Self Efficacy and Perceived Popularity As Predictors of Peer Bystanders' Responses in School Bullying Situations

Background and Purpose: The direct two sides of school bullying (bullies and victims) have received wide attention from researchers and been discussed frequently by policy makers. However, the third side of school bullying, namely peer bystanders, has been usually neglected. It has been recognized that peer bystanders are often effective in putting an end to a bullying episode when they react as defenders. Yet, although children often express that they are interested in helping victims of bullying, they seldom intervene to stop it. The purpose of the present study is to examine possible determinants of peer bystanders’ responses in school bullying situations. Self-efficacy and perceived popularity are considered as significant factors associated with peer bystanders’ defending behaviors or assisting (reinforcing) roles. Hence, a research question has been raised as to how do self-efficacy and perceived popularity predict peer bystanders’ responses in school bullying situations.

Methods: Data were collected using a cross-sectional survey design in Wuhan, China, including elementary, middle, and high schools. A total of 1491 students (mean age = 12.8 years, range: 9-17) participated in this study through referrals from Education Bureau, with 649 boys (54%) and 546 girls (46%). The participants were asked to answer a self-reported questionnaire in their classroom. The Chinese version of Participant Role Questionnaire (PRQ; Salmivalli & Voeten, 2004), Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (SEQ-C; Muris 2001), and popularity scale (Jarvinen and Nicholls, 1996) were used in the questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was adopted as the data analysis approach.

Results: The structural equation model showed that the levels of self-efficacy were positively associated with peer bystanders’ defending behaviors (β = 0.16) and, in contrast, negatively associated with assisting bullying behaviors (β = -0.25). The levels of perceived popularity were positively associated with their defending behaviors (β = 0.17), but, the association with assisting bullying behaviors was not significant. Moreover, considering gender differences, the association between the levels of self-efficacy and defending behaviors became even more significant for boys (β = 0.21), while not significant for girls.

Conclusion and implications: The findings in this study has corroborated and extended the existing literature on the relation between individual differences and the peer bystanders’ defending behaviors. They indicate that peer bystanders with higher levels of self-efficacy or perceived popularity are more likely to intervene as a defender to stop the bullying, rather than assisting it. These defenders are not only competent in academic, social, and emotional efficacy, but also express confidence of popularity among peers. Accordingly, interventions on the peer bystanders may be more effective when focused on improving their self-efficacy especially among boys and those who perceived lower levels of popularity among the peers. Additionally, individual differences discussed in this study may also be related with classroom context and teacher-student relationships. Future studies may examine other possible predictors from different perspectives.