Moral Disengagement in Middle Childhood: Influences on Prosocial and Aggressive Behaviors

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine children's moral disengagement as it related to children's social behavior, including prosocial behavior and aggressive behavior. A multimethod approach (self-report and peer ratings) was used to evaluated the relationship of moral disengagement with social behavior in middle childhood. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted using a sample of 1578 children from two primary school at south area in China. As anticipated, we found that individual's moral disengagement was negatively related to individual's prosocial behavior in middle childhood. However, children's moral disengagement was positively related with children's aggressive behavior. Further, children's moral disengagement had stronger influence on children's aggressive behavior than on prosocial behavior. At last, suggestions for future research and practical implication were discussed.