Moral Disengagement in Middle Childhood: Influences on Prosocial and Aggressive Behaviors

The purpose of the present study was to examine children´s moral disengagement as it related to children´s social behavior, including prosocial behavior and aggressive behavior. A multimethod approach (self-report and peer ratings) was used to evaluated the relationship of moral disengagement with social behavior in middle childhood. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted using a sample of 1578 children from two primary school at south area in China. As anticipated, we found that individual´s moral disengagement was negatively related to individual´s prosocial behavior in middle childhood. However, children´s moral disengagement was positively related with children´s aggressive behavior. Further, children´s moral disengagement had stronger influence on children´s aggressive behavior than on prosocial behavior. At last, suggestions for future research and practical implication were discussed.