Does empathy predict adolescents' bullying and defending behavior?

Abstract

Through structural equation modeling, this study tested a path of relations in which different levels of empathic responsiveness were posited to be differently associated to bullying and defending behavior. Three hundred and eighteen Italian adolescents (142 girls and 176 boys; mean age = 13.2 years) completed the Davis's Interpersonal Reactivity Index [Davis, 1983] for empathy and the Participant role scales [Salmivalli et al., 1996] for bullying and defending behavior. The results revealed that the model fitted the data adequately, but only in the case of boys. As hypothesized, low levels of empathic responsiveness were associated to students' involvement in bullying others. In contrast, empathy was positively associated with actively helping victimized schoolmates. However, the estimates algorithm did not reach convergence with girls' data. The current findings confirm and extend the literature on the relation between empathy, prosociality and aggressive behavior. Educational implications are also discussed.

Bystander Intervention in Cyberbullying

“…Other forms of bystander support in bullying include more direct, physical actions, such as actively defending the victim by responding directly to the bully (Pozzoli & Gini, 2010). Finally, bystanders might passively stand by, merely observing the episode (e.g., Gini et al, 2007). The following paragraphs review the extant literature related to each of these intervention behaviors.…”

“…Some research into traditional bullying (e.g., Gini et al, 2007) has found that empathy is linked to increased helping behavior. Additionally, the expression of empathy is often a central aspect of many online communities (e.g., Pfeil & Zaphiris, 2007).…”

“…To date, the only studies to examine bystander intervention in bullying episodes have focused on traditional bullying behavior. Additionally, the limited research on bystander intervention in bullying episodes has focused on individual differences (Pozzoli & Gini, 2010), gender (Gini et al, 2008), attitudes toward the victims (Rigby & Johnson, 2006), social categorization processes and the likelihood of helping the in-group (Gini, 2006), and the effect of empathy and self-efficacy (Gini et al, 2007) as predictors of helping or offering support to a bullying victim.…”

The effect of empathy on involving in bullying behavior

“…In psychological circles, this construct is accepted as a multidimensional construct that includes cognitive and emotional components (11).…”

Οι Ρόλοι Που Υιοθετούν Οι Μαθητές/Τριες Όταν Γίνονται Μάρτυρες Εκφοφισμού Στο Σχολείο Και Η Σχέση Τους Με Τις Πεποιθήσεις Ενσυναίσθησης Και Αυτεπάρκειας

“…Στην ομάδα αυτή δεν έχει δοθεί ιδιαίτερη σημασία, αν και φαίνεται να παίζει ενεργό και καθοριστικό ρόλο, καθώς εμπλέκεται άμεσα στα εκφοβιστικά επεισόδια (Gini, Albiero, Benelli, & Altoe, 2007). Αρκετές έρευνες αναφέρουν ότι το ποσοστό των συμμαθητών και συνομηλίκων που είναι θεατές επεισοδίων εκφοβισμού ανέρχεται στο 85%-88% του μαθητικού πληθυσμού (Atlas & Pepler, 1998· Hawkins, Pepler, & Craig, 2001.…”