Bystander Responses to Bullying: The Role of Perceived Malice and Emotions in Protective and Passive Behaviors

Vollständiger Abstract

Worum geht es in dieser Arbeit?

Background:Bystander behaviors are widely recognized as exhibiting substantial potential to either mitigate or exacerbate bullying outcomes. However, the specific emotions underlying bystander responses to bullying remain relatively underexplored. This study examines how perceived malice in bullying incidents shapes the emotional responses of bystanders and how these responses, in turn, relate to distinct behavioral patterns. In addition, the study evaluates how emotions perceived in the victim (PV) may also contribute to bystander behavior.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted with 366 participants. Data were collected via online self-report surveys. Two structural models were tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA): one examining bystanders’ self-experienced (SE) emotions and the other examining emotions PV. Analyses of gender differences were also conducted for exploratory purposes.Results:Across both models, perceived malice was significantly associated with all emotions and consistently exerted direct and indirect influences on bystander behaviors. Regarding SE emotions, anger was positively associated with protective behavior and negatively associated with passive behavior, whereas fear showed non-significant associations in the opposite direction. Regarding emotions PV, none were significantly associated with protective behavior. Conversely, perceived humiliation and anger were positively related to passive behavior. Analyses of gender differences revealed that males exhibited stronger associations between perceived malice and both SE and perceived emotions compared to females, with these emotions showing stronger links to protective and passive behaviors, respectively.Conclusions:In bullying settings, SE emotional responses arising from perceived malice, as well as emotions PV, appear to influence bystander behavior, modulating the likelihood of displaying protective or passive responses depending on the emotional configuration. Gender may further modulate these associations, with males exhibiting more polarized behavioral tendencies. Future research should explore these dynamics and patterns longitudinally, across diverse cultural contexts, and incorporate additional emotions and cognitive appraisals that may influence intervention.