Youth Reactions to Bullying: Exploring the Factors Associated with Students’ Willingness to Intervene

ABSTRACT

The response patterns of youth who witness bullying have potential to influence future occurrence and persistence of bullying behaviors. Prevention efforts have included an increased focus on bystander interventions; however, the majority of adolescents rarely intervene in bullying situations. When they do, they often display of mixed pattern of behaviors. To better understand factors related to adolescent responses to witnessing bullying, the current study drew upon school climate survey data reported by 57,314 middle and high school students. Logistic regression analyses demonstrated higher odds of bully assisting behavior among those with higher externalizing symptoms and higher odds of defending the targets among those with elevated internalizing symptoms. Prior victimization was associated with higher odds of all bystander-behavior response types. These findings highlight the salient role of youth’s prior victimization and mental health in youth responses to witnessing bullying. Implications for bystander-focused bullying prevention efforts are considered.

KEYWORDS:

• Bully
• victim
• bystander
• mental health
• school connectedness
• defender
• assister
• outsider

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by grants to Catherine Bradshaw by the National Institute of Justice, the U.S. Department of Education, and the William T. Grant Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth Bistrong

Elizabeth Bistrong, M.Ed., is a doctoral student at the University of Virginia. Her primary research interests center around bullying and aggressive behaviors from a developmental perspective.

Jessika H. Bottiani

Jessika H. Bottiani, PhD, MPH, is an assistant professor on the research faculty at the Curry School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. Her primary research interests center on marginalized students’ inequitable experiences of safety, support, and belonging (i.e., school climate) in U.S. K–12 public schools.

Catherine P. Bradshaw

Catherine P. Bradshaw, PhD, MEd, is a professor and the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development at the Curry School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. Her primary research interests focus on the development of aggressive behavior and school-based prevention, including the impact of models like Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and social–emotional learning curricula.