Cheating Behaviors in Academic Context: Does Academic Moral Disengagement Matter?

This contribution investigated cheating behaviors in the academic context by translating a model developed by Bandura and his colleagues in the study of transgressive behaviors. We investigated the role of domain specific self-efficacy beliefs and academic moral disengagement in influencing students’ cheating behaviors and academic performance. We included also a contextual factor, namely peers’ cheating behaviors. A structural equation model was implemented on a sample of 416 Italian college students. Results confirmed the posited model, highlighting the pivotal role of academic moral disengagement and peers behaviors in facilitating cheating behaviors, above and beyond the impact of self-efficacy beliefs.