Just World Research Articles

How are Family Resources and School Resources Related to Low-Income Adolescents’ Psychological Adjustment? The Moderating Role of Belief in a Just World

How are Family Resources and School Resources Related to Low-Income Adolescents’ Psychological Adjustment? The Moderating Role of Belief in a Just World

Is the World a Just Place? The Italian Adaptation of the Personal and General Belief in a Just World Scales

The study presents the Italian adaptation of the Personal and General Belief in a Just World (P-BJW and G-BJW) Scales. Dalbert and colleagues developed these scales to capture the belief in a just world for oneself and a just world in general. After the translation and back-translation, the P-BJW and G-BJW scales were administered first to a pilot sample of 213 university students and then to a national sample of 2683 Italian people. Results showed that it was necessary to make some revisions to the predicted two correlated factor structure. These changes entailed correlating the error terms for some manifest variables and removing the first item of the P-BJW factor. The final structure of the P-BJW and G-BJW scales presented satisfactory indexes of model fit as well as high reliability and moderate validity values. Additionally, this structure proved to fit the data better than an alternative one-factor or a bi-factor model with two orthogonal-specific factors. As predicted, well-being strongly predicted scores on the BJW, but age and gender did not. Multigroup comparisons among Northern, Central, and Southern Italy respondents indicated that Italian people interpret scale items equivalently, regardless of their geographical location. Introducing the P-BJW and G-BJW scales to the Italian justice scholarship is very useful to unpack the reasons why Italy reports lower levels of social justice than other European countries and also to investigate the link between justice, well-being, and other socio-psychological variables.

Perceived Severity of Stalking Behavior and Blame Attributions among Malaysians: The Influence of Prior Relationship, Belief in a Just World, and Dark Tetrad Personality Traits

ABSTRACT The ‘just world hypothesis’ is often used to explain victim blame attribution in assault cases, while dark personality traits are known to predict victim-blaming attitudes in sexual harassment situations, but little work has empirically tested these hypotheses within the context of stalking perpetration. Research investigating perceptions toward stalking is also scarce in the Asia region. This study examined whether the prior relationship between the stalking perpetrator and victim, just world beliefs, and Dark Tetrad traits influence judgments of severity of the behavior and perceptions of victim responsibility in a country that does not currently have anti-stalking legislation. Three hundred and thirty university students and general community members in Malaysia read a fictional stalking scenario in which the perpetrator was depicted as a stranger, acquaintance, or ex-partner. Participants evaluated whether the perpetrator’s behavior constitutes stalking, requires police intervention, would cause the victim alarm, personal distress, or to fear the use of violence, and can be attributed to the victim’s behavior. There were significant differences between the perpetrator-target prior relationship conditions on perceptions of stalking. Just world beliefs, Machiavellianism, and narcissism were positively associated with perceived victim responsibility, while each Dark Tetrad trait had differential associations with perceived severity of the stalking behavior, albeit with small effect sizes. Further regression analyses revealed that belief in a just world was a consistent predictor of perceived victim responsibility. Findings confirm that the individual observer’s internal and external factors influence how stalking is perceived, which have implications for victims of stalking and the legal system.

Research on the Relationship between Empathy, Belief in a Just World, and Childhood Trauma in Pre-Clinical Medical Students.

Objective: To explore the relation between empathy, belief in a just world, and childhood trauma in pre-clinical medical students. Method: Answers were collected from 880 pre-clinical medical students to questionnaires such as the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Students Version (JSPE-S), the Belief in a Just World Scale, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, in November 2021. Results: The empathy of pre-clinical medical students was positively correlated with their belief in a just world (r = 0.194, p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with their childhood trauma (r = −0.256, p < 0.01); the mediating effect analysis showed that belief in a just world had a partial mediating effect on empathy and childhood trauma. Conclusion: Belief in a just world plays a mediating role between empathy and childhood trauma among pre-clinical medical students.

