Citation

Obermann ML. Aggressive Behav. 2012; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, International Society for Research on Aggression, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/ab.20378

PMID

21105057

Abstract

This study examined the relation between moral disengagement and different self-reported and peer-nominated positions in school bullying. The aims of this study were to (1) investigate moral disengagement among children for whom self-reported and peer-nominated bully status diverged and (2) compare levels of disengagement among self-reported and peer-nominated pure bullies, pure victims, bully-victims, and children not involved in bullying. A sample of 739 Danish sixth grade and seventh grade children (mean age 12.6) was included in the study. Moral disengagement was measured using a Danish version of the Moral Disengagement Scale and bullying was measured using both self-reports and peer nominations. Results revealed that both self-reported and peer-nominated bullying were related to moral disengagement, and that both pure bullies and bully-victims displayed higher moral disengagement than outsiders. Discrepancies between self-reported and peer-nominated bullying involvement indicates that a person's social reputation has a stronger association with moral disengagement than so far expected. Implications are discussed, highlighting the importance of further research and theory development. Aggr. Behav. 35:1-12, 2010.  © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Language: en