these findings suggest that interventions to address problematic lie-telling behavior should focus on children's and adolescents' use of moral disengagement mechanisms.

Online Moral Disengagement: An Examination of the Relationships Between Electronic Communication, Cognitive Empathy, and Antisocial Behavior on the Internet

A consequence of the proliferation of online communication is the concerning presence of antisocial behavior observed in virtual spaces. Research suggests the cognitive component of empathy is hindered by features of electronic communication which facilitates antisocial behaviors online. Investigations into how features of online communication inhibit cognitive empathy are lacking, and findings on moral disengagement and antisocial behavior have yet to be integrated with studies on cognitive empathy and electronic communication. The current study explores these relationships. One hundred and three undergraduate students completed several measures including the Online Moral Disengagement Scale, Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy, and Online Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior Scale. Results showed a positive correlation between compulsive internet use and online moral disengagement, as well as a negative correlation between cognitive empathy and moral disengagement online. It was hypothesized that online moral disengagement would mediate the relation between cognitive empathy and antisocial behavior online but this mediation was not supported. However, a moderated relationship was revealed between cognitive empathy and moral justification, by liberalism. This moderation can be explored further and built upon by future research to deepen our understanding of how political ideology relates to virtual behavior. Furthermore, the findings concerning components of empathy and moral disengagement, and their role within the perpetration of antisocial conduct online, can inform future research as well as interventions focused on fostering prosocial behavior online and curbing cyberaggression.

A cross-sectional study of gender role adherence, moral disengagement mechanisms and online vulnerability in adolescents

The wide availability of electronic devices accessible to teenagers has enabled them to use the internet to communicate, share, and obtain information. However, the use of the internet and social media has also increased the risk of vulnerability, exposing people, particularly adolescents, to several risks. We collected data from a sample of 366 adolescents (186 females and 180 males) aged 14-20 years (mean age = 17 ± 1.33 years) to investigate the mediating role of moral disengagement (MD) mechanisms in the relationship between gender and online vulnerability. Data were collected in both the inner-city and suburban high schools of Rome (Italy) using the Qualtrics Platform Online. The participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Online Vulnerability Scale, and the Civic Moral Disengagement Scale. All participants declared that they accessed and used the internet frequently. Using SPSS, the data were checked for outliers, common method bias, and normal distribution; then, correlation and mediation analyses were performed. Based on the correlation results, a mediation analysis was performed using only the displacement of responsibility as a mediator of the gender-online vulnerability link. Age was entered in the mediation model as a covariate. The results showed that girls were more vulnerable online than boys, who in turn used more moral disengagement mechanisms. In addition, moral displacement showed a positive indirect effect on the relationship between gender and online vulnerability. This means that when including the moral displacement in the mediation model boys appeared more exposed to online vulnerability as they probably adopted more immoral behaviors. These results could help to develop interventions to sensitize adolescents on both taking responsibilities for their actions on the Internet. Limitations and future research directions are briefly discussed.

Defender self-efficacy and moral disengagement on social support and bystander behaviors among primary school students: a multilevel moderated mediation model

This study examines the influence of social support on bystander behaviors, the mediating and moderating effects of moral disengagement and defender self-efficacy at the individual and class levels, and their cross-level interaction. A total of 1310 children in grades 4-6 completed our questionnaire survey at four-time points between October and December in 2021. The questionnaires include the Scale of Perceived Social Support (T1), Moral Disengagement Scale (T2), Defender Self-Efficacy Scale (T3), and Bullying Participant Behaviors Questionnaire (T4). The multilevel moderated mediating model results show that (1) social support negatively predicts reinforcer and outsider behavior and positively predicts defender behavior; (2) defender self-efficacy plays a mediating role between social support and defender behavior, moral disengagement plays a mediating role between social support and bystander behaviors, and defender self-efficacy and moral disengagement play a chain mediation role between social support and bystander behavior; (3a) class-level defender self-efficacy has a direct impact on defender behavior and moderates the relationship between individual defender self-efficacy and reinforcer behavior; and (3b) class-level moral disengagement has a direct impact on defender and outsider behavior and a cross-level moderated role between individual moral disengagement and reinforcer behavior. These results show that the individual and class level defender self-efficacy and moral disengagement can influence the bystander behavior of primary school students, which is of great significance for schools to develop anti-bullying moral education courses and design measures to improve students' anti-bullying self-efficacy.

Minimizing responsibility in the aggressive dynamics of bullying and its impact on other strategies of moral disengagement: a longitudinal study

Not assuming responsibility, or minimizing it, after committing an offence is one of the four moral disengagement strategies linked to the phenomenon of bullying described by the Social Cognitive Theory. However, to date, there has been no research into the role of the agent’s locus in this process and the mediating effect of bullying perpetration in the possible evolutionary sequencing of moral disengagement strategies. This study addresses both of these goals. A total of 1107 schoolchildren (54.7% girls; Mage = 14.49; SD = 0.789) were surveyed in a longitudinal study at three time points spaced six months apart. The results indicated that minimizing responsibility directly predicts both cognitive restructuring and distortion of consequences. They also confirmed that aggressive perpetration in bullying has a mediating effect on all three strategies. Nevertheless, this sequential dynamic does not include dehumanization, which was not directly linked to minimizing responsibility and was mediated by the perpetration of aggression in bullying. We discuss the extent to which minimizing responsibility is the first step in a temporal sequence of moral disengagement mechanisms that help maintain the aggressive dynamic in bullying, so that it stimulates the other mechanisms and incorporates the locus of the aggressive agent. These findings allow us to advance in our understanding of the ethical dimension (sensitivity and moral criteria) implicit in the phenomenon of unjustified aggressiveness known as bullying.

A Narrative Review about Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior in Childhood: The Relationship with Shame and Moral Development

We conducted a literature review aimed at identifying the origins of shame as well as its effects on moral development, especially in terms of behavioral outcomes, and we reflected on the practical implications of our findings. We explored the role of shame in moral development through cultural differences and parental influences, collecting evidence of psychopathological consequences of primary moral emotion dysregulation. These studies showed a dichotomous feature of shame, as a prosocial behavior enhancer in morally relevant situations and, simultaneously, a risk factor for aggressive and antisocial behaviors on other occasions. Dysregulated shame leads to maladaptive interpersonal behaviors, which could evolve towards psychopathological paths. Therefore, an integrated intervention is recommended in children with emotional/behavioral problems.

Psychometric properties of the Collective Efficacy Scale Short-Form in Chilean teachers

Background

The Collective Efficacy Scale Short-Form (CES-SF) is a short and reliable instrument that assesses collective efficacy in schools at a group level. Previous research has shown a two-factor structure considering the perception of the group competence about their teaching capabilities and task analysis that refers to the opportunities inherent to a specific task. However, there is no conclusive evidence that collective efficacy corresponds to a two-factor model or single-factor structure.

Methods

A cross-sectional research was conducted on a 693 sample of teachers (M age = 39.4; SD = 11.8) from schools in the 16 regions of Chile. They were assessed using the CES-SF, Personal Well-being Index, Social Well-Being Scale, and satisfaction with the school. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the construct validity of the CES-SF.

Results

The CES-SF showed mixed results about its construct validity. Best fit has been found to retain two new factors (opportunities and challenges for collective efficacy) with eight items each, yielding a McDonald's ω of 0.803. Convergent validity was also established.

Conclusion

The psychometric results suggest that a two-factor structure for the CES-SF is a valid and reliable measure for this construct for Chilean teachers. However, collective efficacy might not strongly relate to subjective wellbeing but to school-context variables.

Moral Disengagement as a Self-Regulatory Cognitive Process of Transgressions: Psychometric Evidence of the Bandura Scale in Chilean Adolescents

Moral disengagement is a process of cognitive restructuring that allows individuals to disassociate from their internal moral standards and behave unethically without feeling distressed. It has been described as a key predictor of maladaptive behaviors (e.g., delinquency, aggression, and cyberbullying) and as a mediator between individual variables and unethical outcomes (e.g., empathy and aggression). We aimed to provide evidence of validity based on the internal structure, reliability, and correlations with other constructs of the most used instrument to measure disengagement from moral self-sanctions: Bandura's Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement Scale (MMDS). A non-probabilistic national sample of 528 Chilean adolescents from 14 to 18 years participated in the study. The results showed that the 10-item version of the MMDS had a unidimensional structure and good internal consistency. As expected, the MMDS-10 showed positive and medium correlations with abusive, violent antisocial, and delinquent behaviors and negative and medium associations with prosocial behavior and empathy. Additionally, moral disengagement fully mediated the relationship between empathy and violent antisocial behavior, supporting the hypothesis on moral disengagement as a self-regulatory cognitive process. The results confirm previous research, and the findings are discussed in terms of their implications for reducing the use of moral disengagement strategies in adolescence.

Peer relations and different functions of cyber-aggression: A longitudinal study in Chinese adolescents

Although previous studies have focused on the associations between peer group relations and cyber-aggression, limited attention has been paid to the heterogeneity in the functions of cyber-aggression. This study explored the unique associations of peer relations with proactive and reactive cyber-aggression and the possible mechanisms underlying them in a sample of adolescents using a longitudinal study design. A total of 829 middle school students completed the Cyber-rage and Cyber-reward Aggression Subscales of the Cyber-Aggression Typology Questionnaire, the Peer Relations Scale, the Social Information Processing-Attributional Bias Questionnaire, and the Self-efficacy for Aggression Scale twice at a 6-month interval. Multiple mediation analyses and bootstrapping were conducted using the Mplus 8 software. The results indicated that satisfying peer relations were negatively correlated with reactive cyber-aggression and positively associated with proactive cyber-aggression. Moreover, hostile intent attribution and self-efficacy for aggression mediated the associations between peer relations and both functions of cyber-aggression, however, in different ways. Unsatisfying peer relations were associated with higher levels of hostile intent attribution and lower levels of self-efficacy for aggression and predicted increases in reactive cyber-aggression. In contrast, satisfying peer relations were associated with lower levels of hostile intent attribution and higher levels of self-efficacy for aggression and predicted increases in proactive cyber-aggression. The findings indicated that different functions of cyber-aggression might be related to different mediation mechanisms, which sheds light on the prevention of cyber-aggression in the future.

Peer victimization and weight/shape concerns in adolescents: Examining the moderating role of appearance-based rejection sensitivity

Peer victimization has been related to weight/shape concerns in adolescents. However, a dearth of research has examined potential moderators of this association. The present study examined the concurrent and prospective associations between two types of peer victimization, appearance-based and non-appearance-based, and weight/shape concerns among adolescents, and whether these associations were moderated by appearance-based rejection sensitivity. Participants were 897 adolescents, aged 11-19 years (M = 14 years 8 months, SD = 1 year 4 months), who completed a range of self-report measures as part of the EveryBODY study, one year apart. Both forms of victimization were associated with concurrent, but not prospective weight/shape concerns. Additionally, the concurrent association between appearance-related victimization and weight/shape concerns was dependent on appearance-based rejection-sensitivity, with stronger associations at lower levels of appearance-based rejection-sensitivity. These findings support previous research linking peer victimization with concurrent weight/shape concerns in adolescents. However, the impact of peer victimization on increased weight/shape concerns was not observed.

Evaluating Psychometric Properties of the New Teachers' Perceptions of Collective Efficacy to Handle Bullying Scale (TCEB)

Collective efficacy is a promising theoretical construct that has been used to explain bullying rates in school. The development of school collective efficacy scales has increased in bullying research in recent years; however, gaps remain in measuring collective efficacy to handle bullying. This research assessed the psychometric properties of a new scale to evaluate collective efficacy against bullying. This first-order one-dimensional scale is called the teachers’ perceptions of collective efficacy to handle bullying (TCEB) scale. A sample of 804 Mexican primary teachers completed questionnaires. The sample was randomly split into two subsamples for calibration (n = 402) and cross-validation analysis (n = 402). The factor structure was supported by confirmatory factorial analysis. Measurement equivalence was confirmed by gender. The latent means differences showed no statistically significant differences by teachers’ gender. The TCEB correlation with school environment factors (e.g., principal support, school climate, and bullying) confirms the scale’s discriminant and concurrent validity. Our findings suggest that TCEB is a suitable instrument to assess teachers’ perceptions of collective efficacy to handle bullying, a construct that has proved to help predict a positive whole-school context and student bullying involvement.

Longitudinal Links of Individual and Collective Morality with Adolescents' Peer Aggression

Adolescents' aggressive behavior has been often linked to biases in morality. However, limited knowledge is available regarding the relative strength of different moral correlates, both at the individual and class-level, in predicting different types of aggressive behavior over time. To address this gap, the present study tested the prospective associations of moral identity and moral disengagement with reactive and proactive aggression in a short-term longitudinal study. The sample consisted of 1158 Italian adolescents (48.7% females; M_age = 13.6 years, SD = 1.1). Participants completed self-report measures of moral identity, moral disengagement, perceived collective moral disengagement in the fall, and reactive and proactive aggression in the fall and in the spring. Multivariate multilevel analysis indicated that, at the individual level, after controlling for the stability of aggressive behavior, T2 (Time 2) reactive aggression was higher for students who reported lower moral identity and higher moral disengagement at T1 (Time 1). For proactive aggression, a significant interaction effect indicated that the negative association between T1 moral identity and T2 aggression was apparent only at high levels of T1 moral disengagement. Moreover, proactive aggression was significantly predicted by higher perceived collective moral disengagement. At the class-level, T1 collective moral disengagement helped explain between-class variability of T2 reactive and proactive aggressive behavior. How these results expand previous research on morality and aggressive behavior and their potential implications for prevention and intervention programs is discussed.

