The Severity of Cyberbullying Affects Bystander Intervention Among College Students: The Roles of Feelings of Responsibility and Empathy
Liangjiecheng Huang, Weiqiang Li, Zikai Xu, Hongli Sun, Danfeng Ai, Yinfeng Hu, Shiqi Wang, Yu Li, Yanyan Zhou Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yu Li; Yanyan Zhou, Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, No. 616 Fenghua Roa...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Dove Medical Press
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Psychology Research and Behavior Management |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.dovepress.com/the-severity-of-cyberbullying-affects-bystander-intervention-among-col-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-PRBM |
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| author | Huang L Li W Xu Z Sun H Ai D Hu Y Wang S Li Y Zhou Y |
| author_facet | Huang L Li W Xu Z Sun H Ai D Hu Y Wang S Li Y Zhou Y |
| author_sort | Huang L |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Liangjiecheng Huang, Weiqiang Li, Zikai Xu, Hongli Sun, Danfeng Ai, Yinfeng Hu, Shiqi Wang, Yu Li, Yanyan Zhou Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yu Li; Yanyan Zhou, Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, No. 616 Fenghua Road, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315211, People’s Republic of China, Email liyu@nbu.edu.cn; zhouyanyan@nbu.edu.cnBackground: Bystander intervention can protect victims from harm in cyberbullying. Previous studies have found that the severity of cyberbullying incidents is one of the important factors affecting decisions to intervene. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this effect.Purpose: The current study explored the effect of the severity of cyberbullying incidents on bystander intention to intervene on social network sites (SNSs) among college students (Experiment 1), the mediating role of feelings of responsibility (Experiment 2) and the moderating role of empathy (Experiment 3).Patients and Methods: We presented cyberbullying incidents with different levels of severity through scenarios including fictive Weibo news reports and comments. Participants were exposed to a fictive cyberbullying incident and asked to complete a questionnaire including measures of the variables of interest.Results: Our results showed that the severity of incidents positively affected bystander intention to intervene through the mediation of feelings of responsibility. Empathy moderated the effect of incident severity on bystander intention to intervene.Conclusion: The results of the current study help to understand the behavior of bystanders in cyberbullying and they provide a practical reference for intervention in cyberbullying incidents.Keywords: cyberbullying, bystander, incident severity, intention to intervene, social network sites |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T23:21:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f3db753fe4d54da8b39b8e25ba2006ba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1179-1578 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T23:21:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Dove Medical Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Psychology Research and Behavior Management |
| spelling | doaj.art-f3db753fe4d54da8b39b8e25ba2006ba2023-03-21T18:11:20ZengDove Medical PressPsychology Research and Behavior Management1179-15782023-03-01Volume 1689390382441The Severity of Cyberbullying Affects Bystander Intervention Among College Students: The Roles of Feelings of Responsibility and EmpathyHuang LLi WXu ZSun HAi DHu YWang SLi YZhou YLiangjiecheng Huang, Weiqiang Li, Zikai Xu, Hongli Sun, Danfeng Ai, Yinfeng Hu, Shiqi Wang, Yu Li, Yanyan Zhou Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yu Li; Yanyan Zhou, Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, No. 616 Fenghua Road, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315211, People’s Republic of China, Email liyu@nbu.edu.cn; zhouyanyan@nbu.edu.cnBackground: Bystander intervention can protect victims from harm in cyberbullying. Previous studies have found that the severity of cyberbullying incidents is one of the important factors affecting decisions to intervene. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this effect.Purpose: The current study explored the effect of the severity of cyberbullying incidents on bystander intention to intervene on social network sites (SNSs) among college students (Experiment 1), the mediating role of feelings of responsibility (Experiment 2) and the moderating role of empathy (Experiment 3).Patients and Methods: We presented cyberbullying incidents with different levels of severity through scenarios including fictive Weibo news reports and comments. Participants were exposed to a fictive cyberbullying incident and asked to complete a questionnaire including measures of the variables of interest.Results: Our results showed that the severity of incidents positively affected bystander intention to intervene through the mediation of feelings of responsibility. Empathy moderated the effect of incident severity on bystander intention to intervene.Conclusion: The results of the current study help to understand the behavior of bystanders in cyberbullying and they provide a practical reference for intervention in cyberbullying incidents.Keywords: cyberbullying, bystander, incident severity, intention to intervene, social network siteshttps://www.dovepress.com/the-severity-of-cyberbullying-affects-bystander-intervention-among-col-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-PRBMcyberbullyingbystanderincident severityintention to intervenesocial network sites |
| spellingShingle | Huang L Li W Xu Z Sun H Ai D Hu Y Wang S Li Y Zhou Y The Severity of Cyberbullying Affects Bystander Intervention Among College Students: The Roles of Feelings of Responsibility and Empathy Psychology Research and Behavior Management cyberbullying bystander incident severity intention to intervene social network sites |
| title | The Severity of Cyberbullying Affects Bystander Intervention Among College Students: The Roles of Feelings of Responsibility and Empathy |
| title_full | The Severity of Cyberbullying Affects Bystander Intervention Among College Students: The Roles of Feelings of Responsibility and Empathy |
| title_fullStr | The Severity of Cyberbullying Affects Bystander Intervention Among College Students: The Roles of Feelings of Responsibility and Empathy |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Severity of Cyberbullying Affects Bystander Intervention Among College Students: The Roles of Feelings of Responsibility and Empathy |
| title_short | The Severity of Cyberbullying Affects Bystander Intervention Among College Students: The Roles of Feelings of Responsibility and Empathy |
| title_sort | severity of cyberbullying affects bystander intervention among college students the roles of feelings of responsibility and empathy |
| topic | cyberbullying bystander incident severity intention to intervene social network sites |
| url | https://www.dovepress.com/the-severity-of-cyberbullying-affects-bystander-intervention-among-col-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-PRBM |
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