Direct and indirect effects of attitudes toward violence, moral disengagement, normative beliefs on bullying

Abstract

Bullying research is characterized by a lack of studies analyzing the influence of cognitive processes related to the origin and development of bullying. In order to fill this gap in the literature, the purpose of this research was to examine the direct and indirect effects of moral disengagement, normative beliefs, and attitudes toward violence on the perpetration of bullying. Based on social learning theory, we construct a structural model in order to analyze the relations between study variables. Participants of this research were 220 men and 239 women who were students of three Mexican universities in the center of the country. Results of structural equation modeling showed that data fit the hypothesized model appropriately (χ2(49) = 94.81, p = .288, CFI = .981, NFI = .959, RMSEA = .048, SRMR = .031). We found that the indirect effects of attitudes towards violence in the relation between moral disengagement and bullying were significant, as well as in the relation between normative beliefs toward violence and bullying. Similarly, we identified direct effects of moral disengagement on bullying, direct effects of normative beliefs on bullying, and direct effects of attitudes toward violence on bullying. Based on these results, it is possible to conclude that attitudes towards violence create a path through which moral disengagement, as well as normative beliefs towards aggression, significantly impact the presence of bullying.