Personal and Environmental Predictors of Aggression in Adolescence

This study aims to find causal factors of aggression in a group of Latino adolescents to achieve a greater understanding of human nature, taking into account personal and contextual variables. The fundamental hypothesis is that moral disengagement, personality traits, self-esteem, values, parenting, sex, and socioeconomic situation can function as possible casual factors of aggression in adolescents. The study examined the variables using the structural equations model (SEM) to determine causal factors of aggression in a sample of 827 adolescents (54% men and 46% women) between 11 and 16 years of age. According to the scientific literature review, sociodemographic, personal, and familiar variables were included in the causal model. The influence of the variables occurred in two ways: one that inhibits aggression and the other that reinforces it. The results are discussed based on identifying protective and risk factors against aggression: biological sex and values of conformity and transcendence as aggression’s inhibitors and, on the other hand, openness, moral disengagement, and leadership values as the most important predictors of aggression.

Standing Up or Standing By: Understanding Bystanders’ Proactive Reporting Responses to Social Media Harassment

Social media harassment, a cyberbullying behavior, poses a serious threat to users and platform owners of social media. In this paper, we contextualize the bystander intervention framework and reporting literature to social media in order to understand why bystanders report social media harassment. Our contextualized intervention framework focuses on three sociotechnical aspects—the online social environment, characteristics of the technology platform, and their interplay—that explain bystander reporting on social media platforms. We tested the model using data gathered from active Facebook users. Our findings direct practitioners’ attention to the role of the platform in encouraging bystanders to help stop social media harassment. For policy makers, our findings direct attention to supporting programs that encourage social media users to feel responsible for reporting harassment and making transparent the outcomes of reporting social media harassment using anonymous reporting tools. For platform owners, our findings direct attention to investing in tools that enable anonymous reporting, to fostering a climate that encourages reporting, and to ensuring that all users understand that reporting social media harassment results in swift, effective responses from platform owners. Taken together, we believe our research offer insight into how to build safer and secure social media platforms.

Moral disengagement and verbal bullying in early adolescence: A three-year longitudinal study

This three-year longitudinal study examined both within- and between-person effects of moral disengagement on verbal bullying perpetration in early adolescence. Data came from the first four waves (T1-T4, Grades 4 to 7) of an ongoing longitudinal project examining social and moral correlates of bullying in Swedish schools. Participants included 2432 Swedish early adolescents (52% girls; M_age at T1 = 10.55 years). Students completed self-report measures of verbal bullying perpetration and moral disengagement. Results of a multilevel growth model showed that verbal bullying increased over time (regression coefficient for Grade was b = 0.04, SE = 0.01, p < .001). Additionally, the verbal bullying trajectories of participants with higher average levels of MD were higher (regression coefficient for MD¯ was b = 0.28, SE = 0.02, p < .001) and steeper (regression coefficient for the Grade ×MD¯ interaction was b = 0.02, SE = 0.01, p = .018), indicating that these students scored higher on verbal bullying in general and increased more in verbal bullying over time, compared to students with lower levels of average MD. Variations around one's own mean of MD over time was also significantly associated with concurrent changes in verbal bullying (regression coefficient for time-varying MD was b = 0.21, SE = 0.01, p < .001).

Anger rumination and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration: Moral disengagement and callous-unemotional traits as moderators

Cyberbullying perpetration has become an international public health concern among adolescents. However, it is less clear whether anger rumination potentially increases adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration up to now, and there is a limited understanding of factors that may affect this relationship. Therefore, the current study examined the relationship between anger rumination and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration and attempts to determine whether moral disengagement and callous-unemotional traits moderated this relationship at the same time. Two thousand four hundred and seven Chinese adolescents completed the measurements of anger rumination, moral disengagement, callous-unemotional traits, and cyberbullying perpetration. Results showed that adolescents with high anger rumination were likely to engage in cyberbullying perpetration, even after controlling age and gender. Compare to low moral disengagement adolescents, high moral disengagement adolescents were more likely to bully others online when they have high levels of anger rumination. Moreover, anger rumination significantly predicted adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration when their moral disengagement and callous-unemotional traits were both high, or one was high. On the contrary, when adolescents' moral disengagement and callous-unemotional traits were both low, this effect became nonsignificant. The current study first explored the relationship between anger rumination and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration and clarifying the moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship. Adolescents should be taught to manage and express their emotions properly, establish the right moral standards and reduce moral disengagement, as well as care more about others, in order to provide appropriate intervention.

