Aggressive Behavior. 2019;1–9. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ab © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. | 1 Received: 22 February 2019 | Revised: 11 October 2019 | Accepted: 13 October 2019 DOI: 10.1002/ab.21876 RESEARCH ARTICLE Mindfulness, impulsivity, and moral disengagement as parameters of bullying and victimization at school Stelios N. Georgiou | Kyriakos Charalambous | Panayotis Stavrinides Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus Correspondence Stelios N. Georgiou, University of Cyprus, 75 Kallipoleos Str., POB 20537, 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus. Email: stege@ucy.ac.cy Abstract The aim of the present study was to examine the existing association between mindfulness, impulsivity, moral disengagement, and bullying experiences at school. Longitudinal data were collected in three points in time (T1, T2, T3) with 6 months interval between them. Participants were 558 adolescents attending secondary schools in Cyprus, with their ages ranging from 14 to 17 years (M = 15.3; standard deviation = 0.69). Through structural equation modeling, it was found that mind- fulness at T1 had a significant negative effect on both impulsivity and moral disengagement at T2 and these, in turn, had a positive effect on bullying and victimization at T3. Thus, mindfulness had an indirect effect on both bullying and victimization, fully mediated by impulsivity and moral disengagement. KEYWORDS bullying, impulsivity, mindfulness, moral disengagement, victimization Mindfulness is the ability to pay full attention to the present, observing, and experiencing the thoughts and emotions that occur at each moment (Brown & Ryan, 2003). Participants in mindfulness training programs learn to concentrate on the task they are performing, without allowing their minds to digress or get distracted. Thereby, and through continuous practice, they acquire a new perspective that facilitates reflection and growth (Peters et al., 2015). Impulsivity, on the other hand, is the tendency to act quickly and without reflection or consideration of the conse- quences. It also involves the rapid processing of information, novelty‐seeking, and inability to delay gratification (Ramírez & Andreu, 2006). Last, moral disengagement is a self‐regulatory process that helps reduce feelings of distress, guilt, and shame that are felt when individuals act against internal moral standards. When individuals behave in ways that go against their internal morality guidelines, a cognitive process may be activated that disengages self‐sanctions. Thus, moral disengagement is thought to function as a defense mechanism that facilitates the expression of unethical behavioral acts and at the same time protects the individual from the accompanying negative feelings (Bandura (2002). Bullying is defined as the exposure to intentional, systematic physical, or verbal aggression by an individual or a group (Rigby, 2002). In bullying incidents, an imbalance of power exists between the offender and the victim. This phenomenon has become a worldwide concern basically because it has been repeatedly associated with a range of physical and mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and heightened risk of suicide for victims (Gini & Pozzoli, 2009; Rudolph, Troop‐Gordon, Hessel, & Schmidt, 2011; Unnever & Cornell, 2003), as well as with behavioral disorders and conduct problems for bullies (Cardoos & Hinshaw, 2011; Khamis, 2015; Merrell, Gueldner, Ross, & Isava, 2008; Swearer, Espelage, Vaillancourt, & Haymel, 2010). Consequently, and because of the conceptʼs importance, several studies have been designed to more clearly understand the mechanisms involved in bullying activity and to identify its parameters (Hymel & Swearer, 2015). Some of the parameters identified so far are interpersonal, such as parental styles and cultural values in the family of origin (Charalambous et al., 2018; Georgiou, Fousiani, Michaelides, & Stavrinides, 2013; Georgiou, Ioannou, & Stavrinides, 2017, 2018), while others are intrapersonal and have to do with individual characteristics such as impulsivity, mindfulness, and moral disengagement (Neumann, Barker, Koot, & Maughan, 2010; Borders, Earleywine, & Jajodia, 2010; Fix & Fix, 2013; Hoaken, Shaughnessy, & Pihl, 2003; Thornberg & Jungert, 2014).