This study investigates possible individual and class correlates of defending and passive bystand... more This study investigates possible individual and class correlates of defending and passive bystanding behavior in bullying, in a sample of 1,825 Italian primary school (mean age = 10 years 1 month) and middle school (mean age = 13 years 2 months) students. The findings of a series of multilevel regression models show that both individual (e.g., provictim attitudes and perceived peer pressure for intervention) and class characteristics (e.g., class provictim attitudes, peer injunctive norms, and descriptive norms) help explain defending and passive bystanding behavior in bullying. These results significantly expand previous findings in this field, by demonstrating the need for a social-ecological approach to the study of the different aspects of bullying. Implications for antibullying programs are discussed.
A cross-sectional study from a sample of 663 elementary school children assessed the four sets of... more A cross-sectional study from a sample of 663 elementary school children assessed the four sets of moral disengagement mechanisms conceptualized by Bandura (i.e., cognitive restructuring, minimizing one's agentive role, disregarding/distorting the consequences, blaming/dehumanizing the victim) at both the individual and the class level. Additionally, an analysis of the relations of these mechanisms to pro-bullying behavior was conducted. Multilevel analysis showed a significant relationship between cognitive restructuring and individual pro-bullying behavior. Moreover, between-class variability of pro-bullying behavior was positively related to minimizing one's agentive role and blaming/dehumanizing the victim at the class level. Conversely, class disregarding/distorting the consequences was negatively associated with between-class variation in the outcome behavior. Implications for understanding the role of morality in children's bullying are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 38:378-388, 2012. C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
This study analyzed the relations of two dimensions of moral cognition (i.e., acceptance of moral... more This study analyzed the relations of two dimensions of moral cognition (i.e., acceptance of moral transgression and moral disengagement) and two forms of status in the peer group (i.e., social preference and perceived popularity) with bullying and defending among 235 primary-school children and 305 middle-school early adolescents. Social status was tested as a moderator of the associations between moral cognition and bullying and defending. Participants completed self-reports assessing the two dimensions of moral cognition and peer nominations for status, bullying, and defending. Both acceptance of moral transgression and moral disengagement were associated to bullying among early adolescents only, whereas in childhood moral disengagement was linked to defending among girls. Social status moderated the associations between morality dimensions and bullying and defending. The moderating effects of status were discussed considering status as a magnifying lens for the relations between individual characteristics and social behavior. The results were also discussed with reference to age and gender differences in the associations. Aggr. Behav. 38:456-468, 2012. C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
This study investigated reciprocal friends' similarity in attitudes toward bullying and responsib... more This study investigated reciprocal friends' similarity in attitudes toward bullying and responsibility for intervention in favor of the victim among 1485 Italian children (mean age ¼ 10 years, 3 months) and adolescents (mean age ¼ 13 years, 2 months). Findings of two linear regressions confirmed that friend homophily exists in relation to both students' attitudes and responsibility. This result was retained even after individual and friends' bullying and defending behavior were controlled. Similarity between friends emerged particularly when the proportion of reciprocal friends in the classroom was high. Finally, age and gender moderated the relation between individual's and friends' attitudes. These results significantly expand previous findings related to social influences in the bullying phenomenon and have potential interest for researchers and educators.
The How I Think Questionnaire (HIT; ) is a self-report measure of self-serving cognitive distorti... more The How I Think Questionnaire (HIT; ) is a self-report measure of self-serving cognitive distortions. This study used meta-analytic methods to analyse: (i) the reliability of the HIT scores across samples; (ii) the variability in reliability estimates; and (iii) the convergent and criterion-group validity of the HIT scores. Results showed an excellent reliability of the total HIT scores: mean alpha ¼ .93, 95% CI [.92, .94]; k ¼ 29, N ¼ 8,186. Heterogeneity of total HIT was mainly explained by type of population. The reliabilities of the four subscale scores were also adequate. Moreover, the HIT has strong convergent validity and is able to discriminate between offenders and control participants. Limitations of the current literature are discussed.