Standing up for the victim or supporting the bully? Bystander responses and their associations with moral disengagement, defender self-efficacy, and collective efficacy

The aim of the current study was to examine whether moral disengagement and defender self-efficacy at individual level and collective efficacy to stop peer aggression at classroom level were associated with defending and reinforcing in school bullying situations in late childhood. Self-reported survey data were collected from 1060 Swedish students from 70 classrooms in 29 schools. Multilevel analysis found that greater defender self-efficacy at individual level and collective efficacy to stop peer aggression at classroom level were associated with greater defending. We also found that greater moral disengagement and less (but very weakly) defender self-efficacy at individual level and less collective efficacy to stop peer aggression at classroom level were associated with greater reinforcing. The positive relationship between moral disengagement and reinforcing and the negative relationship between defender self-efficacy and reinforcing were less strong in classroom high in collective efficacy to stop aggression.

Mindfulness, impulsivity, and moral disengagement as parameters of bullying and victimization at school

The aim of the present study was to examine the existing association between mindfulness, impulsivity, moral disengagement, and bullying experiences at school. Longitudinal data were collected in three points in time (T1, T2, T3) with 6 months interval between them. Participants were 558 adolescents attending secondary schools in Cyprus, with their ages ranging from 14 to 17 years (M = 15.3; standard deviation = 0.69). Through structural equation modeling, it was found that mindfulness at T1 had a significant negative effect on both impulsivity and moral disengagement at T2 and these, in turn, had a positive effect on bullying and victimization at T3. Thus, mindfulness had an indirect effect on both bullying and victimization, fully mediated by impulsivity and moral disengagement.

Defending victims of cyberbullying: The role of self-efficacy and moral disengagement

Cyberbullying is a significant problem worldwide that affects adolescents' social relations, academic achievement, and mental health. As this form of bullying is typically viewed by a large audience it is important to understand the role of observers as they may hold a key for reducing bullying. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the socio-cognitive factors of defending self-efficacy (i.e., belief in one's capability to defend) and moral disengagement (i.e., justifications for aggressive behavior) associated with general cyber defending behavior and cyber defending response types: constructive and aggressive. Participants were 540 male and female students of diverse racial identity between the ages of 11 and 15 years who completed a questionnaire comprising multiple measures. Regression analyses revealed that at low levels of defending self-efficacy, moral disengagement was unrelated to general cyber defending behavior. However, at high levels of defending self-efficacy, moral disengagement was positively associated with general cyber defending. Further regression analyses revealed that the results for constructive cyber defending were the inverse of those obtained for aggressive defending. Defending self-efficacy was positively associated with constructive defending and negatively associated with aggressive defending. Moral disengagement was negatively associated with constructive defending and positively associated with aggressive defending. These results address the perplexing issue of why moral disengagement has been related to defending in some studies and not in others. As with most measures of defending, the general cyber defending measure confounds constructive and aggressive defending.

Violent video games exposure and aggression: The role of moral disengagement, anger, hostility, and disinhibition

Based on the General Aggression Model (GAM), the current study investigated the interactive effect of personal factors (e.g., sensation-seeking) and situational factors (e.g., violent video games exposure [VVGE]) on the trait aggressive behavior, and the mediating role of individual difference trait (e.g., moral disengagement, anger, and hostility). We recruited 547 undergraduates (48.45% male) from five Chinese universities. The results showed that VVGE was positively associated with moral disengagement, disinhibition, and the four aggressive traits (physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility), which were positively associated with each other. Moral disengagement was positively associated with both the disinhibition and the four aggressive traits. Disinhibition was positively associated with the four aggressive traits as well. When controlled for gender, moral disengagement, anger, and hostility wholly mediated the relationship between VVGE and aggression, but the moderation effect of disinhibition was not significant. These findings support the framework of GAM and indicate that moral disengagement, anger, and hostility may be the factors that increase the risk of a higher level of aggression following repeated exposure to violent video games.

Individual and Classroom Social-Cognitive Processes in Bullying: A Short-Term Longitudinal Multilevel Study

The aim of this study was to examine whether individual and classroom collective social-cognitive processes (moral disengagement and self-efficacy) were associated with bullying perpetration among schoolchildren. An additional aim was to examine whether changes in these processes from grade 4 (Time 1) to grade 5 (Time 2) were associated with a change in bullying perpetration. Self-reported survey data were collected from 1,250 Swedish students from 98 classrooms. Results of multilevel analysis indicated that individual and classroom collective moral disengagement (CMD) were positively associated with bullying, and defender self-efficacy (DSE) was negatively associated with bullying. The effect of changes in individual moral disengagement on changes in bullying was positive, and the effects of changes in DSE and classroom collective efficacy on changes in bullying were negative. Thus, the findings demonstrate the changeability of moral disengagement, DSE and collective efficacy over time, and how these changes are linked to changes in bullying perpetration.

