Moral Disengagement, Empathy, and Cybervictim's Representation as Predictive Factors of Cyberbullying among Italian Adolescents.
31 Jan 2021-International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (MDPI AG)-Vol. 18, Iss: 3, pp 1266
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluated which aspects of moral disengagement, empathy, and representations of the victim's experience (VER) could be predictors of cyberbullying (CB).
Abstract: This study aimed to evaluate which aspects of moral disengagement (MD), empathy, and representations of the victim’s experience (VER) could be predictors of cyberbullying (CB) One hundred and eight-nine students (11–17 years old) completed 3 self-report questionnaires: An MD scale, an empathy scale, and a CB questionnaire In relation to the personal experience of CB, four groups were identified: Victim, bully, bully/victim, and no experience with CB The linear bivariate correlation analysis shows correlations between empathy and VER, between empathy and MD, and between MD and VER A multinomial logistic regression identified which predictors could increase a subject’s probability of belonging to one of the four groups regarding the personal experience of CB (victim, bully, bully/victim, no experience) Findings highlighted that low cognitive empathy might increase the probability for a student to belong to the bullies’ group, rather than the victims’ group Furthermore, low perception of the consequences of CB on the victim might increase the probability of belonging to the bully, bully/victim, and no experience groups Then, a high score in the diffusion of responsibility was a significant predictor of belonging to the victim group rather than the no experience group Results from this study confirm the need for preventive measures against CB, including the empowerment of cognitive empathy, decreasing the diffusion of responsibility, and increasing the awareness of the consequences of CB on the victim
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the differential mediating role of social skills in the relationship between externalizing problems and engagement in aggressive bullying behaviors, and internalising problems and the engagement in victimization bullying behaviors.
Abstract: Bullying has severe public health consequences, due to its high prevalence worldwide and devastating effects on physical and mental health. Therefore, it is relevant to further understand the factors that contribute to the emergence and maintenance of bullying. This study aimed to examine the differential mediating role of social skills in the relationship between (i) externalizing problems and engagement in aggressive bullying behaviors, and (ii) internalizing problems and the engagement in victimization bullying behaviors. Participants were 669 Portuguese adolescents aged between 12 and 19 years. The Social Skills Improvement System-Rating Scales and the Scale of Interpersonal Behavior at School were used to assess social skills and the engagement in bullying behaviors, respectively. Boys scored higher on aggressive behaviors and externalizing problems. Girls reported higher scores on internalizing problems, communication, cooperation and empathy. Social skills differently mediated the association between behavior problems and engagement in bullying. While empathy negatively mediated the association between externalizing problems and aggressive bullying behaviors, assertiveness negatively mediated the relationship between internalizing problems and victimization bullying behaviors. The risk factors for engaging in bullying are discussed, and so are the protective ones, which may help to prevent bullying behaviors and reduce their negative impact.
10 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the longitudinal associations between peer pressure and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration across three years, taking into account moral disengagement as a potential mediator and family socioeconomic status and gender as moderators of the associations.
6 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors examined whether the parent-adolescent conflict as a family factor and deviant peer affiliation as a social factor have an effect on adolescents' cyberbullying, as well as role of moral disengagement and gender.
Abstract: With the widespread use of the Internet and mobile phone, cyberbullying has become a new type of bullying among adolescents. It is of great practical significance to explore the relevant factors affecting cyberbullying for prevention and intervention of adolescents' cyberbullying. However, few studies have considered the effect of both the family and social factors on cyberbullying. Therefore, the current study examines whether the parent-adolescent conflict as a family factor and deviant peer affiliation as a social factor have an effect on adolescents' cyberbullying, as well as the role of moral disengagement and gender.A total of 777 middle school students (females = 336; mean age = 13.57; SD = 0.98) were surveyed by using the Parent-child Relationship Questionnaire, Deviant Peer Affiliation Questionnaire, Moral Disengagement Questionnaire and Cyber Bullying Behavior Questionnaire. SPSS21.0 was used to conduct descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and T-test, PROCESS were used to conduct significance test of moderated mediation effect on the data.Parent-adolescent conflict does not directly predict cyberbullying. Moral disengagement played a complete mediating role between parent-adolescent conflict and cyberbullying, and gender played a moderating role between moral disengagement and cyberbullying. Deviant peer affiliation directly predict cyberbullying. Moral disengagement played a partially mediating role between parent-adolescent conflict and cyberbullying, and gender played a moderating role between moral disengagement and cyberbullying.Attention should be paid to the effect of moral disengagement on cyberbullying in family and social factors, as well as the role of gender.