The authors employed Latanè and Darley's model about bystanders' behavior to explain children's a... more The authors employed Latanè and Darley's model about bystanders' behavior to explain children's active defending and passive bystanding behavior in school bullying. The three central steps of the model were operationalized by measuring provictim attitudes, personal responsibility for intervention, and coping strategies. Moreover, the role of perceived expectations from parents and peers was investigated. A total of 759 children and 995 early adolescents participated. The findings from structural equation modeling (SEM) confirmed the hypothesized relationships and the impact of perceived peer and parent pressure on nearly all the study variables. The model was confirmed for both age groups, with only a few differences in the paths' magnitudes, and the model demonstrated the importance of considering both strictly individual characteristics and contextual variables. These results substantially expand previous findings and have potential interest for both researchers and educators.
This study examined the role of attitudes against bullying and perceived peer pressure for interv... more This study examined the role of attitudes against bullying and perceived peer pressure for intervention in explaining defending the victim and passive bystanding behavior in bullying. Participants were 1031 school-age children from two culturally diverse settings, namely Italy and Singapore, which are similar on several dimensions (e.g., quality of life, child welfare) but dramatically differ on other aspects, such as individualism-collectivism orientation. Multilevel analyses showed that country and participants' gender moderated the relations between individual predictors and behavior during bullying episodes. In particular, although individual attitudes were a stronger predictor of Italian students'-especially girls'-behavior, perceived peer expectations were more strongly associated with behavior of Singaporean participants. This study contributes to the literature by being the first to provide data analyzing the association between defending and passive bystanding behavior and different correlates using a cross-cultural approach.
Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, Jan 1, 2008
1 Victims and bully victims had a higher risk for teacher-rated conduct problems and hyperactivit... more 1 Victims and bully victims had a higher risk for teacher-rated conduct problems and hyperactivity. 2 Victim and bully victims reported more somatic complaints than other children. 3 Among children involved in bullying, bullies manifested the fewest number of adjustment problems.
Morality can be conceived as the ability to decide on wrong and right issues within social relati... more Morality can be conceived as the ability to decide on wrong and right issues within social relationships, and to behave accordingly, mostly with reference to the system of rules regulating the social interactions within communities. Along with morality, guilt also plays a major role in behavioral regulation (2). Individuals who are more prone to guilt are less aggressive and less likely to act out behaviors (3). In contrast, having lower feelings of guilt could 'enable' individuals to act aggressively. Thus, children who bully their peers might either have distortions in ...
Presentazione: Adottando l'approccio Ruoli dei Partecipanti allo studio del bullismo... more Presentazione: Adottando l'approccio Ruoli dei Partecipanti allo studio del bullismo, il presente studio ha analizzato:(a) le caratteristiche individuali (atteggiamenti, responsabilità personale e strategie di coping) di difensori e osservatori passivi;(b) la relazione esistente tra i due ruoli e l'accettazione da parte dei pari in bambini di scuola primaria e media. I risultati mostrano un atteggiamento più positivo nei confronti delle vittime, una maggiore responsabilità personale per l'intervento e un maggior utilizzo di strategie di problem ...
Abstract La Tromsø Social Intelligence Scale (TSIS) è una misura self-report che valuta l&amp... more Abstract La Tromsø Social Intelligence Scale (TSIS) è una misura self-report che valuta l'intelligenza sociale in una prospettiva multidimensionale, considerandone tre componenti principali: cognitiva (l'elaborazione dell'informazione sociale), comportamentale (le abilità sociali) ed emotiva (la consapevolezza sociale). Nel presente lavoro viene presentata la versione italiana della scala utilizzabile sia con gli adulti che con gli adolescenti. I risultati dei due studi descritti indicano la stessa struttura fattoriale della scala originale e ...
Abstract The present study aimed at investigating the developmental changes in the perceived asso... more Abstract The present study aimed at investigating the developmental changes in the perceived association between social behaviour and personality traits in 5-to 8-year-old children (N= 120). Participants heard four stories describing a prosocial or aggressive behaviour and answered some questions about stability, origins and causes of these behaviours. Data showed that older children used more explanations based on internal dispositions (ie, personality traits) for prosocial behaviour than for aggressive behaviour. ...