A meta-analysis of the relationship between moral disengagement and bullying roles in youth

Over the last several years, researchers have become increasingly interested in the influence of moral factors on bullying behaviors. This is the first meta-analytic review to exclusively examine the relationship between moral disengagement (MD) and the key bullying roles of bully, victim, defender, and bystander. Forty-seven independent samples examining a total of 43,809 children/adolescents (aged 7-19) were included in this meta-analysis. Results indicated a positive relationship between MD and bullying (r = 0.31; 95% CI [0.27, 0.34]), MD and victimization (r = 0.08; 95% CI [0.05, 0.12]), and a negative relationship between MD and defending (r = -0.11; 95% CI [-0.17, -0.04]). No significant relationship was found for MD and bystanding behavior. Moderators of bullying type (traditional vs. cyberbullying), reporting type (self vs. peer report), age, and gender were included in the analyses. The results are discussed in the context of relevant literature with particular emphasis on the importance of distinguishing between guilty and unconcerned bystanders, and the significant overlap between bullying and victimization in the cyber context.

Why do children and adolescents bully their peers? A critical review of key theoretical frameworks

Bullying is a significant public health problem for children and adolescents worldwide. Evidence suggests that both being bullied (bullying victimisation) and bullying others (bullying perpetration) are associated with concurrent and future mental health problems. The onset and course of bullying perpetration are influenced by individual as well as systemic factors. Identifying effective solutions to address bullying requires a fundamental understanding of why it occurs. Drawing from multi-disciplinary domains, this review provides a summary and synthesis of the key theoretical frameworks applied to understanding and intervening on the issue of bullying. A number of explanatory models have been used to elucidate the dynamics of bullying, and broadly these correspond with either system (e.g., social-ecological, family systems, peer-group socialisation) or individual-level (e.g., developmental psychopathology, genetic, resource control, social-cognitive) frameworks. Each theory adds a unique perspective; however, no single framework comprehensively explains why bullying occurs. This review demonstrates that the integration of theoretical perspectives achieves a more nuanced understanding of bullying which is necessary for strengthening evidence-based interventions. Future progress requires researchers to integrate both the systems and individual-level theoretical frameworks to further improve current interventions. More effective intervention across different systems as well as tailoring interventions to the specific needs of the individuals directly involved in bullying will reduce exposure to a key risk factor for mental health problems.

Childhood maltreatment and Chinese adolescents' bullying and defending: The mediating role of moral disengagement

In the present study, we tested the mediating role of moral disengagement in the effect of childhood maltreatment on bullying and defending. We also examined whether the mediating effect of moral disengagement differed between girls and boys, early and middle adolescents, as well as only and non-only children. Five hundred and fifty-two Chinese adolescents participated in this study. The results indicated that the prevalence rates of physical abuse, physical neglect, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect were 4.0%, 40.0%, 10.5%, and 27.9%, respectively. Path analysis showed that moral disengagement partially mediated the relation between childhood maltreatment and bullying, but did not mediate the relation between childhood maltreatment and defending. Moreover, multi-group analyses indicated that no significant path in the final model differed by gender. However, early adolescents exposed to high levels of childhood maltreatment were more likely to engage in bullying and less likely to engage in defending than middle adolescents, and early adolescents with high levels of moral disengagement were more likely to engage in bullying than middle adolescents. Compared to non-only children, only children exposed to high levels of childhood maltreatment were more likely to score higher on moral disengagement and less likely to engage in defending.

Moral Disengagement as Mediator and Moderator of the Relation Between Empathy and Aggression Among Chinese Male Juvenile Delinquents

The link between empathy and aggression is well documented; yet, studies examining potential mechanisms that explain this association are limited. In the present study, we tested the relation between empathy and aggression and examined both the mediating and moderating effects of moral disengagement on this relation among Chinese male juvenile delinquents. Three hundred and fifty-seven male juvenile delinquents from one Chinese juvenile correctional facility completed the interpersonal reactivity index, the moral disengagement scale and the aggression questionnaire. The results indicated that moral disengagement partially mediated the influence of empathy on aggression. Moreover, moral disengagement moderated the relation between empathy and aggression. Specifically, there was a significant negative relation between empathy and aggression at low levels of moral disengagement. However, at high levels of moral disengagement, the relation between empathy and aggression was non-significant. The significance and limitations of the results are discussed.

