Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of adolescents’
callousness on reactive and proactive aggression through moral disengagement.
Methods: The participants were 315 freshmen and sophomore high school student
in Korea. The data were analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling(SEM).
Results: First, adolescents’ callousness did not show a significant influence on
reactive aggression directly or indirectly through moral disengagement. Second,
adolescents’ callousness had a significant influence on proactive aggression
directly and indirectly through moral disengagement. That is, adolescents' high
level of callousness not only predicts a higher level of proactive aggression
directly, but also influences moral disengagement which may result in a high
level of proactive aggression. In addition, the gender difference in this model
was confirmed.
Conclusion/Implications: The results of this study indicated that adolescents’
callousness could have different influences on aggression through moral
disengagement by the types of aggression and gender. The results suggest that
it is necessary to approach the emotional and cognitive process of adolescent
aggression differently, depending on the type of aggression and gender.