Correlates of belief in climate change: Demographics, ideology and belief systems

This paper reports on two studies that examine correlates of attitudes to climate change (ACC). In the first study, five hundred participants completed five questionnaires and an intelligence test as well as two related measures of ACC. Using correlations and regressions we examined the relationship between ACC and demography (gender, age, education), ideology (political and religious beliefs), intelligence, self-beliefs, Belief in a Just World and the endorsement of Conspiracy Theories. One climate change questionnaire factored into three factors labelled Impact, Fatalism, and Personal action. The most consistent finding was that political opinions were most strongly related to climate change beliefs: more conservative thinkers denied that individuals could do anything. In the second study, also with 500 participants, we asked one question concerning how seriously they took the issue of global warming. Again, we examined the relationship with this response and the participants' demography, ideology and self-ratings. Political beliefs primarily were related to global warming concerns, as in the first study. Results are discussed in terms of climate change as an ideology and the possible changing of these beliefs. Limitations, like the representativeness of the sample and the single-item measure in the second study are acknowledged.

Targeted Fathers’ Beliefs in a Just World

This study compares targeted fathers’ beliefs in a just world with the beliefs of fathers who were divorced but not alienated from their children. Forty-two targeted fathers and 38 non-targeted fathers completed an online survey consisting of sociodemographic questions, the General Belief in a Just World Scale and Personal Belief in a Just World Scale. Targeted fathers reported lower beliefs in a just world than non-targeted fathers. Targeted fathers who reported that mental health and legal professionals have sufficient knowledge of parental alienation had higher belief in a just world scores than targeted parents who believed professionals have insufficient knowledge.

The Relationship between Belief in a Just World and Embitterment: The Mediating Effects of Self -Compassion for Adults in Their 20s and 30s-

본 연구는 2030세대의 정당한 세상에 대한 믿음이 울분에 미치는 관계에서 자기자비의 매개효과를 살펴보았다. 본 연구에서는 수도권(서울, 경기도, 인천)에 거주하는 만 20-39세 남녀(303명)를 대상으로하였다. 연구대상에게 정당한 세상에 대한 믿음, 울분, 자기자비에 관한 질문지를 실시하였고, 분석 자료는 SPSS 21.0을 통하여 빈도분석, 일원변량분석, Pearson의 상관관계, 단순회귀분석, 중다회귀분석, 단계적 회귀분석을 실시하였고, SPSS Macro 3.5를 통해 매개효과를 검증하였다. 본 연구의 주요 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 2030세대가 ‘지속적인 울분 상태(1.6≤PTEDS)’임을 확인하였다. 둘째, 2030세대의 정당한 세상에 대한 믿음, 울분, 자기자비의 유의미한 상관관계를 보였다. 셋째, 2030세대의 정당한 세상에 대한 믿음과 울분의 관계에서 자기자비의 부분매개 역할을 하는 것으로 확인되었다. 결과적으로, 본 연구에서는 2030세대의 울분이 개인적, 사회적 측면에서 다루어져야 할 필요가 있는 수준임을 보여주었으며, 2030세대의 울분에 자기자비의 매개효과를 검증하여 심리사회적 개입의 근거를 제시하였다는 의의를 갖는다.In this study, we investigated the mediating effect of the self-compassion parameter on the relationship between the belief in a just world and embitterment among adults in their 20s and 30s. This study targeted men and women aged 20-39 (n=303) living in metropolitan areas of South Korea. We conducted a survey of belief in a just world, embitterment, and self-compassion on the subjects of our research. Frequency analysis, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, simple regression analysis, multiple linear regression analysis, and stepwise regression analysis were carried out via SPSS 21.0. According to the results, mediation effect was verified via SPSS Macro 3.5. The main results of this study are as follows. First, we confirmed that adults in their 20s and 30s were in the “continuous state of embitterment.” Second, it showed a meaningful correlation between belief in a just world, embitterment, and self-compassion for the adults in their 20s and 30s. Third, it was confirmed that self-compassion acts as a partial mediator in the relationship between belief in a just world and embitterment among adults in their 20s and 30s.

Development of Narratives and Belief in a Just World in Victims of Bullying Due to Sexual and Gender Diversity Issues.

Students belonging to a sexual and gender minority go through experiences of injustice in their educational centers and are victims of school bullying. This research analyzes the relationship between these experiences and their influence on the development of the Belief in a Just World, as well as the impact of their experiences on the development of their narratives. Participants are students who have suffered from bullying due to sexual and gender diversity issues during their primary and secondary education stages (ages 15–40 years). Starting from a constructivist qualitative methodological approach, a semi-structured interview was developed as an instrument for collecting data on these aspects. The information extracted was contrasted with the results of the Personal and General Belief in a Just Word Scales. The results of the first interviews provide us with prior information on current identities and narratives and their representations of justice.

Examining the Relationship Between Nursing Students' Belief in a Just World and Their Attitudes Towards Death.

The belief in a just world is a mindset that facilitates our ability to cope with life events by fostering a sense of control. Nursing students' beliefs in a just world and their attitudes towards death can influence how they will care for their patients. The intent of this descriptive and cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship between nursing students and their beliefs in a just world and their attitudes towards death. Quantitative data was collected using the Descriptive Characteristics Questionnaire, the Belief in a Just World Scale, and the Attitude towards Death Scale. The sample included 270 participants. It was determined that as nursing students' beliefs in a just world increased, they developed positive attitudes towards death. It is recommended that discussions on the subject should be included in the education curriculum to increase nursing students' beliefs in a just world and their awareness about death.

Bullying victimization and depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents: the roles of belief in a just world and classroom-level victimization.

Studies have demonstrated that bullying victimization is a risk factor for depressive symptoms; however, little is known about the underlying processes that may mediate or moderate this relationship. To address this research gap, this study examined the mediating effects of personal and general belief in a just world (BJW) and the moderating effect of classroom-level victimization on the relationship between bullying victimization and depressive symptoms. Using a short-term longitudinal design, two-wave data were obtained from 2,551 Chinese adolescents (initial age = 12.99 ± 0.61, 52.2% boys) from 47 classes over 6months. The results indicated that Time 1 personal BJW mediated the relationship between Time 1 bullying victimization and Time 2 depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the mediating effect of Time 1 personal BJW was moderated by Time 1 classroom-level victimization; this effect was stronger for adolescents in classrooms with low levels of victimization. These findings contribute to our understanding of how and when bullying victimization impacts youth depressive symptoms. Education practitioners should pay special attention to personal BJW in victimized adolescents, especially when classroom-level victimization is low.

Belief in fake news and prevention behaviors of COVID-19: moderating effect of Belief in a Just World

Context: Hygiene and social distancing were recommended as strategies to mitigate the proliferation of COVID-19 early in the pandemic. Despite their importance, many people resisted implementing such strategies. In this sense, it is important to understand social and psychological processes underlying people's prevention behaviors regarding COVID-19. Method: This research aimed to assess the influence of fake news (FN) and belief in a just world (BJW) on prevention behaviors for the COVID-19. 198 participants indicated the extent to which they believed in FN about COVID-19, answered questions about their hygienic behavior and social distancing, completed the personal BJW scale, and answered a sociodemographic questionnaire. The results indicated that believing in FN was associated with fewer hygienic behaviors [β=-0,17, t(195)=-2,44, p=0,016] and less social distancing [β=-0,16, t(195)=-2,28, p=0,024]. Personal BJW moderated the effects of FN on social distancing [β=0,16, t(194)=2,21, p=0,028]. Results: These results show the impact of FN on prevention behaviors during the pandemic and illustrate the role of BJW on this relationship. Conclusions: It was concluded that it is essential to inform the population by trustworthy sources of knowledge and that public figures only disseminate scientifically accurate information. Although BJW may mitigate the negative impact of misinformation, the reduction of fake news and its impact is of utmost importance for public health during a pandemic.

Validation of the revised Belief in a Just World Scale based on Popular Sayings

The development of measures that assess individual differences in the Belief in a Just World plays an important role in advancing research in this area. The intent of this article was to validate a new version of the Belief in a Just World Scale based on Popular Sayings (BJWPS), proposing that this measure may be an alternative to the original scale. For this, two studies were developed: Study 1 (N=160) aimed to presenting psychometric evidence for a new version of the BJWPS scale through an exploratory factor analysis. Study 2 (N=144) aimed to verify the goodness-of-fit of the proposed measurement model using confirmatory factor analysis. Results of the two studies indicated a single-factor structure that assesses BJW, which corroborates the theoretical frameworks of the BJW scales. Together, the results allow us to conclude that the BJWPS presented satisfactory psychometric indexes.

