Moral disengagement, victimization, empathy, social and emotional competencies as predictors of violence in children and adolescents

Decreasing violence is an important objective for the society. Although the topic has been addressed in different studies, most of them are cross-sectional, focus on one context or include few variables. This research aims to investigate to what extent moral disengagement and victimization are risk factors, and empathy and social and emotional competencies are protective factors for the development of violent behavior one year later in different contexts, such as school or home. Children and adolescents were the target population since violent behavior usually starts early in life. A sample of 871 students from different schools in Andalusia (Spain) was selected for this longitudinal research with a year of follow-up. Moral disengagement was more important in the prediction of violent behaviors and peer violence than in direct violence towards adults. Bullying victimization was a risk factor for violence one year later at home and at school. Differences in empathy and social and emotional competencies between perpetrators and non-perpetrators were found. Male gender and a young age were predictors of violence. Reducing victimization at school could be important in decreasing violence in different contexts in the future. Training parents in social and emotional competencies could be useful for the young people who learn the strategies for problem solving from parents. Teaching more prosocial strategies for problem solving to young people with violent behavior could help them to re-evaluate the benefits and costs of violence and to decrease the use of moral disengagement.