A Predictive Model of Bullying Perpetration Towards Students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in Physical Education: The Role of Motivation, Tolerance and Attitudes

Bullying towards students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) remains a persistent problem in school contexts, yet the psychosocial mechanisms underlying bullying perpetration in inclusive settings are still insufficiently understood. Primarily grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and drawing on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) as a complementary framework for considering attitudinal variables, this study examined a predictive model of bullying perpetration towards students with SEND in Physical Education (PE), focusing on the role of motivational and attitudinal processes. A total of 356 secondary school students (M age = 13.77; SD = 1.34) completed measures assessing perceived teaching style, basic psychological needs satisfaction, self-determined motivation, tolerance, attitudes towards disability, and bullying perpetration towards peers with disabilities. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlational analyses, and path analysis. Results showed that higher levels of self-determined motivation were positively associated with tolerance and more positive attitudes towards disability. In turn, tolerance and attitudes towards disability negatively predicted bullying perpetration. In this case, self-determined motivation did not directly predict bullying perpetration but showed an indirect association through its effects on tolerance and attitudes. These findings highlight the importance of motivational and attitudinal pathways in explaining disability-related bullying and suggest that prevention efforts in PE should move beyond behaviour-focused approaches to address the motivational climate and the development of tolerance and positive attitudes towards disability.