Abstract
This article investigates the meaning of the belief in a just world (BJW) for justice cognition at school and for subjective well-being. We hypothesized that BJW should serve as a resource helping to maintain positive well-being and to assimilate experienced injustice. The results of two studies with Portuguese school students (7th–12th grade) and one with university students were consistent with our hypotheses. The more the students endorsed the BJW, the more they evaluated their school grades and their teachers’ and their peers’ behavior towards them as just and the more they were satisfied with life in general. Moreover, the more students felt fairly treated by their teachers, the less they felt distressed at school. Life satisfaction varied however independently of school-specific justice cognitions. This pattern of results persisted when controlled for achievement (grades) as well as for personality dispositions such as self-efficacy, self-esteem, and general trust. The implications of these results for further studies on adolescent development are discussed.
Résumé
Cet article étudie le rôle de la croyance dans un monde juste (CMJ), dans les cognitions de justice à l’école et dans le bien-être subjectif. Nous avons formulé l’hypothèse que la CMJ devrait servir de ressource pour soutenir un sens de bien-être positif et pour assimiler l’injustice expérimentée. Les résultats de deux études avec des étudiants portugais du secondaire (7ème-12ème classe) et une étude avec des étudiants universitaires furent consistants avec nos hypothèses. Plus les étudiants soutenaient la CMJ, plus ils évaluaient leurs notes scolaires et le comportement de leurs enseignants et collègues vis-à-vis d’euxmêmes comme étant justes et plus ils se sentaient satisfaits avec leur vie en général. En outre, plus les étudiants se sentaient bien traités par leurs enseignants, moins ils se sentaient angoissés à l’école. Cependant, la satisfaction avec la vie variait indépendamment des cognitions de justice spécifiques à l’école. Ce pattern de résultats persistait quand le succès (notes), aussi bien que des dispositions de personnalité telles que auto efficacité, auto estime et confiance générale, étaient contrôlés. Les implications de ces résultats pour des études sur le développement des adolescents sont discutées.
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Correia, I., Dalbert, C. Belief in a just world, justice concerns, and well-being at Portuguese schools. Eur J Psychol Educ 22, 421 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173464
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173464