Justice and hostility: The moderated mediating effect of sports behavior on bullying

Abstract

The increasingly frequent phenomenon of school bullying among high school students has become one of the threats hindering their physical and mental health and disrupting the harmonious atmosphere of campuses. Engaging in sports behavior, recognized as a critical means of enhancing both physical and mental well-being, may contribute significantly to mitigating psychological distress among high school students and reducing the prevalence of school bullying. This study surveyed 970 high school students through a structured questionnaire to investigate the relationships between victim justice sensitivity, hostile attribution bias, and school bullying. Additionally, it explores the dual roles of sports behavior as both a moderating and mediating factor within these dynamics. The results indicate that high school students' victim justice sensitivity can indirectly trigger school bullying through hostile attribution bias, while sports behavior has a positive moderated mediating effect on the influence path of victim justice sensitivity, hostile attribution bias, and school bullying. This study highlights the positive role of sports behavior in mitigating adverse psychological tendencies among high school students. The findings offer valuable recommendations for schools to implement targeted interventions aimed at reducing school bullying among high school students. Furthermore, the results provide broader insights and inspiration for future research on school bullying and related topics.