title: Moral disengagement in self-reported and peer-nominated school bullying.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark. mariloui@psy.au.dk
authors.forename: Marie-Louise
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Obermann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D058445:Bullying / Q000523:psychology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009014:Morals; D010379:Peer Group; D012574:Schools; D057566:Self Report; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D012938:Social Perception; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires