Analysis of Moral Disengagement as a Modulating Factor in Adolescents' Perception of Cyberbullying.
TL;DR: Adults’ levels of moral disengagement explain both the justifications they resort to in order to interpret occurrences of cyberbullying and their shifting or spreading of responsibility onto others, which can be a key element in the design of effective psychological interventions aimed at improving adolescents’ moral identity in situations of cybernetic victimization.
Abstract: There have been various studies establishing a relationship between moral reasoning and the perpetration of cyberbullying, but very few analysing either the moderating role played by moral disengagement in how both aggressor and victim perceive cyberbullying, or the repercussions of this moderation for the determination of the prevalence of the problem and for the design of prevention programs. The present study examines the relationship between moral disengagement, moral identity, and how victims of this type of abuse perceive cyberbullying. The participants were 1912 adolescents (51% women) from Extremadura (Spain) of ages from 14 to 18 years. They completed three questionnaires addressing perception of cyberbullying, moral disengagement, and moral identity. Factorial, structural, correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to construct their perceptual structure of cyberbullying. These analyses showed the influence of their different levels of moral disengagement on those perceptions, and the moderating role that moral identity plays in the direct and indirect relationships between moral disengagement and the perception of cyberbullying. They revealed, on the one hand, the key and the subsidiary criteria victims use to classify some given cybernetic behaviour as a case of cyberbullying, and, on the other, that the victims' levels of moral disengagement explain both the justifications they resort to in order to interpret occurrences of cyberbullying and their shifting or spreading of responsibility onto others. Finally, the results can be a key element in the design of effective psychological interventions aimed at improving adolescents' moral identity in situations of cybernetic victimization.
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TL;DR: In this article, a study was conducted to verify the relationship between exposure to risky online content, cyber victimization, school control, the perception of cyber bullying, and cyberbullying offending.
19 citations
TL;DR: The analyses showed moral disengagement and the acceptance of violence, as well as their interaction, to have a mediating and moderating influence by modifying the perception of victimization.
Abstract: There have been studies establishing the relationship between moral disengagement and aggressiveness in various contexts, especially in the role of the aggressor. Few, however, have analyzed moral disengagement's mediating role in the phenomenon of teenage dating violence, taking into account how these mechanisms affect the victims' perception of themselves as fearful, trapped, or mistreated in a dating relationship. This study analyzes the relationship between moral disengagement, the acceptance of violence, and how the victims of this type of abuse perceive victimization. The participants were 2577 adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18. They completed two questionnaires that addressed teenage dating violence and moral disengagement. To study the relationship between the variables, factorial, structural, correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed to construct the perceptual structure of victimization. The analyses showed moral disengagement and the acceptance of violence, as well as their interaction, to have a mediating and moderating influence by modifying the perception of victimization. The victims' levels of moral disengagement explained their acceptance of the violence and their inability to recognize abuse. Finally, these results may be a key element in the design of psychological interventions aimed at minimizing the use of moral disengagement and the acceptance of violence in situations involving aggression in teenage dating.
13 citations
Cites background from "Analysis of Moral Disengagement as ..."
...Cuadrado and Fernández [30] indicated that moral disengagement mediates the relationship between victimization and the perception of the aggression since victims use it in order to minimize the abuse suffered, thereby avoiding the need to ask for help in situations of risk or danger....
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...Cuadrado & Fernández [30] also describe the mechanisms of moral disengagement as playing a mediating role in the relationship created between the perception of cyberbullying and cybervictimization....
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TL;DR: In this article, a meta-analysis review of the relationship between moral disengagement and cyberbullying and some psychosocial and cultural variables was carried out, and the meta analysis concluded that moral disengociation positively correlated medium intensity with cyberbulliness (r=0.341).
