Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement Used to Justify School Violence in Sicilian Primary School.

Inmaculada Méndez,Giuseppa Liccardi,Cecilia Ruiz-Esteban

doi:10.3390/ejihpe10030050

Abstract

This study investigated the mechanisms of moral disengagement most commonly used to justify school violence in Sicilian primary school. The main objective of this study was to analyze the mechanisms of moral disengagement that are set in motion by those involved in situations of school violence (victims, aggressors, and bystanders) in Sicilian primary school. Likewise, the differences by gender and age are investigated. A total of 113 subjects in primary school were recruited (56.6% girls). The ages ranged from 8 to 11 (M = 9.56, SD = 0.99). The first scale used was the Bullying Inventory by Olweus (1993) in the Italian translation by Genta, Menesini, Fonzi, Costabile, and Smith (1996) and the questionnaire on moral disengagement developed by Caprara, Barbaranelli, Vicino, and Bandura (1996) is also used. The regression analysis showed that the sociodemographic variables and the mechanisms of moral disengagement are different depending on a person’s role (aggressor, victim, or bystander). Moral justification predicted the role of victim in school violence, dehumanization predicted the role of the aggressor (and gender), and the disclosure of responsibility (and dehumanization) predicted the role of the bystander in school violence. The conclusions of this study will facilitate the prevention of school violence, for example, by promoting social integration and minimizing situations of school violence (emphasizing morality, ethics, etc.), thereby establishing balanced and satisfactory interpersonal relationships.

Highlights

Moral disengagement was defined by Bandura in his studies, theory, and developed instruments [1,2]
Moral justification predicted the role of victim in school violence, dehumanization predicted the role of the aggressor, and the disclosure of responsibility predicted the role of the bystander in school violence
The conclusions of this study will facilitate the prevention of school violence, for example, by promoting social integration and minimizing situations of school violence, thereby establishing balanced and satisfactory interpersonal relationships

Summary

Introduction

Moral disengagement was defined by Bandura in his studies, theory, and developed instruments [1,2]. According to Bandura, the self-regulation system of moral conduct is invariable and does not work continuously. It can be selectively deactivated by engaging with the relevant cognitive mechanisms. According to Bandura [1,2], there are eight mechanisms of moral disengagement: moral justification (used to demonstrate that violent conduct is performed for socially valid and moral purposes), euphemistic language (the subject uses euphemistic terms to justify violent actions and reduce personal responsibility), advantageous comparison (the subject wants to demonstrate that there are facts more serious than the violent act committed), displacement of responsibility (the transfer of responsibility, where the subject shifts the blame for his or her violent actions towards authorities or actors that legitimize violence), disclosure of responsibility (the subject who has carried out violent actions seeks to spread guilt in a group), distorted consequences (the subject seeks to minimize the damage caused), blame attribution (the subject seeks justify his or her violent conduct via the victim’s conduct), and dehumanization

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion