Bystander Intervention in Bullying: Differences Across Latent Profiles

Abstract

The current study used latent profile analysis to find subgroups of youth based on bullying participant roles and then compared subgroups on the five bystander intervention steps (Notice, Interpret as an emergency, Accept Responsibility, Know how to Intervene, and Act). The sample included 641 fourth–eighth grade students (44.6% boys) who completed two self-report measures of their bullying role involvement and engagement in the five steps of the bystander intervention model. A four-class solution emerged in the latent profile analysis: Victimized Defenders (VD, 46% of the sample, high scores on victim and defender roles), Moderate Involvement (MI, 46% of the sample, involved in all five bullying roles), Bully-Victim-Defenders (BVD, 6%, high scores on bully, victim, and defender), and High Involvement (HI, 2%, high levels of involvement in all roles). These four classes were compared in terms of self-reported engagement in the bystander intervention process. A notable finding is that Victimized Defenders had the lowest level of all bystander steps. A discussion of the findings and directions for future research is provided.