TY - JOUR
T1 - Classroom relationship qualities and social-cognitive correlates of defending and passive bystanding in school bullying in Sweden
T2 - A multilevel analysis
AU - Thornberg, Robert
AU - Wänström, Linda
AU - Hong, Jun Sung
AU - Espelage, Dorothy L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Society for the Study of School Psychology
PY - 2017/8/1
Y1 - 2017/8/1
N2 - Using the social-ecological and social cognitive theories as integrated guiding frameworks, the present study examined whether moral disengagement and defender self-efficacy at the individual level, and moral disengagement, quality of teacher–student relationships and quality of student–student relationships at the classroom level were associated with passive bystanding and defending in bullying situations. Participants were 900 Swedish students from 43 classrooms, ranging in age from 9 to 13 years. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that passive reactions by bystanders were associated with greater moral disengagement and less defender self-efficacy. Defending, in turn, was associated with less moral disengagement and greater defender self-efficacy and classroom student–student relationship quality. Furthermore, students who scored high in moral disengagement were even less prone to defend victims when the classroom student–student relationship quality was low, but more prone to act as defenders when the classroom student–student relationship quality was high. In addition, the negative association between defender self-efficacy and passive bystanding was stronger both in classrooms with higher student–student relationship quality and in those with lower class moral disengagement. Implications for prevention are discussed.
AB - Using the social-ecological and social cognitive theories as integrated guiding frameworks, the present study examined whether moral disengagement and defender self-efficacy at the individual level, and moral disengagement, quality of teacher–student relationships and quality of student–student relationships at the classroom level were associated with passive bystanding and defending in bullying situations. Participants were 900 Swedish students from 43 classrooms, ranging in age from 9 to 13 years. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that passive reactions by bystanders were associated with greater moral disengagement and less defender self-efficacy. Defending, in turn, was associated with less moral disengagement and greater defender self-efficacy and classroom student–student relationship quality. Furthermore, students who scored high in moral disengagement were even less prone to defend victims when the classroom student–student relationship quality was low, but more prone to act as defenders when the classroom student–student relationship quality was high. In addition, the negative association between defender self-efficacy and passive bystanding was stronger both in classrooms with higher student–student relationship quality and in those with lower class moral disengagement. Implications for prevention are discussed.
KW - Bullying
KW - Bystander
KW - Classroom climate
KW - Moral disengagement
KW - Self-efficacy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85016810702&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jsp.2017.03.002
DO - 10.1016/j.jsp.2017.03.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 28633938
AN - SCOPUS:85016810702
SN - 0022-4405
VL - 63
SP - 49
EP - 62
JO - Journal of School Psychology
JF - Journal of School Psychology
ER -