2 citations
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors compared the differences between risk prediction models of traditional bullying (TB) and cyberbullying (CB) among adolescents and highlighted the necessity of distinguishing offline and online situations in aggressive behavior research.
Abstract: Adolescence is a high-risk age for exposure to violent media (EVM) and bullying. Some previous theories and empirical studies have highlighted a moderated mediating model that normative beliefs about aggression (NBA) as a mediator and self-control (SC) as a moderator for the link between EVM and aggressive behaviors (including bullying behaviors). However, most previous studies analyzed traditional bullying (TB) and cyberbullying (CB) separately, which is not conducive to finding the differences between the two bullying behaviors. Therefore, this study aims to compare the differences between risk prediction models of TB and CB among adolescents. A total of 777 Chinese adolescent students (336 girls; Mage = 13.57 ± 0.98) completed questionnaires including EVM, NBA, TB, CB, and SC. The results showed that: (1) EVM was positively related to adolescent TB/CB; (2) NBA mediated the above relations; and (3) SC buffers the direct effect of EVM on TB and the effect of NBA on TB. However, SC buffers the effect of NBA on adolescent CB but not buffers the direct effect of EVM on CB. This study highlights the necessity of distinguishing offline and online situations in aggressive behavior research. We suggested "online disinhibit hypothesis" would be adopted to explain why protector factors (e.g., SC) do not buffer the link between aggression-related risk factors (e.g., EVM) and online aggression (e.g., CB).
1 citations
TL;DR: In this article , a systematic search of peer-reviewed papers published between 2011 and 2021 was conducted following the PRISMA reporting guidelines, and a total of 36 full-text articles met the inclusion criteria.
Abstract: Preadolescence is a critical period, characterised by changes in physical, hormonal, cognitive, behavioural, and emotional development, as well as by changes in social and school relationships. These changes are accompanied by the transition from elementary school to middle school. The literature shows that this transition is one of the most stressful events for preadolescents, which can have a negative impact on their well-being. The main objectives of this review, focused on the school context, were to identify protective and risk factors influencing the well-being of preadolescent students and to describe the interventions implemented. A systematic search of peer-reviewed papers published between 2011 and 2021 was conducted following the PRISMA reporting guidelines. A total of 36 full-text articles met the inclusion criteria. Studies converge in identifying risk factors that may affect student well-being in this age group: individual factors (levels of emotional awareness and self-esteem) and relational factors (friendship, teachers’ and parents’ supporting actions and roles). Intervention programs are mainly focused on improving emotional and social regulation skills that also influence academic achievement. Our findings have important implications for both research and intervention in school settings.
1 citations
References
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Book•
09 Oct 2001
TL;DR: The second edition of the Second Edition of the Logistic regression model as discussed by the authors is the most complete version of the first edition and includes a discussion of the relationship between linear regression and logistic regression.
Abstract: Series Editor's Introduction Author's Introduction to the Second Edition 1. Linear Regression and Logistic Regression Model 2. Summary Statistics for Evaluating the Logistic Regression Model 3. Interpreting the Logistic Regression Coefficients 4. An Introduction to Logistic Regression Diagnosis Ch 5. Polytomous Logistic Regression and Alternatives to Logistic Regression 6. Notes Appendix A References Tables Figures
4,046 citations
TL;DR: Given the many mechanisms for disengaging moral control, civilized life requires, in addition to humane personal standards, safeguards built into social systems that uphold compassionate behavior and renounce cruelty.
Abstract: Moral agency is manifested in both the power to refrain from behaving inhumanely and the proactive power to behave humanely. Moral agency is embedded in a broader sociocognitive self theory encompassing self-organizing, proactive, self-reflective, and self-regulatory mechanisms rooted in personal standards linked to self-sanctions. The self-regulatory mechanisms governing moral conduct do not come into play unless they are activated, and there are many psychosocial maneuvers by which moral self-sanctions are selectively disengaged from inhumane conduct. The moral disengagement may center on the cognitive restructuring of inhumane conduct into a benign or worthy one by moral justification, sanitizing language, and advantageous comparison; disavowal of a sense of personal agency by diffusion or displacement of responsibility; disregarding or minimizing the injurious effects of one's actions; and attribution of blame to, and dehumanization of, those who are victimized. Many inhumanities operate through a supportive network of legitimate enterprises run by otherwise considerate people who contribute to destructive activities by disconnected subdivision of functions and diffusion of responsibility. Given the many mechanisms for disengaging moral control, civilized life requires, in addition to humane personal standards, safeguards built into social systems that uphold compassionate behavior and renounce cruelty.
2,836 citations
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: Social cognitive theory adopts an agentic perspective to human development, adaptation, and change as discussed by the authors, and distinguishes between three modes of agency: personal agency exercised individually; proxy agency in which people secure desired outcomes by influencing others to act on their behalf; and collective agency, where people act in concert to shape their future. But all agentic modes are needed to make it through the day whatever the cultural context in which one resides.
Abstract: La theorie socio-cognitive adopte une perspective d’action pour ce qui est du developpement, de l’adaptation et du changement humains. Cette theorie distingue trois types d’action: l’action personnelle exercee individuellement, l’action par procuration ou l’on s’assure de benefices desires en incitant autrui a intervenir en sa faveur, et l’action collective ou les gens agissent ensemble pour construire leur avenir. Des dichotomies conflictuelles parsement notre domaine, opposant l’autonomie et l’interdependance, l’individualisme et le collectivisme. Les determinants et les doses d’action individuelle, par procuration et collective varient culturellement. Mais tous les modes d’action sont necessaires pour parvenir a ses fins quel que soit le contexte culturel. Les cultures sont diverses et dynamiques, ce ne sont pas des monolithes statiques. La diversite intraculturelle et les ecarts dans les orientations psychosociales mettent en evidence la dynamique aux multiples facettes des cultures. La globalisation croissante, la pluralite des societes et l’immersion dans un monde virtuel qui se joue du temps, des distances, des lieux et des frontieres incitent aelargir la portee des etudes interculturelles. Les preoccupations se focalisent sur la facon dont les forces nationales et globales interagissent dans la creation de la vie culturelle.
Social cognitive theory adopts an agentic perspective to human development, adaptation, and change. The theory distinguishes among three modes of agency: personal agency exercised individually; proxy agency in which people secure desired outcomes by influencing others to act on their behalf; and collective agency in which people act in concert to shape their future. Contentious dualisms pervade our field pitting autonomy against interdependence; individualism against collectivism and communality; and personal agency against social structure. The determinants and agentic blends of individual, proxy, and collective instrumentality vary cross-culturally. But all agentic modes are needed to make it through the day whatever the cultural context in which one resides. Cultures are diverse and dynamic social systems not static monoliths. Intracultural diversity and intraindividual variation in psychosocial orientations across spheres of functioning underscore the multifaceted dynamic nature of cultures. The growing globalisation and cultural pluralisation of societies and enmeshment in a cyberworld that transcends time, distance, place, and national borders call for broadening the scope of cross-cultural analyses. The issues of interest center on how national and global forces interact to shape the nature of cultural life.
1,682 citations