Empathy, Perceived Popularity and Social Anxiety: Predicting Bystander Intervention Among Middle School Students

Abstract

Bullying is a prevalent issue in today's schools, and the importance of bystanders has been recognized; however, there are few studies that examine personal characteristics that relate to the five bystander behaviors within Latané and Darley's (1970) Bystander Intervention Model (notice the event, interpret as an emergency, accept responsibility, know what to do, and act). This study examined personal characteristics (i.e., cognitive and affective empathy, perceived popularity, and social anxiety) and their relation to each of the five steps of the Bystander Intervention Model in Bullying (Nickerson, Aloe, Livingston, & Feeley, 2014), as well as exploring gender as a moderator in those relationships. With a sample of 346 middle school students, results showed a negative relationship between perceived popularity and noticing bullying events. There was also a negative relationship between social anxiety and taking responsibility as well as knowing what to do. Finally, results supported a positive relationship between affective empathy and interpreting bullying events as an emergency, taking personal responsibility, and intervening. Gender interactions were also found in this study.

Date of Award	2016
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Lyndsay N. Jenkins (Supervisor)