This study examines the role of school unfairness in predicting violent behavior among Italian ea... more This study examines the role of school unfairness in predicting violent behavior among Italian early adolescents. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the relations between individual (demographics, psychosocial and relational characteristics, and perception of procedural and relational school unfairness), and class characteristics (mean school unfairness and socioeconomic status) and students' violent behavior. Data were analyzed using a two-level model based on 6,744 students (3,398 boys; M age 5 14.14) nested within 348 classes. After adjusting for age, gender, and psychosocial confounding factors, relational and procedural unfairness in the school showed a significant association with violent behavior. School unfairness predicted between-school variation in violent behavior, in that procedural unfairness at the school level increased the risk for violent behavior. However, relational unfairness at the school level decreased the risk for violent behavior. The present study suggests that the quality of relationships with teachers may be key in predicting students' violent behavior. C
Abstract In the last few years, a large body of studies on school bullying focused on the plannin... more Abstract In the last few years, a large body of studies on school bullying focused on the planning of intervention and prevention programmes, which start with the acquisition of awareness through the collection of information about the problem. The present paper aims at presenting a selection of the major methods and measures used in bullying studies for the assessment of bullying behaviors. In this selection, two fundamental criteria were considered: the level of diffusion of the measures in Italian and international studies and ...
Résumé/Abstract Recently the construct of moral disengagement has been considered an important so... more Résumé/Abstract Recently the construct of moral disengagement has been considered an important socio-cognitive mediator in the research of bullying at school. In this work the relationship between moral disengagement and the different roles assumed in a class of 290 children (8-10 years) of an elementary school has been surveyed. The results show a level of moral disengagement in the helpers of bullying significantly much higher with respect to the victims and the defenders. On the contrary, a negative relationship between ...
Diverse indagini condotte negli ultimi dieci anni hanno ripetutamente confermato la preoccupante ... more Diverse indagini condotte negli ultimi dieci anni hanno ripetutamente confermato la preoccupante presenza del fenomeno delle prepotenze nella scuola italiana (Baldry, Farrington, 1999; Fonzi, 1997; Gini, 2005; Menesini, 2003; Molinari, Speltini, 2001; Vieno, Santinello, Martini, 2006). Numerosi studi hanno inoltre evidenziato la pericolosa relazione che può esistere tra l'essere coinvolto frequentemente in episodi di prepotenza a scuola e alcune conseguenze a lungo termine nello sviluppo psico-sociale. Nel caso dei bulli, ad ...
Abstract The study is a preliminary investigation on the role of iconic and linguistic codes in t... more Abstract The study is a preliminary investigation on the role of iconic and linguistic codes in the definition of basic level nouns. Relations between performance achieved by preschool (5-years-old) and school (6/7-years-old) children in a visuo-spatial (chess-boards), a phono-articulatory (non-word recognition), a categorisation task and a definition task were analysed. Moreover, 6/7-years-old children have been divided into" high and low visualizers"," high and low verbalizers" and" high and low categorizers" and their ...
Riassunto. La ricerca presentata studia lo sviluppo della competenza definitoria e il ruolo che l... more Riassunto. La ricerca presentata studia lo sviluppo della competenza definitoria e il ruolo che la consapevolezza metalinguistica può svolgere nella produzione di defini-zioni formalmente corrette in bambini di diverse età. Allo studio hanno partecipato 83 bambini divisi in quattro livelli di età (ultimo anno della scuola materna, seconda ele-mentare, quarta elementare, prima media) ai quali sono state presentate due prove: un compito di definizione e una prova di metalinguaggio. I risultati hanno evidenziato un chiaro ...
Abstract Obiettivo del lavoro era quello di studiare il ruolo dell'organizza... more Abstract Obiettivo del lavoro era quello di studiare il ruolo dell'organizzazione concettuale del significato delle parole nel lessico mentale, misurata mediante un compito di associazione verbale, e della consapevolezza metalinguistica nella competenza definitoria dei bambini a cavallo tra la scuola materna e quella elementare (N= 116, età: 5-8 anni). I risultati hanno confermato l'ipotesi che la comparsa del superordinato nella formula definitoria di tipo categorizzante" un x è un y"(es. un cane è un animale) ha origini ...
