Moral Disengagement as a Mediator in the Relationship between Psychopathic Traits and Cyberbullying Behavior among Malaysian Adolescents

Cyberbullying is a growing problem among adolescents and has been linked to various negative psychological outcomes. This study examined the relationships between psychopathic traits, moral disengagement and cyberbullying behavior among adolescents in Malaysia, with particular focus on the mediating role of moral disengagement. A quantitative cross-sectional design was used and data were collected from 389 secondary school students using structured questionnaires. Psychopathic traits were measured using the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory–Short Version (YPI-S), moral disengagement was assessed using an adapted Moral Disengagement Scale, and cyberbullying behavior was measured using the E-Bullying Scale (E-BS). Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics and PROCESS macro (Model 4) with 5,000 bootstrap samples. The results showed that psychopathic traits were positively associated with cyberbullying behavior (r = .725, p < .001), and moral disengagement significantly predicted cyberbullying behavior (B = 0.573, p < .001). In addition, moral disengagement partially mediated the relationship between psychopathic traits and cyberbullying behavior. These findings suggest that adolescents with higher psychopathic traits are more likely to engage in cyberbullying partly because they justify harmful behavior through moral disengagement.

psychopathy, moral disengagement, cyberbullying behavior, adolescents, Malaysia

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