What Factors Predict Which Early Adolescents Come to Be Defenders in Bullying?

• In Event: 66.020 - Peer Contexts and Early Adolescent Identity and Adjustment: Peers, Friends, and Bullying

Abstract

This study investigated how defending behaviors in bullying among 6th graders are affected by empathy, power in the peer group, and school-level perceived prosocial norms. Our study documented that defenders need to have power similar to that of bullies in order to face up to such bullies in defending victims. The finding, where powerful adolescents develop higher propensity to defend victims as school-level prosocial norms increase, confirmed the social-ecological approach that defending behaviors may change depending on the environment. Rather than delivering a message that students should have powerful status to defend victims, our study emphasized that we need to consider intrapersonal, interpersonal, and contextual factors when empowering defending behavior.

Authors

• Hye-Young Yun, University of California - Los Angeles

• Sandra Graham, University of California - Los Angeles