The Influence of Bullying Victimization on Reactive Aggression among Upper Elementary School Students: The Mediating Effect of Victim Justice Sensitivity and the Moderating Effect of Negative Urgency

Abstract

This study examined the influence of bullying victimization on reactive aggression among upper elementary school students, and the mediating effect of victim justice sensitivity on the relationship between such victimization and aggression. It also investigated whether negative urgency moderates the influence of bullying victimization on reactive aggression. The participants were a group of 262 children (114 boys and 148 girls) who were fourth to sixth-grade students from 10 elementary schools located in Seoul, Gyeong-gi, and Daegu. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and SPSS Process Macro Model 5. The results were as follows: First, victim justice sensitivity mediated the influence of bullying victimization on reactive aggression among upper elementary school students. Second, negative urgency moderated the effect of bullying victimization on reactive aggression, whereas the impact of this was greater when the level of negative urgency was high. The results suggest that reactive aggression among upper elementary school students could be effectively decreased by preventing bullying victimization, and reducing the level of victim justice sensitivity and negative urgency.