Face-to-Face and Online: An Investigation of Children’s and Adolescents’ Bullying Behavior Through the Lens of Moral Emotions and Judgments

Abstract

The current study investigated the influence of type of aggression (cyberbullying or traditional bullying) and participant role (bystander or perpetrator) on children and adolescents’ self-attribution of moral emotions and judgments, while examining the influence of chronological age. Participants (N = 122, 8–16 years) evaluated vignettes and were asked to self-attribute the emotions they would feel in the role of the perpetrator or bystander. Results revealed that participants were more likely to self-attribute morally responsible emotions compared to morally disengaged emotions across contexts. A significant moderation model revealed that the effect of morally disengaged emotions on moral evaluations depends on participants’ chronological age, while controlling for social desirability. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for school violence and victimization.

Keywords:

• cyberbullying
• emotions
• judgments
• moral
• traditional bullying

Additional information

Funding

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.