Peng Anqi, Low Sabina
T. Denny Sanford Harmony Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
J Youth Adolesc. 2025 Sep 1. doi: 10.1007/s10964-025-02249-x.
Bullying is a group phenomenon, and bystanders play an important role in either facilitating or inhibiting bullying. However, knowledge is still lacking regarding factors, especially contextual ones, which contribute to positive bystander behaviors. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the associations between school connectedness and willingness to intervene within the context of anti-bullying climate, using a three-year, four-wave longitudinal design (a half-year interval between Time 1 and Time 2, and one-year intervals between subsequent waves). Data were collected from 4718 adolescents (Mage = 11.22, SD = 0.45 at Time 1; 41% female, 44.6% male; 26.3% Latina/o, 20.6% Black, 19.1% White) across 36 middle schools in the United States. After controlling background variables, intervention effect, and previous victimization, the findings showed that, at the between-person level, both contextual factors (i.e., anti-bullying climate and school connectedness) were positively related to students' willingness to intervene in bullying; in addition, school connectedness was related to willingness to intervene bidirectionally at the within-person level. Gender was not a moderator of reciprocal relations. Overall, this study highlights the role of contextual factors in empowering bystanders and promoting positive bystander behaviors, which provides guidance for bullying prevention and interventions. The whole school needs to work collaboratively in creating and sustaining a safe, caring, and supportive school environment, which may have a great benefit in empowering bystanders to reduce bullying and facilitating positive development in the long term.
欺凌是一种群体现象，旁观者在助长或抑制欺凌行为方面发挥着重要作用。然而，对于促成积极旁观者行为的因素，尤其是情境因素，我们仍缺乏了解。因此，本研究旨在采用三年四波的纵向设计（时间1和时间2之间间隔半年，后续各波之间间隔一年），调查在反欺凌氛围背景下学校归属感与干预意愿之间的关联。数据收集自美国36所中学的4718名青少年（时间1时的年龄均值为11.22，标准差为0.45；41%为女生，44.6%为男生；26.3%为拉丁裔，20.6%为黑人，19.1%为白人）。在控制了背景变量、干预效果和先前的受欺负经历后，研究结果表明，在个体间层面，情境因素（即反欺凌氛围和学校归属感）均与学生干预欺凌行为的意愿呈正相关；此外，在个体内层面，学校归属感与干预意愿存在双向关联。性别并非这种相互关系的调节因素。总体而言，本研究凸显了情境因素在增强旁观者能力和促进积极旁观者行为方面的作用，为欺凌预防和干预提供了指导。整个学校需要共同努力营造并维持一个安全、关爱且支持性的学校环境，这可能对增强旁观者减少欺凌行为的能力以及促进长期的积极发展大有裨益。
