Justice Sensitivity in Middle Childhood: Measurement and Location in the Temperamental and Social Skills Space

Restorative Parental Discipline and Types of Defending Bystander Intervention in Cyberbullying: The Mediate Role of Justice Sensitivity

Parental socialization strategies are critical in explaining adolescents' online behavior. This study examined the relationships between parental restorative discipline, observed justice sensitivity, and cyber-bystander defender intervention (constructive and aggressive) in cyberbullying. The sample comprised 900 Mexican adolescents (40.2% male and 58.8% female), of which 450 were from secondary school (M age = 13.6, SD = 0.8) and 450 were from high school (M age = 15.4, SD = 1.3). Structural equation modeling with latent variables was performed. Overall, the results indicate that parental restorative discipline positively relates to the observer's justice sensitivity and the adoption of constructive interventions by cyber-bystander defenders. However, restorative discipline had no significant direct relationship with aggressive intervention. Observers' justice sensitivity mediates the association between restorative parenting discipline and aggressive or constructive defender interventions. Gender does not moderate the relationship proposed in the structural model. These findings suggest that parental restorative discipline explains constructive and aggressive cyber-bystander defender interventions in cyberbullying.

Fair sharing is just caring: Links between justice sensitivity and distributive behavior in middle childhood

Justice sensitivity (JS), the tendency to perceive and adversely respond to injustice, was related to prosocial behavior in different age groups and to distributive preferences in adults. To test influences of JS on sharing and distributive preferences, middle childhood as an important phase for moral development may be particularly interesting. We asked 1320 5- to 12-year-old children (M = 8.05 years, SD = 1.02; 51.2 % girls, 1.3 % transgender and gender-nonconforming) to read five vignettes that made salient the different principles of distributive justice (equality, merit, and need) and to distribute imaginary sweets between themselves and one described child (sharing) or between two described children (distributing). Children also rated their JS, and parents rated children's theory of mind (ToM) abilities and empathy. More concerns for justice for the self (victim JS) predicted distributions following the merit principle and a preference for need over equality and merit when forced to choose among the three. Caring for justice for others (altruistic JS) predicted more sharing, equal distributions, less distributions according to the merit principle, and a preference for equal distributions over merit and need when forced to choose among the three. These associations prevailed when ToM and empathy were included as control variables. The findings underline the importance of justice-related personality traits, such as JS, for moral development in middle childhood.

Responses Toward Injustice Shaped by Justice Sensitivity – Evidence From Germany

Anger, indignation, guilt, rumination, victim compensation, and perpetrator punishment are considered primary responses associated with justice sensitivity (JS). However, injustice and high JS may predispose to further responses. We had N = 293 adults rate their JS, 17 potential responses toward 12 unjust scenarios from the victim’s, observer’s, beneficiary’s, and perpetrator’s perspectives, and several control variables. Unjust situations generally elicited many affective, cognitive, and behavioral responses. JS generally predisposed to strong affective responses toward injustice, including sadness, pity, disappointment, and helplessness. It impaired trivialization, victim-blaming, or justification, which may otherwise help cope with injustice. It predisposed to conflict solutions and victim compensation. Particularly victim and beneficiary JS had stronger effects in unjust situations from the corresponding perspective. These findings add to a better understanding of the main and interaction effects of unjust situations from different perspectives and the JS facets, differences between the JS facets, as well as the links between JS and behavior and well-being.

Links between justice sensitivity and moral reasoning, moral emotions, and moral identity in middle childhood

Associations between moral-related traits, such as justice sensitivity (JS), the tendency to negatively respond to injustice, and moral development are largely unknown. From May to December 2018, 1329 5- to 12-year-olds (M = 8.05, SD = 1.02; 51.2% girls, 1.3% transgender and gender-nonconforming) from Germany rated their JS, moral reasoning, emotions, and identity; parents and teachers rated children's theory of mind (ToM) and empathy. Victim JS (caring for own justice) predicted more attributions of positive emotions to norm transgressors in structural equation models (β = .295). Altruistic JS (caring for other's justice) predicted less attributions of positive emotions (β = -.343) and a stronger moral identity (β = .392) unless ToM was considered. Particularly altruistic JS showed associations with advanced moral development. Hence, moral-related traits deserve more attention by moral-development research.

Justice Sensitivity in Middle Childhood: A Replication and Extension of Findings

Previous research showed justice sensitivity (JS) – the tendency to perceive and negatively respond to injustice as a victim, observer, or perpetrator – to be reliably and validly measurable in middle childhood, but unexpected findings concerning mean values and measurement invariance (MI) require replication, and retest reliabilities, longitudinal relations with prosocial and aggressive behavior, and relations with teacher ratings are currently unknown. This study, therefore, examined mean values, factor structure, retest reliabilities, and MI of self- and parent-rated JS as well as their relations with parent- and teacher-rated prosocial and aggressive behavior and a range of social skills in a sample of 1,329 children between 5 and 12 years of age (first measurement: M = 8.05, SD = 1.02, 51.1% girls). Using self- and parent ratings, we could replicate the intended factor structure of three related yet distinct JS subscales (victim, observer, and perpetrator). We found strong MI between those ratings. Retest reliabilities of parent ratings were similar to older age groups, but lower for self-ratings. All JS perspectives were positively related with theory of mind and empathy, indicating a good understanding of others’ internal states. Victim JS was negatively related to affective and behavioral self-regulation, whereas observer and perpetrator JS showed positive relations. Victim JS negatively and observer and perpetrator JS positively predicted prosocial behavior. The opposite pattern was found regarding aggressive behavior. This study provides additional support that JS can be measured via self- and other reports in childhood and that it may influence behavior early on. It adds to explaining the relations with prosocial and aggressive behavior.