Reintegrative Shaming Theory, moral emotions and bullying

Abstract

This article investigates the usefulness of Reintegrative Shaming Theory (RST) in explaining the bullying of siblings in families and peers in schools. Questionnaires were completed by 182 children aged 11-12 years in ten primary schools in Nicosia, Cyprus, about sibling and peer bullying. A vignette-based methodology was used to investigate children's expectations of the type of shaming their parents would offer in response to their possible wrong doing. Children were also asked questions about the emotions they would have felt (i.e. shame, remorse, guilt or anger) if they were in the position of the child in the vignette. The level of bonding toward each parent was also examined. In agreement with the theory, a path analysis showed that mother bonding influenced children's expectations of the type of shaming offered by parents. Disintegrative shaming (i.e. shaming offered in a stigmatizing or rejecting way) had a direct effect on the way children managed their shame. Shame management directly influenced sibling and peer bullying. Father bonding had no direct or indirect effects in the model. Against the theory, reintegrative shaming (i.e. shaming offered in the context of approving the wrongdoer while rejecting the wrongdoing) did not have a direct effect on shame management. Beyond the postulates of RST, mother bonding-a plausible indicator of family functioning-had a direct effect on sibling and peer bullying. Mother bonding had a stronger effect for boys than for girls. It is concluded that RST is useful in explaining the link between family factors and bullying, and that RST has cross-cultural applicability.

Peer and cyber aggression in secondary school students: the role of moral disengagement, hostile attribution bias, and outcome expectancies

“…Moral emotions motivate people to behave in a good way and deter them from immoral behavior (Kroll & Egan, 2004;Tangney, Stuewig, & Mashek, 2007), and research has shown that low levels of moral emotions are associated with school bullying (Menesini & Camodeca, 2008;Menessini et al, 2003;Ttofi & Farrington, 2008). Finally, the high prevalence of c-bullying and c-victimization and the association between c-bullying and MD indicates the need for this form of bullying to be taken into consideration when designing antibullying school intervention programs.…”

Cyberbullying and traditional bullying in adolescence: Differential roles of moral disengagement, moral emotions, and moral values

“…A study by Menesini and collaborators (2003) showed that bullies attributed pride and indifference to the perpetrator more frequently than did either victims or uninvolved children. A study by Ttofi and Farrington (2008) showed that positive shame management (i.e., a high level of acknowledgement of feelings of shame and remorse and a low level of shame displacement) was negatively associated with bullying. Likewise, Menesini and Camodeca (2008) reported negative associations between bullying and guilt and shame.…”

Bully/Victim Problems Among Preschool Children: a Review of Current Research Evidence

“…This paper reviews recent empirical evidence over the nature and different aspects of bullying among preschool children. Recent findings concerning the development of preschool bullying and its prevalence, family and genetic factors, gender and age differences, participant and peripheral roles, school context, methodological issues, and prevention policies are reviewed while directions for future research are addressed.Bullying in schools has been identified as a serious and complex worldwide problem associated with negative short-and long-term effects on children's psychosocial adjustment (Smith 1999;Ttofi and Farrington 2008). Most of the research undertaken for studying bullying in schools has emphasized on middle childhood and adolescence, while there is scarce empirical evidence concerning the manifestation and development of the problem in early childhood years (…”

“…Bullying in schools has been identified as a serious and complex worldwide problem associated with negative short-and long-term effects on children's psychosocial adjustment (Smith 1999;Ttofi and Farrington 2008). Most of the research undertaken for studying bullying in schools has emphasized on middle childhood and adolescence, while there is scarce empirical evidence concerning the manifestation and development of the problem in early childhood years (…”