Evaluating the impact of a defender role-play intervention on adolescent’s defender intentions and responses towards name-calling

Abstract

Researchers and anti-bullying organisations have increasingly turned their attention to the role of bystanders in tackling bullying and peer victimisation (e.g. name-calling). The objective of this study was to develop and assess the impact of a role-play programme designed to strengthen adolescent's defending behaviour to name-calling. This was measured in two contexts: defending intentions in an outgroup name-calling scenario and cyber-defender behaviour in a scripted online peer interaction. Participants (N=121, Mage=12.90 years) were randomly assigned to either a role-play condition or a control condition. Results showed that defender intentions in an outgroup name-calling scenario were higher in the role-play condition, compared to the control; in addition, cyber-defender behaviour was more likely and quicker in the role-play condition, compared to the control. Defender self-efficacy was found to be significantly higher in the role-play condition, and mediated the effect of the role-play programme on defender intentions. Findings also revealed that defender intentions were positively correlated with cyber-defender behaviour, highlighting a link between intentions and behaviour. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Bystander behaviors in peer victimization : Associations with moral disengagement, efficacy beliefs, and student-teacher relationship quality

“…Empirical findings have linked bystander behaviors to various individual (e.g., cognitive, affective, and moral) factors, but recently there has also been increasing interest in social environment factors and how factors at different levels interact in explaining variation in bystander behaviors (Ettekal et al, 2015;Lambe et al, 2019;. Social cognitive theory with triadic reciprocal causation as its core concept is well-suited to address such socially complex phenomena, and has previously been used as a theoretical framework in the study of students' bystander behaviors (Allison & Bussey, 2016Carroll, 2014;DeSmet et al, 2014;Kim, 2014). More specifically, social cognitive theory conceptualizes bystander agency in peer victimization as a complex phenomenon that cannot be understood in terms of unidirectional causality.…”

“…In order to increase defending and decrease passive bystanding, the findings of this thesis suggest that programs should work for enhancing efficacy beliefs related to defending. Given that performance accomplishments are the strongest source of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1986), students' defender self-efficacy can be increased through roleplay exercises and other hands-on activities that give opportunities to practice different defending strategies (Abbott et al, 2020;Pfetsch et al, 2011;Pöyhönen et al, 2010;Ross & Horner, 2009). Students who fail in their attempts to defend victims are likely to reduce their defender self-efficacy, which in turn prevents them from making future attempts.…”

Adolescents challenging discrimination: The benefits of a perspective-taking and action-planning intervention on self-efficacy

“…Therefore, our research focused on the steps that are required to move from evaluation to action, namely recognizing the importance of intervention and knowing how to intervene (Latané & Darley, 1970). According to the theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1991), self-efficacy is a critical component for enabling bystanders to turn intentions into intervention (Abbott, Cameron, & Thompson, 2020;Ajzen, 1991;Bandura, 1997). This study examined whether peer group discussions about experiences of discrimination may (1) increase perceptions of importance around challenging discrimination and (2) increase self-efficacy of bystander intervention in these contexts.…”

“…This study examined whether peer group discussions about experiences of discrimination may (1) increase perceptions of importance around challenging discrimination and (2) increase self-efficacy of bystander intervention in these contexts. With that, we tested how these factors that have been identified as influences on bystander behaviour can be used to inform intervention design, and thus addressed the lack of focused intervention research (Abbott et al, 2020). We also examined whether adolescents' ethnicity influenced the effectiveness of the peer group discussions.…”

“…Self-efficacy-individuals' belief in their competence to deal with a situation (Bandura, 1997)-is another predictor of bystander intervention. Those higher in self-efficacy defend victims of bullying more frequently (Abbott et al, 2020). Even when bystanders want to challenge bullying, if they feel unable to, they remain passive (Thornberg & Jungert, 2013).…”