Relationships Among Normative Beliefs About Aggression, Moral Disengagement, Self-Control and Bullying in Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Jiang, Huaibin Liang, Hanyu Zhou, Huiling Zhang, Bin
Copyright Year	2022
Abstract	PurposeAdolescent bullying has varying degrees of negative impact on both bullies and victims. Bullying in adolescents is complex, and the influence of individual factors and social factors should not be underestimated. Normative beliefs about aggression play an important role in adolescents’ bullying. However, the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this association remain largely unknown. The current study investigated the mediating role of moral disengagement between normative beliefs about aggression and bullying, as well as the moderating role of self-control in this relationship from the perspective of individual cognition.MethodsA sample of 491 Chinese adolescents (female = 38.9%; mean age = 13.05 years) were study participants. They completed questionnaires about normative beliefs about aggression, bullying, moral disengagement and self-control. SPSS21.0 statistical software was used to collate the obtained data, analyze descriptive statistics, and carry out reliability analysis and correlation analysis.ResultsMoral disengagement mediated the relationship between normative beliefs about aggression and bullying (ab=0.13, 95% CI=[0.07, 0.21]). The association between normative beliefs about aggression and moral disengagement was moderated by self-control (β=−0.08, t=−2.25, p<0.05). The association between moral disengagement and bullying was moderated by self-control (β=−0.09, t=−2.42, p<0.05).ConclusionResults revealed that moral disengagement mediates the link between normative beliefs about aggression and bullying. Self-control moderated the relationship between normative beliefs about aggression and moral disengagement, and between moral disengagement and bullying.
Page Count	10
Journal	Psychology Research and Behavior Management
Volume Number	15
PubMed Central reference number	PMC8800860
PubMed reference number	35115850
e-ISSN	11791578
DOI	10.2147/PRBM.S346658
Language	English
Publisher	Dove
Publisher Date	2022-01-25
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/). By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms (https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php). © 2022 Jiang et al.
Subject Keyword	normative beliefs about aggression moral disengagement self-control bullying
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Psychiatry and Mental Health Psychology