Defending a victimized peer is a socially risky behavior that may require high peer status and may depend on how popular or disliked bullies are in the classroom (i.e., within-classroom correlations between bullying and status). Past research has investigated defending as a unidimensional construct, though it can involve confronting the bully…

Bystanders play a key role in understanding the phenomenon of cyberbullying (CB). The main aim of this study is to explore longitudinal bidirectional relationships among cyberbystanders' reaction, CB perpetration, and CB justification. Participants were 1,105 adolescents (56.7% girls; M[subscript age] = 13.56, SD = 1.21) who answered self-reported…

Background: The literature indicates that separate significant links exist in adolescence between empathy, cognitive and affective motivation to defend victims, and behavioural problems in bullying episode in schools. Aims: The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between empathy, motivation to defend, and defending behaviour in…

Faculty trust and student bullying are two salient properties known to affect school environments. Indeed, the presence of organizational trust bolsters student achievement and promotes school safety, thus making schools more effective, although bullying behaviors abate the effectiveness of schools. Therefore, understanding potential relationships…

Although teachers are key in bullying intervention, little is known about their responses to bullying and how students perceive them. This study investigated whether experimentally manipulated teacher responses in vignettes (i.e., non-response, comforting victim, correcting bully, both comforting victim and correcting bully) predict differences in…

This study examined how intergroup processes and social-cognitive factors shape bystander responses to bias-based and general bullying. Participants included sixth and ninth graders (N = 179, M = 13.23) who evaluated how likely they would be to intervene if they observed bullying of immigrant-origin and nonimmigrant-origin peers. Adolescents'…

Despite the growing epidemic of suicide ideation and attempt in adolescents, there is a lack of theory-based, empirical research to shed light on these issues in this population and inform school counselors' preventive and responsive practices. We utilized Joiner's Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS) to examine the extent to which the…

This study examined the association between school climate and bystander responses to bullying. Participants included 26,176 secondary students (grades 8-12; 13,224 girls) from 76 schools across Western Canada, who were asked to complete a self-reported, district-wide, school-based survey. Results from a contextual effects model in a two-level…

A lack of empathy for victimized individuals has been cited as a reason for why bystanders fail to intervene when they witness bullying. However, limited research has addressed how different empathic and compassionate responses could account for diverse bystander behaviors. In this study, we investigated the unique associations of empathic…

School disruption (SD) places students at risk of early school departure and other negative psychological outcomes. Based on the data derived from a sample of Ontario children and youth, this study aims to identify risk factors associated with SD among 1,241 school-aged students. A logistic regression model revealed that substance use, family…

The aim of the current study was to longitudinally investigate the bi-directional relationship between moral disengagement and bullying perpetration in a sample of 1,354 students from 108 elementary classes in 69 public schools. Students participated in the study both at Time 1 (fourth grade) and around one year later at Time 2 (fifth grade).…

The objective of this paper is to determine the prevalence of fear of bullying among college students, examine socio-demographic predictors of fear of bullying, and assess associations between fear of bullying and depression and anxiety. A cross-sectional study was conducted among college students. Data on socio-demographics; fear of bullying on…

Scores of intervention programs these days apply instructional and, sometimes, systemic strategies to reduce bullying in schools. However, meta-analyses show that, on average, such programs decrease bullying and victimization only by around 20%, and often show no or negative effects in middle and high schools. Due to these sobering results, we…

As researchers and practitioners begin to take a bystander approach toward preventing bullying, which involves a power imbalance between two students, it is important to acknowledge that predictors of bystander intervention may look different in various groups of students. Though school connectedness has been suggested as a predictor, previous…

School-based bullying is a serious issue facing adolescents within the United States and relational bullying and victimization behaviors within music ensemble classrooms have become a topic of inquiry among music education researchers. Using data from a convenience sample of high school youth enrolled in an instrumental music program, we examined…