Bullying permeates all grade levels in schools. Despite antibullying initiatives implemented in a Midwest school district, bullying continued to occur. One aspect of bullying that is not often examined is the perceptions of bystanders, especially at the middle school level. The purposes of this quantitative survey design study were to examine (a) the frequency and level of bullying by grade level, (b) the relationship between middle school bystanders' willingness to intervene and grade level, and (c) perceptions of bullying interventions and grade level. Latané and Darley's bystander effect theory was the theoretical framework for this study. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis were used to examine survey data from 548 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who reported being bullied or observed bullying at school. Descriptive statistics results were that the majority of students were bullied occasionally (6th grade 57%, 7th grade 63%, and 8th grade 57%), while a smaller group of students (6th grade 22%, 7th grade 20%, and 8th grade 25%) were bullied every day. Chi square results indicated there was no significant relationship between bystanders' willingness to intervene in bullying situations and their grade level. Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between students' perceptions regarding impact of intervening for Grades 6 and 8, but not for Grade 7. It was concluded that, within this particular group, bullying was occurring in unsupervised areas in middle school, and few students were reporting an intent to help a student being bullied, despite their perceptions that intervening would be effective. It is recommended that students receive bystander intervention training that may reduce bullying. This endeavor may contribute to positive social change by providing bystander students with the skills necessary to intervene in incidences of bullying to reduce bullying in schools.

To date, little empirical work regarding workplace bullying has been done in Canada, thus, a more extensive look at this phenomenon in the Canadian context is needed. One-hundred-and-twenty University of Saskatchewan employees at different levels (e.g., faculty, support staff, administration) were recruited to complete an on-line survey designed to test a number of predictions. The primary goals set forth in the present project were threefold: (1) estimate the prevalence of varying workplace bullying behaviours in a Canadian context; (2) examine connections between workplace environments and prevalence of these aggressive behaviours; and (3) explore whether individuals willingness to intervene in aggressive actions they witness is tied to features of the workplace environment and other mitigating factors. In relation to prevalence, employees reported more witnessed bullying, as compared to experienced bullying. Although no gender differences were observed for rates of bullying, participants did report significantly more female than male perpetrators. In accordance with the studys predictions, negative work environments were positively associated with the prevalence of bullying behaviour. However, in general, negative work environments were not tied to bystanders willingness to intervene in aggressive actions. Other mitigating factors were positively linked to a bystanders willingness to intervene in a bullying incident, including: bullying event is considered serious; someone else steps in to intervene first; bullying is considered a recurring event; bystander likes the victim; bystander dislikes the bully; bystander believes victim did not deserve the bullying behaviour; and victim believes intervening will not take a lot of time and energy. Implications, as well as practical applications of these findings are discussed.

To date, little empirical work regarding workplace bullying has been done in Canada, thus, a more extensive look at this phenomenon in the Canadian context is needed. One-hundred-and-twenty University of Saskatchewan employees at different levels (e.g., faculty, support staff, administration) were recruited to complete an on-line survey designed to test a number of predictions. The primary goals set forth in the present project were threefold: (1) estimate the prevalence of varying workplace bullying behaviours in a Canadian context; (2) examine connections between workplace environments and prevalence of these aggressive behaviours; and (3) explore whether individuals willingness to intervene in aggressive actions they witness is tied to features of the workplace environment and other mitigating factors. In relation to prevalence, employees reported more witnessed bullying, as compared to experienced bullying. Although no gender differences were observed for rates of bullying, participants did report significantly more female than male perpetrators. In accordance with the studys predictions, negative work environments were positively associated with the prevalence of bullying behaviour. However, in general, negative work environments were not tied to bystanders willingness to intervene in aggressive actions. Other mitigating factors were positively linked to a bystanders willingness to intervene in a bullying incident, including: bullying event is considered serious; someone else steps in to intervene first; bullying is considered a recurring event; bystander likes the victim; bystander dislikes the bully; bystander believes victim did not deserve the bullying behaviour; and victim believes intervening will not take a lot of time and energy. Implications, as well as practical applications of these findings are discussed.

Psychological research into bullying has highlighted the importance of considering the role of bystanders within this complex social interaction (see literature review). The aim of this paper was to apply this research to develop an anti-bullying intervention programme that increases pro-defending attitudes and behaviour, and consequently reduces bullying. The methodology was a design experiment; in this first iteration, the intervention programme was designed, implemented, and evaluated in collaboration with staff and students at a secondary school. Data were collected using a mixed methods approach via questionnaires, focus groups, an interview, and observation. The results showed that there was no significant difference in prevalence estimates of defending or bullying pre and post intervention. However, two thirds of participants reported that their attitudes and behaviour had become more supportive of defending victims since the intervention. Qualitative data revealed a diversity of perspectives regarding the effects and value of the programme. A model outlining factors that influence decisions to defend a victim of bullying was developed from the results and previous literature. The findings from this paper were used to inform modifications to the design of the intervention programme for implementation in the second iteration in paper 2.

