Moral disengagement and emotional and social difficulties in bullying and cyberbullying: differences by participant role

Abstract

Participant roles in traditional bullying have been well researched, and the social and emotional characteristics identified with each role are clearly documented. However, little is known about the participant roles in cyberbullying and the degree to which these correspond to traditional bullying roles. This study aims to investigate similarities and differences between participant roles in traditional bullying and cyberbullying, in terms of moral disengagement and social and emotional characteristics. In total, 517 German students in grades 5–10 were assessed for bullying involvement using the Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) method. Cyberbullying was slightly less frequent than traditional bullying, although there was considerable overlap, with many students involved in cyberbullying also participating in traditional bullying. More cyberbullies had a bad conscience compared to traditional bullies, hence students involved in cyberbullying showed greater moral disengagement. High school satisfaction emerged as a protective factor for nearly all roles, while feeling lonely, feeling unpopular and being friendless appeared as risk factors for (cyber)victimisation. The enhancement of empathy by (cyber)bullies and (cyber)assistants for their targets, and the development of a positive school culture, are proposed as key aspects for both anti-bullying and anti-cyberbullying prevention and intervention.

Keywords:

• bullying
• cyberbullying
• emotional difficulties
• bad conscience
• roles