Cyberbullying, Moral Disengagement, and Empathy: Exploring Relationship in Children With Behavioral Disorder

Objective: This study addresses cyberbullying and social–emotional competence in children aged 9–12 with behavioral disorders (BD), filling a research gap that typically focuses on older, more active online, typically developing (TD) children. The disparity stems from developmental complexity, ethical and methodological challenges, and emphasis on traditional bullying. This study aims to explore cyberbullying among children with BD, who exhibit antisocial and aggressive tendencies, examining its associations to moral disengagement and cognitive empathy compared to TD children. Given their difficulties with self-regulation and impulse control, online anonymity may exacerbate their reactions, underscoring the need for targeted research in this group. Method: The sample includes 87 children (M = 10.29, SD = 0.99): 37 BD in special education and 50 TD. An embedded mixed-methods approach was used, incorporating questionnaires on internet use, cyberbullying, moral disengagement, and empathy and quantitative measures to assess cyberbullying’s prevalence and the correlational relationship between all variables. Therefore, semistructured interviews were used to explore children’s life experiences and to give them a voice, offering a more comprehensive perspective. Results: Findings show that increased moral disengagement and decreased empathy associate with higher cyberbullying involvement, particularly among children with BD, who are more often perpetrators, victims, and bystanders compared to TD peers. Moral disengagement correlates with all cyberbullying, with interconnections appearing only in the clinical sample. Conclusions: These insights underscore the critical need for targeted age-appropriate prevention interventions to improve emotional regulation, empathy, and responsible online behavior, alongside greater parental involvement in children with BD.