This study investigates possible individual and class correlates of defending and passive bystand... more This study investigates possible individual and class correlates of defending and passive bystanding behavior in bullying, in a sample of 1,825 Italian primary school (mean age = 10 years 1 month) and middle school (mean age = 13 years 2 months) students. The findings of a series of multilevel regression models show that both individual (e.g., provictim attitudes and perceived peer pressure for intervention) and class characteristics (e.g., class provictim attitudes, peer injunctive norms, and descriptive norms) help explain defending and passive bystanding behavior in bullying. These results significantly expand previous findings in this field, by demonstrating the need for a social-ecological approach to the study of the different aspects of bullying. Implications for antibullying programs are discussed.
A cross-sectional study from a sample of 663 elementary school children assessed the four sets of... more A cross-sectional study from a sample of 663 elementary school children assessed the four sets of moral disengagement mechanisms conceptualized by Bandura (i.e., cognitive restructuring, minimizing one's agentive role, disregarding/distorting the consequences, blaming/dehumanizing the victim) at both the individual and the class level. Additionally, an analysis of the relations of these mechanisms to pro-bullying behavior was conducted. Multilevel analysis showed a significant relationship between cognitive restructuring and individual pro-bullying behavior. Moreover, between-class variability of pro-bullying behavior was positively related to minimizing one's agentive role and blaming/dehumanizing the victim at the class level. Conversely, class disregarding/distorting the consequences was negatively associated with between-class variation in the outcome behavior. Implications for understanding the role of morality in children's bullying are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 38:378-388, 2012. C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
This study analyzed the relations of two dimensions of moral cognition (i.e., acceptance of moral... more This study analyzed the relations of two dimensions of moral cognition (i.e., acceptance of moral transgression and moral disengagement) and two forms of status in the peer group (i.e., social preference and perceived popularity) with bullying and defending among 235 primary-school children and 305 middle-school early adolescents. Social status was tested as a moderator of the associations between moral cognition and bullying and defending. Participants completed self-reports assessing the two dimensions of moral cognition and peer nominations for status, bullying, and defending. Both acceptance of moral transgression and moral disengagement were associated to bullying among early adolescents only, whereas in childhood moral disengagement was linked to defending among girls. Social status moderated the associations between morality dimensions and bullying and defending. The moderating effects of status were discussed considering status as a magnifying lens for the relations between individual characteristics and social behavior. The results were also discussed with reference to age and gender differences in the associations. Aggr. Behav. 38:456-468, 2012. C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
This study investigated reciprocal friends' similarity in attitudes toward bullying and responsib... more This study investigated reciprocal friends' similarity in attitudes toward bullying and responsibility for intervention in favor of the victim among 1485 Italian children (mean age ¼ 10 years, 3 months) and adolescents (mean age ¼ 13 years, 2 months). Findings of two linear regressions confirmed that friend homophily exists in relation to both students' attitudes and responsibility. This result was retained even after individual and friends' bullying and defending behavior were controlled. Similarity between friends emerged particularly when the proportion of reciprocal friends in the classroom was high. Finally, age and gender moderated the relation between individual's and friends' attitudes. These results significantly expand previous findings related to social influences in the bullying phenomenon and have potential interest for researchers and educators.
The How I Think Questionnaire (HIT; ) is a self-report measure of self-serving cognitive distorti... more The How I Think Questionnaire (HIT; ) is a self-report measure of self-serving cognitive distortions. This study used meta-analytic methods to analyse: (i) the reliability of the HIT scores across samples; (ii) the variability in reliability estimates; and (iii) the convergent and criterion-group validity of the HIT scores. Results showed an excellent reliability of the total HIT scores: mean alpha ¼ .93, 95% CI [.92, .94]; k ¼ 29, N ¼ 8,186. Heterogeneity of total HIT was mainly explained by type of population. The reliabilities of the four subscale scores were also adequate. Moreover, the HIT has strong convergent validity and is able to discriminate between offenders and control participants. Limitations of the current literature are discussed.