Study One: Study One aims to better understand the roles that adolescents take during cyberbullying situations exploring the influence of attitudes towards cyberbullying, social grouping (being alone or with others), age and gender. Methods: Focus groups were used to adapt the Participant Role Scales (Salmivalli, 1998) and the Pro Victim Scale (Rigby & Slee, 1991) to explore cyberbullying. These adapted measures were completed by 261 participants across four year groups (year 7 to 10) via self report questionnaires. Results: Across social groupings an average of 73% of adolescents took participant roles in cyberbullying situations. There were significant differences between assistant, defender, outsider and victim behaviour when alone or when physically with others. In addition attitude towards cyberbullying significantly influenced the role taken and females were more likely to be defenders than males. Age significantly influenced outsider behaviour when participants were alone and defender behaviour when participants were physically with others. Study Two: Study Two aims to better understand what promotes or inhibits bystander involvement in cyberbullying situations. Methods: The study adopted an explorative approach to understand the experiences of 28 adolescents in a South West Local Authority in England. Data was collected via a semi-structured interview schedule administered in focus groups. Findings were analysed using latent thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Results: The decision for adolescent bystanders to actively join a cyberbullying situation was found to be complex. CMC, social influence (prior relationship, being alone or with others) and popularity and status of those participating in cyberbullying contribute to bystanders’ assessment of the risk and reward of participation. If reward outweighs risk an active role is taken (assistant, reinforcer, defender). However if risks are perceived to be higher than rewards then an outsider role is adopted.

Bakgrund: För personer som drabbas av plötsligt hjärtstopp kan ett tidigt ingripande med hjärt- och lungräddning (HLR) ge ökad chans till överlevnad. Däremot har det identifierats brister i vårdens uppföljning då reaktionerna i samband med HLR varit många vilket påverkat bystanderns upplevelse. Syfte: Syftet var att undersöka erfarenheter hos bystanders vid hjärt- och lungräddning utanför sjukhus före, under och efter livräddningsinsatsen. Metod: En allmän litteraturöversikt där 14 vetenskapliga artiklar valts ut och sammanställts i ett resultat. Sex artiklar var kvalitativa och sju var kvantitativa samt en artikel av mixad metod. Resultat: Bystanders upplevde bristande kunskap gällande hjärtstopp. Vid initiering av HLR fanns faktorer som hindrade men också faktorer som var stödjande. I efterförloppet delade samtliga erfarenheten att uppföljande samtal av sjuksköterskor vore önskvärt för att kunna hantera de känslor och tankar som uppstod. Kunskap och utbildning hade en positiv inverkan på bystanders erfarenheter och var betydelsefull för att få fler att engagera sig i samhället. Slutsats: Resultatet belyser vikten av att uppmärksamma de som medverkar i livräddningsarbetet och sjuksköterskans betydelse i efterförloppet. Att synliggöra både HLR-utbildning, hjärtstartare och SMS-livräddning samt sprida kunskap om hjärtstopp leder till ökat engagemang i samhället.

Sexual harassment is associated with negative consequences for victims and bystanders. Because 9 in 10 victims do not report harassment, understanding bystanders' reactions to sexual harassment is important. Thus, my dissertation?s purpose was to advance the literature by analyzing bystanders' responses to sexual harassment by means of three studies. In Study 1, I examined bystanders' preferred punishment as a function of the harassment type and organizational culture. Participants were undergraduates (N=107) enrolled in physical activity classes at a Southwestern United States university (males n=53, 50%, females n=53, 50%; largely Caucasian n=79, 74.5%; age M=21.61, SD=2.70). The results indicate that harassment type affected bystanders' punishment preferences (B=.55, p<0.01). While the workplace culture did not directly affect punishment preferences (B=-.06, p=0.49), it moderated the relationship between harassment type and preferred punishment (R2=.03, B=.31, p&lt;0.05) such that quid-proquo harassment in proactive organizations resulted in the harshest punishment recommendations. In Study 2, I analyzed bystanders' reactions to different punishment levels delivered to the harasser. Participants were undergraduates (N=122) enrolled in activity classes at a Southwestern United States university (males n=68, 56.2%, females n=53, 43.8%; largely Caucasian n=94, 77.7%; age M=20.00, SD=2.00). The results revealed that congruity, or lack thereof, between their preferred punishment and the actual punishment affected their negative emotions (R2=0.04, B=-0.30, p&lt;0.01), organizational justice perceptions (R2=0.11, B=0.47, p&lt;0.01), and cultural consistency beliefs (R2=0.02, B=0.19, p&lt;0.05). In Study 3, I investigated bystanders? responses to different harassment levels as influenced by the organizational culture. Participants were undergraduates (N=183) enrolled in activity classes at a Southwestern United States university (males n=113, 61.7%, females n=66, 36.1%; largely Caucasian n=132, 72.1%; age M=19.84, SD=1.37). The results indicated that the harassment severity was positively associated with bystanders' intentions to intervene (B=.32, p&lt;0.001). The type of organizational culture did not affect willingness to act (B=-.07, p=0.32), possibly given the personal investment required by taking action. Alternatively, personal characteristics (i.e., political views) may supersede environmental influences. Collectively, these findings reiterate literature documenting harassment types? differential severity. Also, they outline additional advantages to promoting a proactive organizational culture. Finally, the influence of individual and environmental factors in decision making is highlighted.

