Harsh parental discipline and school bullying among Chinese adolescents: The role of moral disengagement and deviant peer affiliation

School bullying is prevalent worldwide and poses a serious threat to the safety of school and students. However, few studies have explored the relationship between harsh parental discipline and adolescents’ school bullying. The current study aims to explore the internal mechanism between the two in the Chinese cultural context, and further test the mediating effect of moral disengagement and the moderating effect of deviant peer affiliation. This study recruited 1,246 students in eastern and southern China (average age = 14.48 ± 1.48) to complete the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale, Moral Disengagement Scale, Deviant Peer Affiliation Scale, and the Olweus Bully Questionnaire. The results showed that: The prevalence of school bullying among adolescents accounted for 33.5 %, from most to least are verbal bullying, relational bullying and physical bullying. Harsh parental discipline positively predicted school bullying among Chinese adolescents. After controlling for gender and school type, moral disengagement partially mediated the association between harsh parental discipline and school bullying, and deviant peer affiliation moderated the first and second halves of the mediation effect. Current findings reveal that parents should adopt proper parenting styles and intervene appropriately in their children’s dating choices.