The Relationship between Grandparents' Violent Discipline and School Bullying Behavior among Left-behind Children.

Most left-behind children in rural China are raised by their grandparents, whose parenting style significantly impacts children's development. This study examined the association between grandparents' violent discipline and left-behind children's school bullying. This cross-sectional study recruited a sample of 462 left-behind children aged 10 to 15 years old (Age Mean = 12.372, 49.351% girls) from four rural primary and junior high schools in Chongqing, China. There was a significant positive association between corporal punishment (β =.236, p <.001) and psychological aggression (β =.272, p <.001) of grandparents and children's school bullying. Empathy and moral disengagement mediate the above association. Cross-gender comparisons indicated that corporal punishment had a greater positive relationship with school bullying in boys than girls (βgirls =.154, p <.01; βboys =.250, p <.001). At the same time, boys' moral disengagement was also more likely to lead to school bullying (βgirls =.233, p <.001; βboys =.337, p <.001). We discuss the implications of these findings for preventing bullying in schools for children left behind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]