The Reliability and Validity of the Australian Moral Disengagement Scale

Background: The present study explored the reliability, validity, and factor structure of a modified version of the Moral Disengagement Scale (MDS), which comprehensively assesses proneness to disengage from different forms of conduct specific to Australian adolescents. Methods: A sample of 452 students (Mage = 12.79; SD = 1.93) completed the modified MDS and the Australian Self-Report Delinquency Scale. A multistep approach was used to evaluate the factor structure of the MDS. The sample was divided into exploratory (n = 221) and cross-validation samples (n = 231). Principal component analysis was conducted with the exploratory sample and multiple factor solutions compared to determine the optimal factor structure of the modified MDS. The final factor solution was confirmed in the cross-validation sample using confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency of the final scale and convergent validity with the delinquency questionnaire was also assessed. Results: Analyses resulted in a 22-item MDS for use in Australia, with four factors mapping onto the four conceptual categories of moral disengagement. The individual subscales demonstrated adequate to good internal consistency, and the total scale also demonstrated high internal consistency (α = 0.87). Convergent validity of the scale was established. Conclusions: The 22-item Australian MDS is a reliable and valid instrument for use within an Australian population.

The role of individual and collective moral disengagement in peer aggression and bystanding: a multilevel analysis

This study investigates the relationships between individual and collective moral disengagement and aggression-related behaviors (peer aggression, defending, and passive bystanding) among 918 adolescents (55.8% boys; M age = 14.1 years, SD = 1.1). Hierarchical linear modeling showed that, at the individual level, aggressive behavior was significantly explained by both individual moral disengagement and student perceived collective moral disengagement, which was also positively associated with defending. Student perceived collective moral disengagement moderated the link between individual moral disengagement and peer aggression. At the class level, classroom collective moral disengagement explained between-class variability in all the three aggression-related behaviors. These results extend previous research by demonstrating the role of collective moral disengagement at the individual and the class levels and have potential implications for interventions.

Moral Disengagement, Anticipated Social Outcomes and Adolescents' Alcohol Use: Parallel Latent Growth Curve Analyses

Moral disengagement is a social cognitive process that has been extensively applied to transgressive behaviors, including delinquency, aggression and illicit substance use. However, there has been limited research on moral disengagement as it relates to underage drinking. The current study aimed to examine moral disengagement contextualized to underage drinking and its longitudinal relationship to alcohol use. Moreover, the social context in which adolescent alcohol use typically occurs was also considered, with a specific emphasis on the social sanctions, or social outcomes, that adolescents anticipate receiving from friends for their alcohol use. Adolescents were assessed across three time-points, 8 months apart. The longitudinal sample consisted of 382 (46% female) underage drinkers (12-16 years at T1). Parallel latent growth curve analysis was used to examine the bi-directional influence of initial moral disengagement, anticipated social outcomes, and alcohol use on subsequent growth in moral disengagement, anticipated social outcomes and alcohol use. The interrelation of initial scores and growth curves was also assessed. The findings revealed that, in the binary parallel analyses, initial moral disengagement and anticipated social outcomes both significantly predicted changes in alcohol use across time. Moreover, initial anticipated social outcomes predicted changes in moral disengagement. These findings were not consistently found when all three process analyses were included in a single model. The results emphasize the impact of social context on moral disengagement and suggest that by targeting adolescents' propensity to justify or excuse their drinking, as well as the social outcomes adolescents anticipate for being drunk, it may be possible to reduce their underage drinking.

Desengajamentos morais, autoeficácia e bullying: a trama da convivência || Moral disengagement, self-efficacy and bullying: the framework of coexistence studies

Neste artigo, discute-se a relação entre bullying e desengajamentos morais. Numa investigação com 2600 adolescentes de 14 a 16 anos, buscou-se verificar seu envolvimento em situações de bullying, suas crenças de autoeficácia quanto ao desempenho acadêmico e os possíveis desengajamentos morais demonstrados por eles. Encontrou-se uma correspondência entre ser agressor de bullying e a “desumanização da vítima”. A participação no bullying como autores, vítimas e espectadores também se associou a “culpabilização da vítima” demonstrando o perfil de alvos de bullying frágeis e com pouco valor. Encontrou-se também uma correspondência entre “bom ou muito bom” aluno e menor desengajamento moral, ao comparar-se as crenças de autoeficácia acadêmica e desengajamentos morais. Os resultados deste estudo possibilitaram a compreensão dos mecanismos psicológicos presentes no bullying, a fim de que a escola possa repensar as intervenções e prevenções que realiza para que a convivência seja um valor.

The Role of Moral Disengagement in Underage Drinking and Heavy Episodic Drinking

OBJECTIVES

The current study had two aims. First, to develop a moral disengagement scale contextualized to underage drinking. Second, to investigate Bandura's (1986) self-regulatory model within the context of underage drinking.

METHOD

Two different samples of students participated in the study. The first sample included 619 (362 females) adolescents (Mage = 15.3 years, SD = 1.09 years) and the second sample 636 (386 females) adolescents (Mage = 15.3 years, SD = 1.03 years). Students in the first sample completed the Underage Drinking Disengagement Scale (UDDS), and measures of engagement in underage drinking and heavy episodic drinking. Students in the second sample completed these measures as well as scales of general moral disengagement, personal standards, and anticipatory guilt associated with underage drinking.

