Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Direct bullying and cyber Bullying: Experimental study of bystanders’ motivation to defend victims and the role of anxiety and identification with the bully

Jungert, Tomas LU ; Karataş, Pinar ; Iotti, Nathalie Ophelia LU orcid and Perrin, Sean LU orcid (2021) In Frontiers in Psychology 11.
Abstract
School bullying among young adolescents is a globally pervasive problem, but is less common when bystanders are motivated to defend victims. Thus, the focus of this experimental study is on motivation to defend victims of bullying. Methods: 388 students (Mage = 12.22 years, 49.7% girls) from two Turkish public schools (5th to 8th grade) participated in a vignette experiment. Students were randomized to one of two vignettes (direct vs. cyber bullying). Self-report measures of motivation to defend, trait anxiety, depression, and identification with the victim or bully were used. Results: Participants reported more autonomous motivation in the cyber bullying condition, while those who witnessed direct bullying reported higher anxiety and... (More)
School bullying among young adolescents is a globally pervasive problem, but is less common when bystanders are motivated to defend victims. Thus, the focus of this experimental study is on motivation to defend victims of bullying. Methods: 388 students (Mage = 12.22 years, 49.7% girls) from two Turkish public schools (5th to 8th grade) participated in a vignette experiment. Students were randomized to one of two vignettes (direct vs. cyber bullying). Self-report measures of motivation to defend, trait anxiety, depression, and identification with the victim or bully were used. Results: Participants reported more autonomous motivation in the cyber bullying condition, while those who witnessed direct bullying reported higher anxiety and depression.Results also revealed that type of condition was associated with anxiety and depression, while anxiety was associated with autonomous motivation to defend. Finally, participants in the direct bullying condition were more likely to identify with the bully. Conclusions: Findings advance our understanding of when and why adolescents are motivated to help victims of bullying because they give a richer picture of what they assess when deciding whether or not they should intervene. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Bullying, Adolescents, Children, Bystander effect, motivation
in
Frontiers in Psychology
volume
11
publisher
Frontiers Media S. A.
external identifiers
  • scopus:85100535251
  • pmid:33551927
ISSN
1664-1078
DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2020.616572
project
Promoting young people's motivation to defend victims in bullying situations
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3ddc00a2-e6d0-41fe-9a28-d7dfd8959571
date added to LUP
2020-12-01 14:19:36
date last changed
2023-04-11 00:26:24
@article{3ddc00a2-e6d0-41fe-9a28-d7dfd8959571,
  abstract     = {{School bullying among young adolescents is a globally pervasive problem, but is less common when bystanders are motivated to defend victims. Thus, the focus of this experimental study is on motivation to defend victims of bullying. Methods: 388 students (Mage = 12.22 years, 49.7% girls) from two Turkish public schools (5th to 8th grade) participated in a vignette experiment. Students were randomized to one of two vignettes (direct vs. cyber bullying). Self-report measures of motivation to defend, trait anxiety, depression, and identification with the victim or bully were used. Results: Participants reported more autonomous motivation in the cyber bullying condition, while those who witnessed direct bullying reported higher anxiety and depression.Results also revealed that type of condition was associated with anxiety and depression, while anxiety was associated with autonomous motivation to defend. Finally, participants in the direct bullying condition were more likely to identify with the bully. Conclusions: Findings advance our understanding of when and why adolescents are motivated to help victims of bullying because they give a richer picture of what they assess when deciding whether or not they should intervene.}},
  author       = {{Jungert, Tomas and Karataş, Pinar and Iotti, Nathalie Ophelia and Perrin, Sean}},
  issn         = {{1664-1078}},
  keywords     = {{Bullying; Adolescents; Children; Bystander effect; motivation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  publisher    = {{Frontiers Media S. A.}},
  series       = {{Frontiers in Psychology}},
  title        = {{Direct bullying and cyber Bullying: Experimental study of bystanders’ motivation to defend victims and the role of anxiety and identification with the bully}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/90304554/Jungert_et_al_2021_Direct_bullying_and_cyberbullying.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.3389/fpsyg.2020.616572}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}