A carregar...
Projeto de investigação
The Role of Moral Disengagement in Cyberbullying
Financiador
Autores
Publicações
Moral disengagement and empathy in cyberbullying: how they are related in reflection activities about a serious game
Publication . Francisco, Sofia; Ferreira, Paula; Veiga Simão, Ana; Salgado Pereira, Nádia
Cyberbullying is a complex phenomenon with multiple factors involved, both contextual and individual factors,
such as moral disengagement and empathy. This study investigated how moral disengagement and empathy
could be related, longitudinally in cyberbullying events. Specifically, two gamified tasks (one for empathy and
other for moral disengagement) were analyzed. These tasks were developed attending to the specificities of the
cyberbullying scenarios presented in a serious game. To accomplish this goal, data from gamified tasks (N=208),
from 4 different moments, were analyzed through multilevel linear modeling. Results suggested that there was a
change in adolescents’ moral disengagement over time. Participants with greater empathy revealed lower moral
disengagement overall. Over time, adolescents with greater empathy revealed lower moral disengagement within
their own growth rate. Overall, our results provide important information about the dynamic relationship between
moral disengagement, empathy and cyberbullying, which informs future studies and interventions.
Measuring empathy online and moral disengagement in cyberbullying
Publication . Francisco, Sofia; Ferreira, Paula; Veiga Simão, Ana; Salgado Pereira, Nádia
This investigation intends to explore how adolescents report empathy in online
contexts and moral disengagement in cyberbullying incidents, and how these
two constructs are related. To accomplish this goal, three studies were conducted
considering the need to develop new instruments to uncover this new approach
of measuring empathy and moral disengagement. In the first study, we adapted
the Portuguese version of the Empathy Quotient-short form to online contexts,
which resulted in the Empathy Quotient in Virtual Contexts (EQVC). We also
developed the Process Moral Disengagement in Cyberbullying Inventory (PMDCI),
in order to assess moral disengagement in these specific situations. In the second
study we conducted exploratory factor analyses (N = 234) of these instruments.
Finally, in the third study, we conducted confirmatory factor analyses (N = 345) of
both instruments. These results showed how adolescents reported empathy in
online contexts and moral disengagement in cyberbullying incidents. Specifically,
empathy revealed a bi-dimensional structure including difficulty and self-efficacy
in empathizing (Cronbach’s α = 0.44, 0.83, respectively), whereas process moral
disengagement revealed four unidimensional questionnaires including locus
of behavior, agency, outcome, and recipient (Cronbach’s α = 0.76, 0.65, 0.77,
0.69, respectively). Furthermore, a correlational analysis was also performed of
both constructs, and we also considered the variable sex. Results showed that
difficulty in empathizing was negatively associated with sex (with girls revealing
more difficulty than boys) and all moral disengagement mechanisms except for
behavior. Moral disengagement was positively correlated with sex, suggesting
boys morally disengaged more from cyberbullying. The instruments provided
new insights on how empathy and moral disengagement can be specific to online
contexts and cyberbullying situations, and how they can be used in educational
programs to promote empathy and gain insight on moral disengagement within
this phenomenon.
The role of moral disengagement in cyberbullying
Publication . Francisco, Sofia; Simão, Ana Margarida Veiga; Ferreira, Paula da Costa
Cyberbullying is a complex phenomenon with multiple factors involved, both individual as well as contextual, therefore a multiplicity of interventions are possible. Nonetheless, there are specific individual factors, such as moral disengagement (MD), which have already been investigated previously in relation to bullying, that are considered risk factors for cyberbullying involvement. Thus, this investigation focused specifically on MD and how it is related to cyberbullying from the perspective of adolescents. The processes involved in cyberbullying can be seen as the two sides from the same coin. On one side, there are the protective factors, and on the other side, there are the risk factors. Hence, considering the fact that cyberbullying is a complex phenomenon, which can be explained by several factors, we also aimed to understand the relation between MD and empathy. This provided evidence on how to include these two constructs together in order to develop more effective anti-cyberbullying interventions. Hence, in a first study, we proposed to examine how students belonging to different cyberbullying roles, perceived beliefs related to cyberbullying, both at the individual level and concerning the peer group. Specifically, we aimed to understand how adolescents (N=404) perceived their personal and normative beliefs about cyberbullying, considering their specific role in this type of aggressive behavior. For this purpose, students answered to the Inventory of Observed Cyberbullying Incidents. To this objective, 34 adolescents participated in semi-structured interviews with scenarios, and content analysis was used with a mixed approach, based on the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). Results from hierarchical regressions followed by Post Hoc Tukey test revealed that those who were involved as bystanders, victims and aggressors presented the lowest scores on all four types of beliefs. Specifically, this group believed that cyberbullying was less severe and less unfair, and thought that their peer group believed cyberbullying was less severe and unfair than others (i.e., bystanders, bystanders-victims and those who were not involved at all). Moreover, the most used MD mechanisms were blaming the victim and euphemistic labeling (regarding the seriousness of the situation). Therefore, we concluded that those who were involved as bystanders, victims and aggressors that would most benefit from cyberbullying interventions, specifically targeted at clarifying beliefs about the fairness and severity of these types of behavior. Furthermore, this study enabled us to understand the role of MD, considering that specific mechanisms are more related to the aggressors’ behavior and others are more related to bystanders’ aggressive behavior. Furthermore, the adolescents’ perspectives of cyberbullying led to a cyclical model, where some mechanisms were related to the antecedents, others to the behavior, and finally, others mechanisms were related to the consequents.
In a second study, we investigated how adolescents reported empathy in online contexts and MD in cyberbullying incidents. To accomplish this goal, we had to adapt and develop two instruments, the short version of the Empathy Quotient, to Portuguese and to online contexts, which originated the Empathy Quotient in Virtual Contexts (EQVC), and develop the Process Moral Disengagement in Cyberbullying Situations Questionnaire (PMDCSQ), based on the content analysis from the previous study and on the SCT. Exploratory factor analyses (N=234) and Confirmatory factor analyses (N=345) to assess both instruments revealed empathy as a bi-dimensional structure including difficulty and self-efficacy in empathizing (Cronbach's α = .44, .83, respectively), and process MD was assessed with four unidimensional questionnaires including locus of behavior, agency, outcome and recipient (Cronbach's α = .76, .65, .77, .69, respectively). Results of a correlational study showed that difficulty in empathizing was negatively associated with sex, meaning that girls revealed more difficulty than boys. Difficulty in empathizing was also negatively associated with all MD loci, with exception for behavior. Self-efficacy in empathizing was not associated with any variable. Lastly, MD was positively correlated with sex, suggesting that boys morally disengaged more from cyberbullying than girls.
Lastly, we analyzed how MD and empathy could be related, longitudinally. Specifically, two gamified tasks (one for empathy and other for MD) were analyzed. These tasks were developed attending to the specificities of the cyberbullying scenarios presented in a serious game. To accomplish this goal, data from gamified tasks (N=208), from 4 different moments, were analyzed through multilevel linear modeling. Results suggest that there was a change in adolescents’ MD over time. Participants with greater empathy revealed lower MD overall. Over time, adolescents with greater empathy revealed lower MD within their own growth rate. Overall, our results provide important information about the dynamic relationship between MD, empathy and cyberbullying, which informs future studies and interventions.
Unidades organizacionais
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Contribuidores
Financiadores
Entidade financiadora
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Programa de financiamento
OE
Número da atribuição
SFRH/BD/130982/2017