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Mentalizing Emotions and Social Cognition in Bullies and Victims

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Luisa Pedditzi

    (Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy)

  • Roberta Fadda

    (Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy)

  • Tricia Striano Skoler

    (Department of Psychology, Hunter College of the City University of New York, New York, NY 10065, USA)

  • Loredana Lucarelli

    (Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy)

Abstract

Mentalizing is the ability to represent mental states to navigate the social world. A reduced mentalizing ability is a risk factor for a variety of psychological issues. Several studies indicated deficits in social cognition in bullies and victims, specifically in mentalizing anger. However, only a few studies investigated mentalizing abilities related to both anger and happiness in pre-adolescence. Our study investigated possible differences in the ability to mentalize anger and happiness in preadolescent bullies and victims, compared to a control group. We interviewed 104 preadolescents (44% males; 56% females; M = 13.2 years; SD = 0.82) and administered the Olweus Questionnaire to identify bullies and victims. We applied a narrative approach to investigate the mental state language referred to anger and happiness. The results indicated a reduced ability to mentalize anger in bullies and victims compared to controls. Both bullies and victims tended to consider anger and happiness predominantly as behavioral conditions rather than a state of mind. These results highlight the need to promote effective intervention programs to prevent bullying by enhancing appropriate mentalization of emotions in pre-adolescents.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Luisa Pedditzi & Roberta Fadda & Tricia Striano Skoler & Loredana Lucarelli, 2022. "Mentalizing Emotions and Social Cognition in Bullies and Victims," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-13, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2410-:d:753469
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    Cited by:

    1. Astrid Lampe & Tobias Nolte & Marc Schmid & Hanna Kampling & Johannes Kruse & Vincent Grote & Michael J. Fischer & David Riedl, 2022. "Gender-Specific Significance of Peer Abuse during Childhood and Adolescence on Physical and Mental Health in Adulthood—Results from a Cross-Sectional Study in a Sample of Hospital Patients," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-13, November.

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