RESULTS

For the UDDS, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses verified a single factor structure. The UDDS was more strongly associated with engagement in underage drinking and heavy episodic drinking than a general measure of moral disengagement. A moderated mediation analysis revealed that adolescents who negatively evaluated underage drinking reported more anticipatory guilt, and more anticipatory guilt was associated with less engagement in underage drinking and less heavy episodic drinking. This relationship was weaker at high compared to low levels of underage drinking disengagement.

CONCLUSIONS/IMPORTANCE

Understanding how adolescents self-regulate their drinking, and ways that such self-regulation may be deactivated or disengaged, may help identify those adolescents at increased risk of drinking underage and of engaging in heavy episodic drinking.

Moral disengagement among children and youth: a meta-analytic review of links to aggressive behavior

A growing body of research has demonstrated consistent links between Bandura's theory of moral disengagement and aggressive behavior in adults. The present meta-analysis was conducted to summarize the existing literature on the relation between moral disengagement and different types of aggressive behavior among school-age children and adolescents. Twenty-seven independent samples with a total of 17,776 participants (aged 8-18 years) were included in the meta-analysis. Results indicated a positive overall effect (r = .28, 95% CI [.23, .32]), supporting the hypothesis that moral disengagement is a significant correlate of aggressive behavior among children and youth. Analyses of a priori moderators revealed that effect sizes were larger for adolescents as compared to children, for studies that used a revised version of the original Bandura scale, and for studies with shared method variance. Effect sizes did not vary as a function of type of aggressive behavior, gender, or publication status. Results are discussed within the extant literature on moral disengagement and future directions are proposed.

Main and moderated effects of moral cognition and status on bullying and defending

This study analyzed the relations of two dimensions of moral cognition (i.e., acceptance of moral transgression and moral disengagement) and two forms of status in the peer group (i.e., social preference and perceived popularity) with bullying and defending among 235 primary-school children and 305 middle-school early adolescents. Social status was tested as a moderator of the associations between moral cognition and bullying and defending. Participants completed self-reports assessing the two dimensions of moral cognition and peer nominations for status, bullying, and defending. Both acceptance of moral transgression and moral disengagement were associated to bullying among early adolescents only, whereas in childhood moral disengagement was linked to defending among girls. Social status moderated the associations between morality dimensions and bullying and defending. The moderating effects of status were discussed considering status as a magnifying lens for the relations between individual characteristics and social behavior. The results were also discussed with reference to age and gender differences in the associations.

Individual and class moral disengagement in bullying among elementary school children

A cross-sectional study from a sample of 663 elementary school children assessed the four sets of moral disengagement mechanisms conceptualized by Bandura (i.e., cognitive restructuring, minimizing one's agentive role, disregarding/distorting the consequences, blaming/dehumanizing the victim) at both the individual and the class level. Additionally, an analysis of the relations of these mechanisms to pro-bullying behavior was conducted. Multilevel analysis showed a significant relationship between cognitive restructuring and individual pro-bullying behavior. Moreover, between-class variability of pro-bullying behavior was positively related to minimizing one's agentive role and blaming/dehumanizing the victim at the class level. Conversely, class disregarding/distorting the consequences was negatively associated with between-class variation in the outcome behavior. Implications for understanding the role of morality in children's bullying are discussed.

Morally disengaged and unempathic: do cyberbullies fit these definitions? An exploratory study

In recent years, the phenomenon of cyberbullying has been gaining scholars' growing interest under various aspects, including its overlap with face-to-face bullying. Nevertheless, its relationships with cognitive and affective empathy, proactive and reactive aggression, and moral disengagement, constructs that proved to be crucial in distinguishing aggressive subjects from their targets and nonaggressive peers in traditional bullying, still represent, to some extent, an unexplored domain. The main purpose of the present exploratory study was to investigate the associations between cyberbullying and the mentioned constructs among Italian adolescents. 819 high-school students (mean age 16.08) were administered a battery of standardized tools, along with Cyberties, a new instrument created to assess the prevalence of (and the type of involvement in) different forms of electronic assaults. Analyses of variance were conducted to compare four roles ("pure" bullies, "pure" victims, bully victims, and noninvolved subjects). Participants who identified themselves as cyberbullies or cyberbully victims showed significantly higher levels of overall moral disengagement and of both types of aggression. Cyberbullies also displayed a lack of affective empathy. Our findings are in line with the ones in extant literature about correlates of traditional and electronic forms of bullying. Implications for prevention strategies are discussed.