Abstract: With the development of technology, cyberbullying prevalence rates are increasing worldwide, and a growing body of literature has begun to document cyberbullying behavior. Moral disengagement is often considered a key correlate factor in cyberbullying (Gini et al., 2014; Kowalski et al., 2014; Zych et al., 2019). This article aims to conduct a meta-analysis review of the relationship between moral disengagement and cyberbullying and some psychosocial and cultural variables. Based on the PRISMA method, a random-effects meta-analysis is employed in this study to obtain reliable estimates of effect sizes and examine a range of moderators (age, gender, measure method, and cultural background). Relevant studies, published from 2005 to February 30, 2021, were identified through a systematic search of the Web of Science, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, Pubmed, EBSCO, and Wiley Online Library. Finally, 38 studies (N=38425) met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis conclusion demonstrated that moral disengagement positively correlated medium intensity with cyberbullying (r=0.341). Age, gender, and cultural background had moderated the relationship between moral disengagement and cyberbullying.
11 citations
TL;DR: Whether school students’ tendency to display different moral disengagement mechanisms varies according to different social cues in hypothetical events in which they are engaged in bullying behavior is examined.
Abstract: With reference to social-cognitive theory, the aim of the present study was to examine whether school students' tendency to display different moral disengagement mechanisms varies according to different social cues in hypothetical events in which they are engaged in bullying behavior. A repeated within-subjects experimental design was adopted. A total of 706 Swedish students (aged 10-20) from 75 classrooms responded to four verbal bullying vignettes by filling out a self-report survey. The results showed changes in moral disengagement mechanisms across the bullying situations. For instance, moral justification, victim blaming, and dehumanization scored higher in the mean victim condition and lower in the likable victim condition than in the other two conditions. Diffusion of responsibility was higher in the group conformity condition than in the other conditions. The findings also revealed differences in the levels of moral disengagement mechanisms within the bullying conditions. For example, euphemistic labeling and displacement of responsibility scored higher than the other mechanisms in the laughing audience condition. Victim blaming scored higher than the other mechanisms in the mean victim condition. Dehumanization, victim blaming, and moral justification scored lowest while euphemistic labeling was higher than most of the other mechanisms in the likable victim condition.
10 citations
References
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TL;DR: This article seeks to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ, and delineates the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena.
Abstract: In this article, we attempt to distinguish between the properties of moderator and mediator variables at a number of levels. First, we seek to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating, both conceptually and strategically, the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ. We then go beyond this largely pedagogical function and delineate the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena, including control and stress, attitudes, and personality traits. We also provide a specific compendium of analytic procedures appropriate for making the most effective use of the moderator and mediator distinction, both separately and in terms of a broader causal system that includes both moderators and mediators.
80,095 citations
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06 May 2013
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a discussion of whether, if, how, and when a moderate mediator can be used to moderate another variable's effect in a conditional process analysis.
