TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of victims' responses to overt bullying on same-sex peer bystander reactions
AU - Sokol, Nicole
AU - Bussey, Kay
AU - Rapee, Ronald M.
PY - 2015/10/1
Y1 - 2015/10/1
N2 - This study investigated the impact of victims' responses to overt bullying on peer bystanders' attitudes and reactions. Fifth- and seventh-grade students (N = 206; Mage= 11.13 and 13.18 years, respectively) completed online questionnaires about gender-consistent videotaped hypothetical bullying scenarios in which the victims' responses (angry, sad, confident, ignoring) were experimentally manipulated. Victims' responses significantly influenced bystanders' attitudes towards the victim, perceptions of the victimization, emotional reactions, and behavioral intentions. In general, angry victims elicited more negative reactions, sad victims elicited greater intentions to act, while incidents involving confident victims were perceived as less serious. Several variations depending on the bullying type and students' grade, gender, and personal experiences with bullying were evident. Implications for individual-level and peer-level anti-bullying interventions are discussed.
AB - This study investigated the impact of victims' responses to overt bullying on peer bystanders' attitudes and reactions. Fifth- and seventh-grade students (N = 206; Mage= 11.13 and 13.18 years, respectively) completed online questionnaires about gender-consistent videotaped hypothetical bullying scenarios in which the victims' responses (angry, sad, confident, ignoring) were experimentally manipulated. Victims' responses significantly influenced bystanders' attitudes towards the victim, perceptions of the victimization, emotional reactions, and behavioral intentions. In general, angry victims elicited more negative reactions, sad victims elicited greater intentions to act, while incidents involving confident victims were perceived as less serious. Several variations depending on the bullying type and students' grade, gender, and personal experiences with bullying were evident. Implications for individual-level and peer-level anti-bullying interventions are discussed.
KW - Bullying
KW - Victimization
KW - Victim response
KW - Bystander
KW - Peer witness
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84941956316&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jsp.2015.07.002
DO - 10.1016/j.jsp.2015.07.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 26407835
AN - SCOPUS:84941956316
SN - 0022-4405
VL - 53
SP - 375
EP - 391
JO - Journal of School Psychology
JF - Journal of School Psychology
IS - 5
ER -