Bystanders in Bullying: Do ToM and Social Competence Skills Play a Role?

Magdalini Baxevani,Panayiota Metallidou,Grigoris Kiosseoglou

doi:10.5539/jedp.v8n2p174

Abstract

The present study aimed at investigating: (a) the direct effects of Theory of Mind (ToM) on elementary school children&rsquo;s self-reports of participant roles in school bullying, (b) ToM&rsquo;s indirect effects via self-reported social competence skills. Gender was examined as moderator. A total of 171 elementary school children (&Nu; = 95 girls) from 3rd to 6thgrade from Greek public schools participated in the study. Participants were examined individually through the administration of advanced ToM stories. Also, they were asked to complete in groups self-report questionnaires as regards their roles as bystanders in bullying situations and their social competence skills. Path analysis indicated significant positive direct effects of ToM on prosocial skills and defending behavior and a negative effect on assisting/reinforcing behavior. Significant indirect effects were found from ToM on bystanding behavior, via its direct effect on prosocial competence skills. Gender was not a significant moderator of the above relations.

Highlights

In the last two decades there is a growing research interest for one of the most pervasive forms of school violence, school bullying
Significant indirect effects were found from Theory of Mind (ToM) on bystanding behavior, via its direct effect on prosocial competence skills
One of the main conclusions of the present study is that ToM is a significant predictor of participant roles in bullying

Summary

Introduction

In the last two decades there is a growing research interest for one of the most pervasive forms of school violence, school bullying. Bullying in the present study is defined as a proactive form of aggression which is characterized by imbalance of power and the bully's intention to repeatedly hurt physically and/or psychologically the victim (see Olweus, 1993). It involves traditional types of bullying (not cyberbullying), that are witnessed in school settings (e.g., hit, making laugh of, threat, tease or offend other kids). The examination of motives, cognitions, and other personal characteristics of bystanders has recently attracted research interest, in an attempt to understand the dynamics in bullying as a group-based phenomenon (Forsberg, Thornberg, & Samuelsson, 2014; Pronk, Goossens, Olthof, De Mey, &Willemen, 2013; Van der Ploeg, Kretschmer, Salmivali, &Veenstra, 2017). Though, is still limited as regards their cognitions, skills, and motives (e.g., Pronk et al, 2013), as most of the studies have examined the individual and contextual predictors for the three main groups of jedp.ccsenet.org

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion