Effect of Moral Disengagement on Cyberbullying Perpetration in Middle School Students and the Moderating Role of Self-Control

This study examined the effects of moral disengagement (cognitive restructuring and blaming the victim) and selfcontrol on cyberbullying perpetration and investigated if self-control moderated the relationship between moral disengagement (cognitive restructuring and blaming the victim) and cyberbullying perpetration. Participants in the study consisted of 551 middle school students (273 boys and 278 girls) from five middle schools in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. Cyberbullying perpetration, moral disengagement and self-control were measured using the Bullying/ Victimization Questionnaire, the Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement Scale, and the Self-Control Scale for children and adolescents. Data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics and a hierarchical regression analysis. The moderating effect of self-control was analyzed using procedures proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986). The results indicated that both levels of cognitive restructuring and blaming the victim increased cyberbullying perpetration whereas the level of self-control decreased cyberbullying perpetration. In addition, self-control moderated the effect of cognitive restructuring on cyberbullying perpetration. The influence of cognitive restructuring on cyberbullying perpetration was greater when the level of self-control was low, compared to when it was high.

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The Influence of School Loose-Tight Culture on Bullying of Middle School Students: The Mediating Role of Collective Moral Disengagement and Collective Efficacy

Best Evidence of Chinese Education ◽

10.15354/bece.21.ar060 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 1263-1272

Author(s):

Yirui Song ◽

Lei Wang

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Middle School Students ◽

Collective Efficacy ◽

Moral Disengagement ◽

School Bullying ◽

School Students ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Middle School Bullying ◽

The Relationship

To explore the relationship and mechanism of school loose-tight culture to middle school bullying, a total of 808 students were selected from three middle schools in Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan Province of China, to conduct a questionnaire survey. The study used the school loose-tight culture scale, the collective moral disengagement scale, the collective efficacy scale, and the bullying scale for middle school students. The results showed that (i) school loose-tight culture significantly predicted the occurrence of school bullying; (ii) school loose-tight culture was significantly negatively correlated with collective moral disengagement and school bullying but positively correlated with collective efficacy. Further, collective moral disengagement was significantly positively correlated with school bullying, but collective efficacy was significantly negatively correlated with school bullying; (iii) school loose-tight culture inhibited school bullying through the dual mediating effects of collective moral disengagement and collective efficacy at the same time.

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