11–13 Jun 2025
Stavanger Forum
Europe/Oslo timezone
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The Role of Social Dominance Orientation in Cyber-Bullying Behaviour

13 Jun 2025, 12:15
1h
Stavanger Forum

Stavanger Forum

Gunnar Warebergsgate 13 4021 Stavanger
Poster Protective and risk factors for bullying and cyberbullying within individuals and contexts Room: Mastrafjorden B

Speaker

Ashling Bourke (Dublin City University (DCU))

Description

Background: Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) is a narrow personality trait that encompasses an individual’s tendency to accept and endorse group-based social hierarchies and the extent to which they desire their in-group to be superior to out-groups. Such attitudes about group hierarchies are often a prelude to discriminatory behaviour. Indeed, it has been argued that bullying is a form of social dominance orientation such that bullying behaviour coincides with negative attitudes about social groups in which the aggressors do not belong.
Methods: A cross-sectional design will be employed to examine (1) whether there is a relationship between SDO and cyberbullying behaviour among adolescents and (2) how empathy and moral disengagement mediates the relationship between SDO and cyberbullying behaviour. A self-report anonymous survey with adolescents aged 15 to 24 years in Ireland will be employed.
Findings: A series of stepwise regression analyses will examine the relationship between cyberbullying behaviour and SDO while controlling for participant gender and gender. Empathy and moral disengagement will be included to examine the mediating role they hold in the relationship between SDO and cyberbullying behaviour.
Conclusions: The findings will be interpreted in light of the role of personality variables implicated in a range of prejudiced attitudes to cyberbullying behaviour, and the potential of self-reflecting (moral disengagement) and other-reflecting (empathy) in strengthening or not that relationship. Suggestions will be made for further research and tentative recommendations for anti-bullying interventions.

Keywords

Social dominance orientation, cyber-bullying, empathy, moral disengagement

Please indicate what type of scientific contribution it is Quantitative method study
Please also indicate what kind of contribution it is: Scientific

Primary authors

Ashling Bourke (Dublin City University (DCU)) Dylan Pidgeon (Dublin City University Anti-Bullying Centre) Megan Reynolds (Dublin City University Anti-Bullying Centre)

Presentation materials

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