Abstract: I. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS 1. Introduction 1.1. A Scientist in Training 1.2. Questions of Whether, If, How, and When 1.3. Conditional Process Analysis 1.4. Correlation, Causality, and Statistical Modeling 1.5. Statistical Software 1.6. Overview of this Book 1.7. Chapter Summary 2. Simple Linear Regression 2.1. Correlation and Prediction 2.2. The Simple Linear Regression Equation 2.3. Statistical Inference 2.4. Assumptions for Interpretation and Statistical Inference 2.5. Chapter Summary 3. Multiple Linear Regression 3.1. The Multiple Linear Regression Equation 3.2. Partial Association and Statistical Control 3.3. Statistical Inference in Multiple Regression 3.4. Statistical and Conceptual Diagrams 3.5. Chapter Summary II. MEDIATION ANALYSIS 4. The Simple Mediation Model 4.1. The Simple Mediation Model 4.2. Estimation of the Direct, Indirect, and Total Effects of X 4.3. Example with Dichotomous X: The Influence of Presumed Media Influence 4.4. Statistical Inference 4.5. An Example with Continuous X: Economic Stress among Small Business Owners 4.6. Chapter Summary 5. Multiple Mediator Models 5.1. The Parallel Multiple Mediator Model 5.2. Example Using the Presumed Media Influence Study 5.3. Statistical Inference 5.4. The Serial Multiple Mediator Model 5.5. Complementarity and Competition among Mediators 5.6. OLS Regression versus Structural Equation Modeling 5.7. Chapter Summary III. MODERATION ANALYSIS 6. Miscellaneous Topics in Mediation Analysis 6.1. What About Baron and Kenny? 6.2. Confounding and Causal Order 6.3. Effect Size 6.4. Multiple Xs or Ys: Analyze Separately or Simultaneously? 6.5. Reporting a Mediation Analysis 6.6. Chapter Summary 7. Fundamentals of Moderation Analysis 7.1. Conditional and Unconditional Effects 7.2. An Example: Sex Discrimination in the Workplace 7.3. Visualizing Moderation 7.4. Probing an Interaction 7.5. Chapter Summary 8. Extending Moderation Analysis Principles 8.1. Moderation Involving a Dichotomous Moderator 8.2. Interaction between Two Quantitative Variables 8.3. Hierarchical versus Simultaneous Variable Entry 8.4. The Equivalence between Moderated Regression Analysis and a 2 x 2 Factorial Analysis of Variance 8.5. Chapter Summary 9. Miscellaneous Topics in Moderation Analysis 9.1. Truths and Myths about Mean Centering 9.2. The Estimation and Interpretation of Standardized Regression Coefficients in a Moderation Analysis 9.3. Artificial Categorization and Subgroups Analysis 9.4. More Than One Moderator 9.5. Reporting a Moderation Analysis 9.6. Chapter Summary IV. CONDITIONAL PROCESS ANALYSIS 10. Conditional Process Analysis 10.1. Examples of Conditional Process Models in the Literature 10.2. Conditional Direct and Indirect Effects 10.3. Example: Hiding Your Feelings from Your Work Team 10.4. Statistical Inference 10.5. Conditional Process Analysis in PROCESS 10.6. Chapter Summary 11. Further Examples of Conditional Process Analysis 11.1. Revisiting the Sexual Discrimination Study 11.2. Moderation of the Direct and Indirect Effects in a Conditional Process Model 11.3. Visualizing the Direct and Indirect Effects 11.4. Mediated Moderation 11.5. Chapter Summary 12. Miscellaneous Topics in Conditional Process Analysis 12.1. A Strategy for Approaching Your Analysis 12.2. Can a Variable Simultaneously Mediate and Moderate Another Variable's Effect? 12.3. Comparing Conditional Indirect Effects and a Formal Test of Moderated Mediation 12.4. The Pitfalls of Subgroups Analysis 12.5. Writing about Conditional Process Modeling 12.6. Chapter Summary Appendix A. Using PROCESS Appendix B. Monte Carlo Confidence Intervals in SPSS and SAS
26,144 citations
"Analysis of Moral Disengagement as ..." refers methods in this paper
...Finally, to determine whether this mediation process was moderated by the moral identity variable, we resorted to the moderated mediation test of Hayes (2013)....
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...Following the procedure put forward by Hayes (2013), we established three regression models with which to analyze the moderator effects of moral identity: Model 1, for the relationship between perception and cybervictimization; Model 2, for the relationship between perception and moral…...
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TL;DR: This paper examined the role of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency and found that it fosters detrimental conduct by reducing prosocialness and anticipatory self-censure and by promoting cognitive and affective reactions conducive to aggression.
