Parental Warmth and Interpersonal Empathy as Predictors of Sexual Assault Bystander Intervention Efficacy

Abstract

Sexual victimization rates of women in the United States remain worryingly high. Much research has focused on the reduction of sexual violence with varying levels of success. One promising avenue of sexual violence reduction research provides evidence that bystanders who intervene appropriately can effectively contribute to a reduction in sexual assault. The Ecological Model for Bystander Intervention provides a conceptual framework for investigating what motivates and what inhibits bystanders. Empirical evidence on various levels of the model has been garnered; however, little is known about the association between particular developmental variables and bystander intervention efficacy situated in the microsystem. The goal of this study was to explore developmental predictors of bystander intervention efficacy. We predicted perceived parental warmth would be related to bystander intervention efficacy and that the relation would be mediated by empathy. University students (mean age = 19.2 years) completed anonymous online self-report measures of perceived maternal and paternal warmth, empathy, and bystander efficacy. The mediation model was supported by the data. As predicted, the path from parental warmth to empathy was significant (p < .001) and the path from empathy to bystander intervention efficacy was

Help From a Friend: Helicopter Parenting Predicts Empathy and Bystander Intervention

“…These findings combined with those of Kotze and Turner (2019) demonstrate the complex relation of parenting to empathic concern and bystander intervention. Kotze and Turner documented that perceived parental warmth was related to higher levels of empathic concern which was related to greater bystander intervention efficacy in cases of sexual assault.…”

“…Also, evidence suggests that parents who engage in warm parenting practices report higher levels of empathy (Stern et al, 2015). A number of empirical studies establish that perceived parental warmth is related to children’s self-reported levels of empathy (Kotze & Turner, 2019; Wright et al, 2017; Zhou et al, 2002). Kotze and Turner (2019) found that parental warmth was positively related to bystander intervention through the mediating variable of empathy among college students.…”

Culturally-Motivated Bullying and Bystander Intervention: The Role of Witness Situational Awareness, Intervention History, and Victim Race

“…While the majority of bystander intervention research involving college students has focused on the prevention of sexual assault, there is a similar pattern of findings with respect to predictors of bystander intervention. For example, Kotze and Turner (2021) studied sexual harassment-related upstanding behavior in a sample of college students and found that empathy served as a mediator between reports of parental warmth and bystander self-efficacy. In a related study of male college students’ bystander behaviors when witnessing sexually aggressive behavior in men, Murphy Austin et al (2016) found that both men’s individual attitudes and behaviors and their perception of their peer’s attitudes and behaviors predict intentions to take part in bystander intervention behaviors, as well as actual behaviors.…”

“…The vast majority of studies examining the relationship between bystander interventions and bullying reduction have involved younger populations and may not be directly applicable to college settings. Comparable studies on preventing bullying in college students are rarer, but they often examine bystander responses in reducing sexual harassment and violence (Kotze & Turner, 2021; McMahon et al, 2013; Murphy Austin et al, 2016). Thus, the purpose of the current study was to examine the predictors of upstanding behavior in college-aged students in the context of culturally-motivated bullying incidents with an eye toward understanding: (a) how hypothetical witnesses would perceive different types of culturally-motivated incidents, (b) what would predict upstanding behavioral intentions, and (c) to what extent witness or victim characteristics, such as a history of being victimized, might influence witness responses.…”