Ghent University, Belgium.
Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Italy.
J Interpers Violence. 2022 Nov;37(21-22):NP19549-NP19575. doi: 10.1177/08862605211042817. Epub 2021 Sep 8.
Encouraging bystander intervention is an effective strategy to prevent episodes of bullying victimization at school. Yet there remains a paucity of evidence on this behavior in situations of homophobic name-calling, a form of peer victimization aimed at mocking individuals based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation. The existing research has focused on intentionality rather than actual student intervention behaviors, and, of note, no previous studies have taken into consideration contextual factors at the classroom and school levels. The present study examined whether students' observations of teacher and peer interventions against homophobic name-calling and perceptions of the representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues in class are associated with student intervention behaviors against homophobic name-calling. A three-level multilevel approach was used to account for the nested nature of students' experiences in classrooms and schools. The sample included 1,296 students (43.57% girls) recruited from 84 classrooms of 22 Italian public high schools. Preliminary analyses showed that the variability in students' reports had more to do with which classrooms versus which schools students attend. Results from multilevel regressions indicated that students who observe teachers intervening during episodes of homophobic name-calling, and who perceive the representation of LGBT issues in class as positive, were more likely to intervene against homophobic name-calling and to observe other classmates intervene as well. Also, participants who observed other students intervening were more likely to intervene. These findings highlight the importance of the role of teachers in modeling classroom norms to encourage bystander interventions. Teachers can do so indirectly such as when providing a positive representation of LGBT issues in class, or directly when intervening to condemn episodes of homophobic name-calling. In addition, our results affirm the importance of peer influence in encouraging bystander interventions during episodes of homophobic name-calling.
鼓励旁观者干预是预防学校欺凌事件的有效策略。然而，针对基于性取向的嘲笑而发生的恐同辱骂这一欺凌形式，即同伴欺凌，其旁观者干预行为的相关研究却十分匮乏。现有研究主要关注的是干预的意图，而非实际的学生干预行为，值得注意的是，之前没有研究考虑过课堂和学校层面的情境因素。本研究考察了学生对教师和同伴干预针对恐同辱骂行为的观察，以及对课堂上同性恋、双性恋、跨性别（LGBT）问题代表性的看法，是否与学生针对恐同辱骂行为的干预行为有关。采用三层多层方法来解释学生在课堂和学校中的经历的嵌套性质。该样本包括从意大利 22 所公立高中的 84 个班级中招募的 1296 名学生（43.57%为女生）。初步分析表明，学生报告的差异更多地与学生所在的班级而非学校有关。多层次回归的结果表明，观察到教师在恐同辱骂事件中进行干预的学生，以及认为课堂上 LGBT 问题的代表性是积极的学生，更有可能进行干预来反对恐同辱骂行为，并观察到其他同学也进行干预。此外，观察到其他学生进行干预的参与者更有可能进行干预。这些发现强调了教师在塑造课堂规范以鼓励旁观者干预方面的重要作用。教师可以通过在课堂上间接提供 LGBT 问题的积极代表性来做到这一点，或者直接通过干预来谴责恐同辱骂事件来做到这一点。此外，我们的研究结果肯定了同伴影响在鼓励在恐同辱骂事件中进行旁观者干预的重要性。
