A situational action theory analysis of the roles of morality and moral contexts in schoolbased bullying perpetration

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

School-based bullying is an urgent social problem that is associated with a range of negative outcomes for both perpetrators and victims (e.g. Holt etal., 2015; Olweus, 1993; Ttofi et al., 2016). However, the empirical research is dominated by the risk-factor paradigm (e.g. Cook et al., 2010; Zych etal., 2015) and the causes of bullying remain unknown. The proposed research aims to fill this gap in the knowledge by investigating whether schoolbasedbullying can be explained within the Situational Action Theory (SAT) framework. The primary research questions will be: (i) what is the natureand strength of the relationship between an individual's bullying propensity, exposure to settings that encourage acts of bullying, and frequency ofbullying perpetration? and (ii) how (by what processes) do morality and perceived moral contexts influence whether acts of bullying are perceived andchosen as an action alternative in response to a motivation? In order to answer these research questions effectively, a cross-sectional mixed-methodsresearch design consisting of questionnaires and intensive semi-structured interviews will be adopted. To my knowledge, SAT has not previously beenapplied to the context of school-based bullying. By applying this innovative theory to improve our understanding of the causes of bullying, I anticipatethe proposed research will make a significant theoretical contribution and have important implications for both policy and practice.