Perceiving People With Physical Disabilities as Overcoming Adversity Warps Mind Perception.

Across six studies, we tested how people with physical disabilities were ascribed mental faculties. People with physical disabilities were seen as more capable of mental agency (e.g., thinking), but not more capable of experience (e.g., pain), compared to nondisabled people (Study 1). People with physical disabilities were also seen as more capable of supernatural mental agency (e.g., seeing the future, reading minds; Study 2). Believing that people with physical disabilities were more mentally agentic than nondisabled people was unrelated to Beliefs in a Just World (Study 3) but was related to beliefs about hardship (Study 4). Narratives of overcoming adversity, common in portrayals of the disabled community, increased the perceived mental sophistication of people with physical disabilities (Study 5). Finally, hardship narratives also affected helping behavior toward people with physical disabilities (Study 6). Thus, hardship stories surrounding individuals with disabilities may contribute to beliefs that they have particularly sophisticated minds.

Personal Versus General Belief in a Just World, Karma, and Well-Being: Evidence from Thailand and the UK

Personal Versus General Belief in a Just World, Karma, and Well-Being: Evidence from Thailand and the UK

Belief in a Just World and Mental Toughness in Adolescent Athletes: The Mediating Mechanism of Meaning in Life.

Mental toughness is an essential component of adolescent athletes' athletic careers and lives. Evidence supports the positive effect of belief in a just world on individual psychological development, but the relationship between belief in a just world and mental toughness of adolescents has not been tested. In order to determine the influencing factors of mental toughness and explore effective strategies for improving adolescent athletes' mental toughness, this study introduced just world and life meaning theories to explore the relationship between belief in a just world, meaning in life (search for meaning/presence of meaning), and mental toughness. Based on the data of 1,544 adolescent athletes from Yantai and Qingdao in Shandong Province, China, we tested a parallel mediation model that considered the search for meaning and presence of meaning as mediators. The results were predicted as follows: there is a significant positive correlation between belief in a just world and mental toughness, while the relationship between belief in a just world and mental toughness was partially mediated by the search for meaning and the presence of meaning in life. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the presence of meaning played a more influential role than the search for meaning. The results suggest that belief in a just world is connected to the mental toughness of adolescent athletes via the meaning in life. Therefore, maintaining and promoting the level of belief in a just world and enhancing the sense of meaning in life may be an effective strategy to develop the mental toughness of adolescent athletes. The findings of this study can help develop the mental toughness of adolescent athletes and help them maintain a high level of subjective and objective performance under the pressure of training and competition, providing practical guidance for coaches and administrators in the training of adolescent athletes.

Representations of Social Justice and Digital Civic Engagement: The Influence of Psychosocial Variables in Teacher Training

Teacher training programs usually contain specific psychoeducational aspects, but these should also promote citizenship competences based on social justice in order to encourage a more sustainable world. The three dimensions of Social Justice, the Belief in a Just World (BJW) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) are psychosocial variables linked to the construction of civic engagement and participation, including in digital frameworks. The aim of the study was to analyze these variables in students seeking teaching training degrees that have begun their program and students who are finishing their studies. The sample was composed of 420 teachers enrolled in a Teacher Training Degree for Elementary Education with an age range between 17 to 44 (M = 21.10; DT = 3.26), among which a subgroup was in their first year of study (n = 217) and another group was in the fourth year (n = 203). The results shows that there were significant differences in social justice representations, and in levels of SDO and BJW, with a better psychosocial index at the end of training. The changes in social justice representations of future teachers are not uniform for the three dimensions and some gender differences were maintained, showing no significant differences in the variables evaluated in both stages of training. Finally, linear regression analyses showed that BJW and SDO predicted social justice representations and the Digital Civic Engagement of future teachers. The implications of the psychosocial variables studied are discussed as possible factors to consider in educational psychology to promote innovative developments from teacher training programs.

Cyber-bullying among university students: Concurrent relations to belief in a just world and to empathy

The aim of this study was to investigate concurrent relations of belief in a just world (BJW), justice experiences, and empathy to cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization. Our theoretical framework contained a distinction between personal and general BJW and between affective and cognitive empathy. Due to theory and recent research, we expected students’ BJW, lecturer and fellow student justice, and empathy to relate negatively to cyber-bullying perpetration. Furthermore, BJW and academic justice experiences are also expected to negatively relate to cyber-bullying victimization. In order to test our hypotheses, we conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire study with N = 663 German university students (Mage = 22.6, SDage = 3.5; 68% female). Gender, internet use, and social desirability were considered as control variables. A structural equation model showed that students’ personal BJW, academic justice experiences, and both empathy dimensions but not general BJW negatively related to cyber-bullying perpetration. Additionally, students’ personal BJW and academic justice experiences but not general BJW or empathy were associated with cyber-bullying victimization. Male students and those with a low social desirability were more likely to report cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization. Altogether, not only university students’ personal BJW and empathy but also their academic justice experiences related to cyber-bullying perpetration or victimization. Thus, researchers should develop strategies aiming to prevent or reduce cyber-bullying. Those should simultaneously foster students’ personal BJW and empathy as well as an academic environment characterized by just behavior of lecturers and students.

Embitterment among the unemployed: A multiple mediation model of belief in a just world.

The negative consequences of job loss on financial and psychological quality of life have been well documented. This study evaluated the level of unemployed individuals' embitterment and the mechanism by which negative life experiences increase embitterment by lowering the belief in a just world (BJW). A survey was administered to 1,074 unemployed Korean adults who visited a regional Center for Employment and Welfare. Question items included the Korean version of posttraumatic embitterment disorder (PTED) self-rating scale, the BJW (personal and general) scale, negative life events, and sociodemographic characteristics. Only 45.9% of the participants were categorized as being in a 'normal state,' indicating that many of the unemployed were emotionally embittered. There was a positive direct effect of an increase in negative life events on embitterment. Negative life events also significantly and indirectly affected embitterment through personal BJW. Embitterment was prevalent among the unemployed participants and embitterment was a reactive emotion following personal downgrading, not so much related to conditions in the world at large. Thus, we recommend developing a screening program to detect extreme embitterment and an interventional program to help people better cope with emotional stress due to job loss. Efforts should be made to restore their violated expectation and trust that they would be treated in a just and fair way.

The Relationship between Parent-Child Attachment, Belief in a Just World, School Climate and Cyberbullying: A Moderated Mediation.

The present study investigated the relationship between parental attachment and cyberbullying, with the just world belief of the mediator and school climate being the moderator. We collected survey data from 750 middle school students and analyzed the data through mediation and moderation models. The results indicated that after controlling for gender and age, parent–child attachment was negatively related to cyberbullying, with a just world belief significantly mediating this relationship. What is more, school climate moderated the second half of this relationship, as we predicted. We offered possible reasons for the results. Limitations and direction for future studies were discussed.

Longitudinal association of peer victimization with aggression and self-injury in adolescence: The mediating role of belief in a just world

ObjectiveThe concept of belief in a just world (BJW) refers to human beings' belief that the world is a stable, orderly and just. In recent years, the role of BJW plays in individuals' daily life has been studied since it's an significant part of individuals' mental health. Previous research has linked the BJW with peer victimization, aggression and self-injury. And this study examined whether BJW can mediate the relationship between peer victimization and aggression and self-injury. We tested our hypotheses that, 1) peer victimization would have positive associations with aggression and self-injury; 2) BJW would mediate the relationship between peer victimization and both aggression and self-injury. The results supported our hypotheses. Mediation modeling analysis showed that BJW had a significantly mediation effect in the longitudinal association of peer victimization with aggression and self-injury. Meanwhile, the changes in the prevalence rate of self-injury among Chinese adolescents who were participants in the current study at baseline (54.9%) and six-month follow-up (42.7%) also further proved the function of BJW. These findings are consistent with recent work and meanwhile indicate the mediation mechanism which can be majorly applied to psychological education.