The authors employed Latanè and Darley's model about bystanders' behavior to explain children's a... more The authors employed Latanè and Darley's model about bystanders' behavior to explain children's active defending and passive bystanding behavior in school bullying. The three central steps of the model were operationalized by measuring provictim attitudes, personal responsibility for intervention, and coping strategies. Moreover, the role of perceived expectations from parents and peers was investigated. A total of 759 children and 995 early adolescents participated. The findings from structural equation modeling (SEM) confirmed the hypothesized relationships and the impact of perceived peer and parent pressure on nearly all the study variables. The model was confirmed for both age groups, with only a few differences in the paths' magnitudes, and the model demonstrated the importance of considering both strictly individual characteristics and contextual variables. These results substantially expand previous findings and have potential interest for both researchers and educators.
This study examined the role of attitudes against bullying and perceived peer pressure for interv... more This study examined the role of attitudes against bullying and perceived peer pressure for intervention in explaining defending the victim and passive bystanding behavior in bullying. Participants were 1031 school-age children from two culturally diverse settings, namely Italy and Singapore, which are similar on several dimensions (e.g., quality of life, child welfare) but dramatically differ on other aspects, such as individualism-collectivism orientation. Multilevel analyses showed that country and participants' gender moderated the relations between individual predictors and behavior during bullying episodes. In particular, although individual attitudes were a stronger predictor of Italian students'-especially girls'-behavior, perceived peer expectations were more strongly associated with behavior of Singaporean participants. This study contributes to the literature by being the first to provide data analyzing the association between defending and passive bystanding behavior and different correlates using a cross-cultural approach.
Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, Jan 1, 2008
1 Victims and bully victims had a higher risk for teacher-rated conduct problems and hyperactivit... more 1 Victims and bully victims had a higher risk for teacher-rated conduct problems and hyperactivity. 2 Victim and bully victims reported more somatic complaints than other children. 3 Among children involved in bullying, bullies manifested the fewest number of adjustment problems.
Morality can be conceived as the ability to decide on wrong and right issues within social relati... more Morality can be conceived as the ability to decide on wrong and right issues within social relationships, and to behave accordingly, mostly with reference to the system of rules regulating the social interactions within communities. Along with morality, guilt also plays a major role in behavioral regulation (2). Individuals who are more prone to guilt are less aggressive and less likely to act out behaviors (3). In contrast, having lower feelings of guilt could 'enable' individuals to act aggressively. Thus, children who bully their peers might either have distortions in ...
Presentazione: Adottando l'approccio Ruoli dei Partecipanti allo studio del bullismo... more Presentazione: Adottando l'approccio Ruoli dei Partecipanti allo studio del bullismo, il presente studio ha analizzato:(a) le caratteristiche individuali (atteggiamenti, responsabilità personale e strategie di coping) di difensori e osservatori passivi;(b) la relazione esistente tra i due ruoli e l'accettazione da parte dei pari in bambini di scuola primaria e media. I risultati mostrano un atteggiamento più positivo nei confronti delle vittime, una maggiore responsabilità personale per l'intervento e un maggior utilizzo di strategie di problem ...
Abstract La Tromsø Social Intelligence Scale (TSIS) è una misura self-report che valuta l&amp... more Abstract La Tromsø Social Intelligence Scale (TSIS) è una misura self-report che valuta l'intelligenza sociale in una prospettiva multidimensionale, considerandone tre componenti principali: cognitiva (l'elaborazione dell'informazione sociale), comportamentale (le abilità sociali) ed emotiva (la consapevolezza sociale). Nel presente lavoro viene presentata la versione italiana della scala utilizzabile sia con gli adulti che con gli adolescenti. I risultati dei due studi descritti indicano la stessa struttura fattoriale della scala originale e ...
Abstract The present study aimed at investigating the developmental changes in the perceived asso... more Abstract The present study aimed at investigating the developmental changes in the perceived association between social behaviour and personality traits in 5-to 8-year-old children (N= 120). Participants heard four stories describing a prosocial or aggressive behaviour and answered some questions about stability, origins and causes of these behaviours. Data showed that older children used more explanations based on internal dispositions (ie, personality traits) for prosocial behaviour than for aggressive behaviour. ...
