Citation

Dong S, Dong Q, Chen M. J. Interpers. Violence 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/08862605241246001

PMID

38666649

Abstract

Most left-behind children in rural China are raised by their grandparents, whose parenting style significantly impacts children's development. This study examined the association between grandparents' violent discipline and left-behind children's school bullying. This cross-sectional study recruited a sample of 462 left-behind children aged 10 to 15 years old (Age Mean = 12.372, 49.351% girls) from four rural primary and junior high schools in Chongqing, China. There was a significant positive association between corporal punishment (β = .236, p < .001) and psychological aggression (β = .272, p < .001) of grandparents and children's school bullying. Empathy and moral disengagement mediate the above association. Cross-gender comparisons indicated that corporal punishment had a greater positive relationship with school bullying in boys than girls (β(girls) = .154, p < .01; β(boys) = .250, p < .001). At the same time, boys' moral disengagement was also more likely to lead to school bullying (β(girls) = .233, p < .001; β(boys) = .337, p < .001). We discuss the implications of these findings for preventing bullying in schools for children left behind.

Language: en

Keywords

empathy; grandparenting; left-behind children; moral disengagement; school bullying; violent discipline