Abstract
The current study explored adolescents’ experiences with bystander intervention in cyberbullying situations. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study investigated the utility of using the five-step bystander intervention model (notice, interpret as an emergency, accept responsibility to intervene, know how to help, act) to the cyberbullying context. Adolescents also provided responses regarding the intervention actions that they have taken when they have observed cyberbullying. A racially diverse sample of 839 adolescents from a single school completed three surveys and open-ended questions. Path analysis for quantitative analyses suggests the five-step bystander intervention model seems to be a useful framework for exploring the discrete steps leading to cyberbullying intervention. In addition, experience as a victim or perpetrator of traditional bullying or cyberbullying was not strongly related to the five steps of the model. Using thematic analyses for qualitative analyses, results suggest that adolescents engage in a wide variety of intervention actions, with the majority being prosocial in nature, except when youth “bully the bully back.”
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Beavon, E., Jenkins, L., Bradley, M. et al. Understanding Adolescents’ Bystander Intervention in Cyberbullying. Contemp School Psychol (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-022-00437-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-022-00437-1