Open Access

ARTICLE

Parental psychological control and cyberbullying in vocational college students: The role of the moral disengagement and the dual system of self-control

Huaibin Jiang^1,#, Huihang Qin^2,#, Lei Ren^3,4, Feifei Xu⁵, Lin Shao⁵, Yaning Guo⁶, Xinyi Wei⁷, Qingyi Wang^5,*

1 School of Education, Fujian Polytechnic Normal University, Fuzhou, 350000, China
2 Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
3 Military Psychology Section, Logistics University of PAP, Tianjin, 300309, China
4 Military Mental Health Services & Research Center, Tianjin, 300309, China
5 School of Basic Medicine, Air Force Medical University, Xi’an, 710032, China
6 Innovation Research Institute, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi’an, 710032, China
7 School of Nursing, Putian University, Putian, 351100, China

* Corresponding Author: Qingyi Wang. Email:
# Huaibin Jiang and Huihang Qin are co-first authors

Journal of Psychology in Africa 2025, 35(3), 355-360. https://doi.org/10.32604/jpa.2025.067170

Received 01 December 2024; Accepted 04 April 2025; Issue published 31 July 2025

Abstract

This study examined the role of moral disengagement dual system of self-control in the relationship between parental psychological control and cyberbullying. Participants were involved 802 vocational college students (46.01% females; M = 18.11, SD = 1.23). They completed measures on parental psychological control, moral disengagement, dual system of self-control (impulse and control system), and cyberbullying. The results from mediation-moderation analysis indicated that parental psychological control directly predicts higher cyberbullying. Specifically, moral disengagement partially mediated this relationship, as higher parental psychological control increases moral disengagement, which in turn elevates the risk of cyberbullying. Furthermore, parental psychological control moderated the relationship between parental control and cyberbullying through impulse control systems within the dual system of self-control. Individuals with high impulsivity scores are more likely to engage in cyberbullying when exposed to high levels of parental psychological control, whereas individuals with low impulsivity scores exhibit a lower incidence of cyberbullying.

---

Keywords

---