U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Moral Disengagement Among Bystanders to School Bullying

NCJ Number
237005
Journal
Journal of School Violence Volume: 10 Issue: 3 Dated: July-September 2011 Pages: 239-257
Author(s)
Marie-Louise Obermann
Date Published
July 2011
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study examined the use of moral disengagement among children indirectly involved in bullying (bystanders).
Abstract
A sample of Danish adolescents (N=660, M age 12.6 years) were divided into 4 groups depending on their bystander status: (a) outsiders, who did not experience bullying among their peers; (b) defenders, who were likely to help the victims in bullying episodes; (c) guilty bystanders, who did nothing to help bullied peers but felt guilty about it; and (d) unconcerned bystanders, who witnessed peers being bullied, without feeling responsible. Results indicated that, besides from active personal involvement in bullying others, being an unconcerned bystander to bullying also associates with moral disengagement. Unconcerned bystanders had significantly higher moral disengagement than guilty bystanders and defenders. Outsiders also showed significant higher disengagement than defenders. Implications are discussed, highlighting the importance of further research and theory development. (Published Abstract)