Prospective association between bullying victimization and malevolent creativity among Chinese middle school students: the mediation of trait anger and moderation of moral identity

Grounded in trait activation theory and the social cognitive theory of moral identity, this two-wave prospective study examined whether bullying victimization is prospectively associated with malevolent creativity over time, whether trait anger serves as a prospective indirect association in this link, and whether moral identity moderates the indirect pathway. A sample of 1,092 Chinese middle school students (Mage = 15.15 years, SD = 1.47) completed self-report questionnaires at two time points separated by three months. Bullying victimization, moral identity, and malevolent creativity were assessed at T1; trait anger and malevolent creativity were assessed at T2. Prospective indirect effects were tested using Hayes' PROCESS Models 4 and 58. The findings revealed that: (1) Bullying victimization (T1) was positively and prospectively associated with malevolent creativity (T2) (β = 0.10, p < 0.001). (2) Trait anger (T2) served as a prospective indirect link, accounting for 57.58% of the total effect (indirect effect = 0.19, 95% CI [0.15, 0.24]). (3) Moral identity (T1) moderated both paths: higher moral identity weakened the association between bullying victimization and trait anger (β = -0.14, p < 0.001) and between trait anger and malevolent creativity (β = -0.12, p < 0.001). Findings highlight moral identity as a protective factor that buffers the risk from bullying to malevolent creativity. Limitations include the concurrent assessment of trait anger and malevolent creativity at T2, which precludes causal mediation claims.