Does Bystanders’ Psychological Well-Being and Attribution towards Victims Matters in Helping a Bullying Victim?

Author Information

Frieda M. Mangunsong, Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia
Ratna Djuwita, Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia

Abstract

Previous studies shows that psychological well-being plays an important role towards pro social behavior, but it is unclear how bystanders' psychological well-being together with their attribution (the extent to which the victim was considered guilty of becoming a victim) influence their willingness to help in bullying situation. 1868 participants consisting of students and school completed a self-report measurement with bullying vignettes. High scores on psychological well-being and low score on attribution was found to be related to helping behavior. On the opposite, participants with low psychological well-being and high score on attribution tended to support the perpetrator. The findings of SEM (Structural Equation Modelling) analyses also demonstrated that moderation pattern of attribution on psychological well-being was evident only for supporting the perpetrator behavior and not for helping the victim. In other words, even at high levels of psychological well-being, bystanders tend to support a perpetrator when they attributed a victim as guilty for their condition. The implication of this study suggests the importance maintaining positive psychological well-being for individuals studying or working in schools and also the need to explain about bullying to all stake holders of the school.

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• Category: ACP ACERP 2016, ACP2016, Oral Presentation, Paper Available
• Tag: Psychology and Education,

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

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