1 Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University , Ghent, Belgium .
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2014 Apr;17(4):207-15. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2013.0027. Epub 2013 Dec 21.
This study explores behavioral determinants of self-reported cyberbullying bystander behavior from a behavioral change theoretical perspective, to provide levers for interventions. Nine focus groups were conducted with 61 young adolescents (aged 12-16 years, 52% girls). Assertive defending, reporting to others, providing advice, and seeking support were the most mentioned behaviors. Self-reported bystander behavior heavily depended on contextual factors, and should not be considered a fixed participant role. Bystanders preferred to handle cyberbullying offline and in person, and comforting the victim was considered more feasible than facing the bully. Most prevailing behavioral determinants to defend or support the victim were low moral disengagement, that the victim is an ingroup member, and that the bystander is popular. Youngsters felt they received little encouragement from their environment to perform positive bystanding behavior, since peers have a high acceptance for not defending and perceived parental support for defending behavior is largely lacking. These results suggest multilevel models for cyberbullying research, and interventions are needed. With much previous research into cyberbullying insufficiently founded in theoretical models, the employed framework of the Integrative Model and Social Cognitive Theory may inspire future studies into bystander behavior.
本研究从行为改变理论的角度探讨了自我报告的网络欺凌旁观者行为的行为决定因素，为干预措施提供了依据。本研究采用行为改变理论，对 61 名 12-16 岁的青少年（52%为女性）进行了 9 组焦点小组讨论。果断的维护、向他人报告、提供建议和寻求支持是最常提到的行为。自我报告的旁观者行为严重依赖于情境因素，不应该被视为一种固定的参与者角色。旁观者更愿意在线下和当面处理网络欺凌事件，并且认为安慰受害者比面对欺凌者更可行。最普遍的支持或保护受害者的行为决定因素是低道德脱离、受害者是内群体成员以及旁观者受欢迎。年轻人觉得他们在环境中没有得到太多鼓励来采取积极的旁观者行为，因为同伴对不维护的行为接受度很高，并且认为父母对维护行为的支持很大程度上是缺乏的。这些结果表明，需要进行多层次的网络欺凌研究和干预。由于之前的许多网络欺凌研究都没有充分建立在理论模型的基础上，因此，综合模型和社会认知理论的框架可以为未来的旁观者行为研究提供启示。
