Prosocial Bystander Behavior in Bullying Dynamics: Assessing the Impact of Social Capital

• Published in: Journal of youth and adolescence Vol. 44; no. 12; pp. 2289 - 2307
• Main Authors: Evans, Caroline B. R., Smokowski, Paul R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-12-2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior - psychology; Adolescents; Aggressiveness; Behavioral psychology; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Bullying; Child; Child and School Psychology; Child Behavior - psychology; Child development; Clinical Psychology; Community mental health services; Cultural capital; Cultural identity; Empirical Research; Ethnic groups; Ethnic identity; Ethnicity; Female; Friendship; Health; Health Psychology; Helping Behavior; History of Psychology; Humans; Hypotheses; Identity; Law and Psychology; Logistic Models; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Mental health; Multiculturalism & pluralism; North Carolina; Peer Group; Psychological Theory; Psychology; Quality of life; Rural areas; Self Concept; Self esteem; Sex crimes; Social behavior; Social Capital; Social dynamics; Social Support; Teenagers; Youth; North Carolina; United States > US; Bystander; Rural; Adolescence; Social capital; School bullying
• ISSN: 0047-2891; 1573-6601
• DOI: 10.1007/s10964-015-0338-5

Individuals who observe a bullying event, but are not directly involved as a bully or victim, are referred to as bystanders. Prosocial bystanders are those individuals who actively intervene in bullying dynamics to support the victim and this prosocial behavior often ends the bullying. The current study examines how social capital in the form of social support, community engagement, mental health functioning, and positive school experiences and characteristics is associated with the likelihood of engaging in prosocial bystander behavior in a large sample (
N
 = 5752; 51.03 % female) of racially/ethnically diverse rural youth. It was hypothesized that social capital would be associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in prosocial bystander behavior. Following multiple imputation, an ordered logistic regression with robust standard errors was run. The hypothesis was partially supported and results indicated that social capital in the form of friend and teacher support, ethnic identity, religious orientation, and future optimism were significantly associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in prosocial bystander behavior. Contrary to the hypothesis, a decreased rate of self-esteem was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in prosocial bystander behavior. The findings highlight the importance of positive social relationships and community engagement in increasing prosocial bystander behavior and ultimately decreasing school bullying. Implications were discussed.