Abstract: This research examined the role of mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Regulatory self-sanctions can be selectively disengaged from detrimental conduct by converting harmful acts to moral ones through linkage to worthy purposes, obscuring personal causal agency by diffusion and displacement of responsibility, misrepresenting or disregarding the injurious effects inflicted on others, and vilifying the recipients of maltreatment by blaming and dehumanizing them. The study examined the structure and impact of moral disengagement on detrimental conduct and the psychological processes through which it exerts its effects. Path analyses reveal that moral disengagement fosters detrimental conduct by reducing prosocialness and anticipatory self-censure and by promoting cognitive and affective reactions conducive to aggression. The structure of the paths of influence is very similar for interpersonal aggression and delinquent conduct. Although the various mechanisms of moral disengagement operate in concert, moral reconstruals of harmful conduct by linking it to worthy purposes and vilification of victims seem to contribute most heavily to engagement in detrimental activities. Psychological theories of moral agency focus heavily on moral thought to the neglect of moral conduct. The limited attention to moral conduct reflects both the rationalistic bias of many theories of morality (Kohlberg, 1984) and the convenience of investigatory method. It is much easier to examine how people reason about hypothetical moral dilemmas than to study how they behave in difficult life predicaments. People suffer from the wrongs done to them, regardless of how perpetrators might justify their inhumane actions. The regulation of conduct involves much more than moral reasoning. A theory of morality must specify the mechanisms by which people come to live in accordance with moral standards. In social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1991), moral reasoning is translated into actions through self-regulatory mechanisms through which moral agency is exercised. In the course of socialization , moral standards are constructed from information conveyed by direct tuition, evaluative social reactions to one's conduct, and exposure to the selfevaluative standards modeled by others. Once formed, such standards serve as guides and deterrents for action. People regulate their actions by the consequences they apply to them
2,009 citations
TL;DR: The general aggression model is proposed as a useful theoretical framework from which to understand this phenomenon and results from a meta-analytic review indicate that among the strongest associations with cyberbullying perpetration were normative beliefs about aggression and moral disengagement.
Abstract: Although the Internet has transformed the way our world operates, it has also served as a venue for cyberbullying, a serious form of misbehavior among youth. With many of today's youth experiencing acts of cyberbullying, a growing body of literature has begun to document the prevalence, predictors, and outcomes of this behavior, but the literature is highly fragmented and lacks theoretical focus. Therefore, our purpose in the present article is to provide a critical review of the existing cyberbullying research. The general aggression model is proposed as a useful theoretical framework from which to understand this phenomenon. Additionally, results from a meta-analytic review are presented to highlight the size of the relationships between cyberbullying and traditional bullying, as well as relationships between cyberbullying and other meaningful behavioral and psychological variables. Mixed effects meta-analysis results indicate that among the strongest associations with cyberbullying perpetration were normative beliefs about aggression and moral disengagement, and the strongest associations with cyberbullying victimization were stress and suicidal ideation. Several methodological and sample characteristics served as moderators of these relationships. Limitations of the meta-analysis include issues dealing with causality or directionality of these associations as well as generalizability for those meta-analytic estimates that are based on smaller sets of studies (k < 5). Finally, the present results uncover important areas for future research. We provide a relevant agenda, including the need for understanding the incremental impact of cyberbullying (over and above traditional bullying) on key behavioral and psychological outcomes.
1,838 citations
TL;DR: In this article, Haidt et al. measured the associations among the self-importance of moral identity, moral cognitions, and behavior, and the psychometric properties of the measure were assessed through an examination of the underlying factor structure and convergent, nomological and discriminant validity analyses.
Abstract: Recent theorizing in moral psychology extends rationalist models by calling attention to social and cultural influences (J. Haidt, 2001). Six studies using adolescents, university students, and adults measured the associations among the self-importance of moral identity, moral cognitions, and behavior. The psychometric properties of the measure were assessed through an examination of the underlying factor structure (Study 1) and convergent, nomological, and discriminant validity analyses (Studies 2 and 3). The predictive validity of the instrument was assessed by examinations of the relationships among the self-importance of moral identity, various psychological outcomes, and behavior (Studies 4, 5, and 6). The results are discussed in terms of models of moral behavior, social identity measurement, and the need to consider moral self-conceptions in explaining moral conduct.
1,783 citations
"Analysis of Moral Disengagement as ..." refers background in this paper
...A strong moral identity may thus improve access to the structures of knowledge and schemes that guide self-regulation, foster social action, and help define the situations of cyberbullying that these adolescents are suffering (Aquino and Reed, 2002)....
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