Abstract

This study attended to current situations that unfairness becomes the significant social issue. In order to address the developmental process of justice sensitivity which refers to the degree of sensitive responses to unfairness, this study examined the predictors of victim justice sensitivity and perpetrator justice sensitivity of university students. Specifically, we examined whether parental acceptance predicts victim and perpetrator justice sensitivity respectively and whether the power and self-transcendence values mediate these relationships. The self-report data of 401 university students were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicated that fathers’ acceptance negatively predicted power and self-transcendence values. Paternal acceptance predicted the lower level of power value, positively predicting victim justice sensitivity. The partial mediation effect of the power value was significant. Conversely, the relationship between mothers’ acceptance and perpetrator justice sensitivity was fully mediated by the value of self-transcendence. Therefore, we discussed the role of parenting and values in developing victim and perpetrator justice sensitivity and the implications for intervention. Some of the strengths of this study is that it highlighted the differential roles of paternal and maternal acceptance in the development of justice sensitivity, as well as the importance of values established through the interaction with parents.