Bystanders Against Cyberbullying: a Video Program for College Students

Abstract

In the present study, we tested the effectiveness of a Theory of Planned Behavior-based cyberbullying bystander video on three outcomes: joining the bully, helping the victim, and doing nothing as compared to a control group. University students (M = 23.68 years old; female = 78.7%), were randomly assigned to a cyberbullying bystander (n = 113) or an alcohol control (n = 112) video. The bystander video showed students defining and depicting four types of cyberbullying (malice, public humiliation, deception, and unwanted contact) with bystanders present and giving suggestions for positive responses when witnessing cyberbullying. Participants completed surveys prior to viewing the video, immediately following the video, and 1 month later. Positive attitudes, favorable injunctive norms, and perceived behavioral control regarding doing nothing when witnessing cyberbullying were significantly lower for the cyberbullying than control group immediately following the video. Further, the experimental group reported higher intentions to help the victim and lower intentions to do nothing when witnessing cyberbullying compared to the control group. Although mean differences for some of these effects were in the same direction at 1-month follow-up, no significant differences were found. Findings are discussed in terms of implications and future directions for cyberbullying intervention programs targeting improvements in bystander behavior.