Victim precipitated homicide is a phenomenon generally credited to the seminal work of Marvin Wolfgang (1957, 1958, 1967). While a limited number of studies have been conducted supporting this concept, limited understanding exists of the event dynamics of homicidal transactions in general and victim precipitated homicides in particular. In this study, the presence of an audience and alcohol impairment are treated as catalysts that influence the dynamics of the homicide event. It is hypothesized that homicide events are more likely to take shape as victim precipitated transactions when audience members are present. It is further hypothesized that the victim’s consumption of alcohol serves as a moderator between the presence of an audience and victim precipitated homicide. These hypotheses were tested using a dataset of 473 homicides occurring in Dallas, Texas from 1988 to 1997. The author found support for the first hypothesis postulating that the presence of an audience increases the odds of a victim precipitated homicide, but found little support for alcohol as a moderating factor. Potential theoretical and policy implications and future research are discussed.

This dissertation introduces a social cognitive model of bystander behavior and examines the mediating role of self-efficacy on the relationship between bullying victimization and negative outcomes. Based on Bandura’s (1986; 2001) social cognitive theory, this model utilizes two frameworks for understanding bystander behavior in bullying: group process framework (Salmivalli, 2010) and the bystander motivation framework (Thornberg et al., 2012). A research agenda is presented based on the key elements of the proposed model, including bystander agency, bystander self-efficacy, bystander moral disengagement, and bystander collective efficacy. The research study investigated self-efficacy for coping with bullying victimization and its mediating role on the relationship between bullying victimization and the outcomes of depression, anxiety, and perceptions of school safety. The Bullying Victimization Self-Efficacy Scale (BVSES; Kim et al., 2010), the Student Survey of Bullying Behaviors – Revised 2 (SSBB-R2; Varjas et al., 2008) and the Behavior Assessment System for Children, 2nd Edition (BASC-2; Kamphaus & Reynolds, 2004) were administered to 551 elementary and middle school students in a southeastern urban school district. Using structural equation modeling, a measurement model was used to confirm the factor structure of the latent variables used in the study (i.e., victimization, the BVSES scales, depression, anxiety, and school safety). Then, the hypothesized structure model was used to determine the mediating role of self-efficacy on the relationships of bullying victimization with depression, anxiety, and school safety. An alternative model was tested where depression, anxiety, and school safety were mediators of the relationship between victimization and the BVSES scales as a comparison for the hypothesized model. The measurement model yielded a good model fit, deeming it acceptable for the structure model analysis. The hypothesized and alternative models yielded a good model fit, and significant mediation effects were found in both models. However, the low magnitude suggests that self-efficacy had a relatively weak mediation effect, which may be due to the strength of the relationship between victimization and the outcome variables. This strong direct effect suggests that self-efficacy may not be a substantial mediator influencing the relationship between victimization and the outcome variables. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Since the murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964 research on the effect of group size on bystander intervention has risen quite rapidly. While this research on the “bystander effect” has proven quite useful there are many other factors that affect bystander intervention. One such factor is the gender of the bystander. This paper reviews current & groundbreaking literature pertaining to the effect of gender on bystander intervention in individual, group, low-severity, and high-severity situations. A review of the literature suggests that gender has a significant effect on bystander intervention. Research results were mixed with some research showing that individually males were more helpful in high-severity situations, while women tended to be more helpful in low-severity situations. Other research showed male or females more helpful in situations of all severities. The effect of gender in group variables showed to be inconclusive. These mixed results demonstrate a need for further empirical research to clarify the strength of the effect when accounting for situational covariates.