Bystander Motivation in Bullying Incidents: To Intervene or Not to Intervene?
| dc.contributor.author | Thornberg, Robert ; Tenenbaum, Laura ; Varjas, Kris ; Meyers, Joel ; Jungert, Tomas ; Vanegas, Gina | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2019-07-31T19:13:48Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2019-07-31T19:13:48Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2012 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Introduction: This research sought to extend knowledge about bystanders in bullying situations with a focus on the motivations that lead them to different responses. The 2 primary goals of this study were to investigate the reasons for children’s decisions to help or not to help a victim when witnessing bullying, and to generate a grounded theory (or conceptual framework) of bystander motivation in bullying situations. Methods: Thirty students ranging in age from 9 to 15 years (M=11.9; SD=1.7) from an elementary and middle school in the southeastern United States participated in this study. Open- ended, semistructured interviews were used, and sessions ranged from 30 to 45 minutes. We conducted qualitative methodology and analyses to gain an in-depth understanding of children’s perspectives and concerns when witnessing bullying. Results: A key finding was a conceptual framework of bystander motivation to intervene in bullying situations suggesting that deciding whether to help or not help the victim in a bullying situation depends on how bystanders define and evaluate the situation, the social context, and their own agency. Qualitative analysis revealed 5 themes related to bystander motives and included: interpretation of harm in the bullying situation, emotional reactions, social evaluating, moral evaluating, and intervention self-efficacy. Conclusion: Given the themes that emerged surrounding bystanders’ motives to intervene or abstain from intervening, respondents reported 3 key elements that need to be confirmed in future research and that may have implications for future work on bullying prevention. These included: first, the potential importance of clear communication to children that adults expect bystanders to intervene when witnessing bullying; second, the potential of direct education about how bystanders can interveneto increase children’s self-efficacy as defenders of those who are victims of bullying; and third, the assumption that it may be effective to encourage children’s belief that bullying is morally wrong. (Author Abstract) | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Thornberg, Robert ; Tenenbaum, Laura ; Varjas, Kris ; Meyers, Joel ; Jungert, Tomas ; Vanegas, Gina. (2012). Bystander Motivation in Bullying Incidents: To Intervene or Not to Intervene? Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 13(3), 247–252 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://escholarship.org/content/qt1jv3h364/qt1jv3h364.pdf?t=nurt2j | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11212/4430 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Western Journal of Emergency Medicine | en_US |
| dc.subject | child abuse | en_US |
| dc.subject | harassment | en_US |
| dc.subject | adolescents | en_US |
| dc.subject | teens | en_US |
| dc.subject | research | en_US |
| dc.subject | prevention | en_US |
| dc.subject | social factors | en_US |
| dc.title | Bystander Motivation in Bullying Incidents: To Intervene or Not to Intervene? | en_US |
| dc.type | Article | en_US |