Objective: To fill gaps in the bystander literature by describing patterns of bystander involvement and associations between bystander involvement and victim outcomes across different types of emotional, physical, and sexual victimizations and to expand these considerations to a rural rather than urban sample. Method: Adults and adolescents (n = 1,703) were surveyed about bystander actions, bystander safety, and victim outcomes (injury, disrupted routine, fear level, and current mental health) for 10 forms of victimization. Results: Bystanders were present for roughly 2 thirds of most victimization types (59% to 67%), except sexual victimization (17%). Relatives were the most common bystanders of family violence and friends or acquaintances were the most common bystanders of peer violence. For all 10 victimizations, more bystanders helped than harmed the situation, but most commonly had no impact. Rates of bystander harm for sexual victimizations were higher than for other types. Especially for peer-perpetrated incidents, victim outcomes were often better when bystanders helped. Bystander safety (unharmed and unthreatened) was consistently associated with better victim outcomes. Conclusion: Bystanders witness the majority of physical and psychological victimizations. These data lend support to the premise of many prevention programs that helpful bystanders are associated with more positive victim outcomes. Bystander prevention should focus on the type of bystanders most commonly present and should teach bystanders ways to stay safe while helping victims.
This study explores an emergent area of bystander research by describing associations between bystander involvement and community or microsystemic support factors across different types of victimizations. A total of 1703 adults and adolescents were surveyed about bystander presence, bystander actions, and bystander safety across 9 forms of victimization. They were also surveyed about 3 community-level factors-collective efficacy, support for community youth, informal community support-and 2 microsystemic factors-social support and tangible family resources community and microsystemic support scores were not typically associated with bystander presence. Higher community and microsystemic support scores, particularly support for community youth, informal community support, and social support, were commonly associated with perceiving bystanders as helpful to the situation. Support scores, especially collective efficacy, were also associated with bystander
A multitude of relationships have been identified through correlational data between meaning in life, resilience, and posttraumatic growth following natural hazards, such that a cohesive and replicable model is needed across diverse samples. Further, additional research is needed on the link between resilience and disaster preparedness. The objective of the article is to develop a cohesive and replicable model of positive factors (i.e., meaning in life, resilience, posttraumatic growth, and disaster preparedness) in the context of tornadoes and to replicate this model across two samples. The first sample consisted of students at a university in a tornado-prone region, and the second was a sample of faculty and staff at the same university. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Across both studies, meaning in life positively predicted resilience and posttraumatic growth. Resilience positively predicted disaster preparedness, and the model supported the theory that resilience and posttraumatic growth are distinct constructs (Comparative Fit Index ϭ .947 for study 1 and .974 for study 2; Standardized Root Mean Square Residual ϭ .050 for study 1 and .045 for study 2; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation ϭ .070 for study 1 and .074 for study 2, with 90% confidence interval [.053, .088] for study 1 and [.047, .103] for study 2). Meaning in life is positively related to both resilience and posttraumatic growth in tornado survivors. Psychological resilience is related to disaster preparedness behaviors, so considering resilience within the context of natural hazards is essential.
Studies of moral injury among nonmilitary samples are scarce despite repeated calls to examine the prevalence and outcomes of moral injury among civilian frontline workers. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of moral injury and to examine its association with psychosocial functioning among health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. We surveyed health care workers (N = 480), assessing exposure to potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) and psychosocial functioning. Data were analyzed using latent class analysis (LCA) to explore patterns of PMIE exposure (i.e., classes) and corresponding psychosocial functioning. The minimal exposure class, who denied PMIE exposure, accounted for 22% of health care workers. The moral injury-other class included those who had witnessed PMIEs for which others were responsible and felt betrayed (26%). The moral injury-self class comprised those who felt they transgressed their own values in addition to witnessing others’ transgressions and feeling betrayed (11%). The betrayal-only class included those who felt betrayed by government and community members but otherwise denied PMIE exposure (41%). Those assigned to the moral injury-self class were the most impaired on a psychosocial functioning composite, followed by those assigned to the moral injury-other and betrayal-only classes, and finally the minimal exposure class. Moral injury is prevalent and impairing for health care workers, which establishes a need for interventions with health care workers in organized care settings.
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