This study examines the role of school unfairness in predicting violent behavior among Italian ea... more This study examines the role of school unfairness in predicting violent behavior among Italian early adolescents. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the relations between individual (demographics, psychosocial and relational characteristics, and perception of procedural and relational school unfairness), and class characteristics (mean school unfairness and socioeconomic status) and students' violent behavior. Data were analyzed using a two-level model based on 6,744 students (3,398 boys; M age 5 14.14) nested within 348 classes. After adjusting for age, gender, and psychosocial confounding factors, relational and procedural unfairness in the school showed a significant association with violent behavior. School unfairness predicted between-school variation in violent behavior, in that procedural unfairness at the school level increased the risk for violent behavior. However, relational unfairness at the school level decreased the risk for violent behavior. The present study suggests that the quality of relationships with teachers may be key in predicting students' violent behavior. C
Abstract In the last few years, a large body of studies on school bullying focused on the plannin... more Abstract In the last few years, a large body of studies on school bullying focused on the planning of intervention and prevention programmes, which start with the acquisition of awareness through the collection of information about the problem. The present paper aims at presenting a selection of the major methods and measures used in bullying studies for the assessment of bullying behaviors. In this selection, two fundamental criteria were considered: the level of diffusion of the measures in Italian and international studies and ...
Résumé/Abstract Recently the construct of moral disengagement has been considered an important so... more Résumé/Abstract Recently the construct of moral disengagement has been considered an important socio-cognitive mediator in the research of bullying at school. In this work the relationship between moral disengagement and the different roles assumed in a class of 290 children (8-10 years) of an elementary school has been surveyed. The results show a level of moral disengagement in the helpers of bullying significantly much higher with respect to the victims and the defenders. On the contrary, a negative relationship between ...
Diverse indagini condotte negli ultimi dieci anni hanno ripetutamente confermato la preoccupante ... more Diverse indagini condotte negli ultimi dieci anni hanno ripetutamente confermato la preoccupante presenza del fenomeno delle prepotenze nella scuola italiana (Baldry, Farrington, 1999; Fonzi, 1997; Gini, 2005; Menesini, 2003; Molinari, Speltini, 2001; Vieno, Santinello, Martini, 2006). Numerosi studi hanno inoltre evidenziato la pericolosa relazione che può esistere tra l'essere coinvolto frequentemente in episodi di prepotenza a scuola e alcune conseguenze a lungo termine nello sviluppo psico-sociale. Nel caso dei bulli, ad ...
Abstract The study is a preliminary investigation on the role of iconic and linguistic codes in t... more Abstract The study is a preliminary investigation on the role of iconic and linguistic codes in the definition of basic level nouns. Relations between performance achieved by preschool (5-years-old) and school (6/7-years-old) children in a visuo-spatial (chess-boards), a phono-articulatory (non-word recognition), a categorisation task and a definition task were analysed. Moreover, 6/7-years-old children have been divided into" high and low visualizers"," high and low verbalizers" and" high and low categorizers" and their ...
Riassunto. La ricerca presentata studia lo sviluppo della competenza definitoria e il ruolo che l... more Riassunto. La ricerca presentata studia lo sviluppo della competenza definitoria e il ruolo che la consapevolezza metalinguistica può svolgere nella produzione di defini-zioni formalmente corrette in bambini di diverse età. Allo studio hanno partecipato 83 bambini divisi in quattro livelli di età (ultimo anno della scuola materna, seconda ele-mentare, quarta elementare, prima media) ai quali sono state presentate due prove: un compito di definizione e una prova di metalinguaggio. I risultati hanno evidenziato un chiaro ...
Abstract Obiettivo del lavoro era quello di studiare il ruolo dell'organizza... more Abstract Obiettivo del lavoro era quello di studiare il ruolo dell'organizzazione concettuale del significato delle parole nel lessico mentale, misurata mediante un compito di associazione verbale, e della consapevolezza metalinguistica nella competenza definitoria dei bambini a cavallo tra la scuola materna e quella elementare (N= 116, età: 5-8 anni). I risultati hanno confermato l'ipotesi che la comparsa del superordinato nella formula definitoria di tipo categorizzante" un x è un y"(es. un cane è un animale) ha origini ...
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