Moral Disengagement and Cyber Bullying, A Mediator Role of Emphatic Tendency

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate a mediator role of emphatic tendency in the relationship between moral disengagement and cyber bullying. The participants comprised 338 Turkish adolescents. The age of participants ranged between 11 and 18 years. The study data was gathered using the Moral Disengagement Scale, the Cyber Bullying Scale and the Emphatic Tendency Scale. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling. A bootstrapping analysis was conducted in order to determine any indirect effects. The results show that moral disengagement predicted cyber bullying positively and emphatic tendency negatively, and that emphatic tendency predicted cyber bullying negatively. It was further found that the structural equation model, which proposes that moral disengagement, has a direct and an indirect effect through emphatic tendency on cyber bullying was confirmed. The results of the study are discussed in the light of Social Cognitive Theory, and suggestions for future studies are made.