Publication Date

2024

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Demaray, Michelle

Degree Name

Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)

Legacy Department

Department of Psychology

Abstract

Bullying is a social phenomenon that involves more participants than the bully and the victim. Since the identification of other bullying participant behaviors, endeavors have been made to explore what inclines a person to defend a victim of bullying. With the social cognitive theory in mind, the current study examined whether students’ level of moral disengagement and defender self-efficacy were associated with engagement in defending behavior with a sample of 573 six to eighth grade students. Additionally, students’ perceived relationship qualities with teachers and peers were examined as moderators in the association among moral disengagement, defender self-efficacy, and defending behavior. Results indicated moral disengagement and defender self-efficacy were significantly associated with defending behavior. Student-teacher relationship moderated the association between moral disengagement and defending behavior as well as defender self-efficacy and defending behavior. However, student-student relationship quality did not moderate the relation among these variables. Limitations and implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Extent

83 pages

Language

en

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

Included in

Psychology Commons

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