Comparing Early Adolescents’ Positive Bystander Responses to Cyberbullying and Traditional Bullying: the Impact of Severity and Gender

Macaulay, Peter J. R., Boulton, Michael J. and Betts, Lucy R. (2019) Comparing Early Adolescents’ Positive Bystander Responses to Cyberbullying and Traditional Bullying: the Impact of Severity and Gender. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, 4 (3). pp. 253-261. ISSN 2366-5963

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Abstract or description

Young people are frequently exposed to bullying events in the offline and online domain. Witnesses to these incidents act as bystanders and play a pivotal role in reducing or encouraging bullying behaviour. The present study examined 868 (47.2% female) 11–13-year-old early adolescent pupils’ bystander responses across a series of hypothetical vignettes based on traditional and cyberbullying events. The vignettes experimentally controlled for severity across mild, moderate and severe scenarios. The findings showed positive bystander responses (PBRs) were higher in cyberbullying than traditional bullying incidents. Bullying severity impacted on PBRs, in that PBRs increased across mild, moderate and severe incidents, consistent across traditional and cyberbullying. Females exhibited more PBRs across both types of bullying. Findings are discussed in relation to practical applications within the school. Strategies to encourage PBRs to all forms of bullying should be at the forefront of bullying intervention methods.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is a pre-print of an article published in Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s41347-018-0082-2
Faculty:	School of Life Sciences and Education > Psychology
Depositing User:	Peter MACAULAY
Date Deposited:	13 Feb 2020 11:44
Last Modified:	24 Feb 2023 13:58
URI:	https://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/id/eprint/6149

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