Macquarie psychology researchers are now preparing to test a program to teach young bystanders how to become active defenders who can break the cyberbullying cycle.
Volunteers wanted: researchers are looking for Year 7 and Year 9 classes from across Greater Sydney to take part in testing a program designed to educate cyberbully bystanders.
Associate Professor of Psychology Kay Bussey investigates cyberbullying and the factors that contribute to it and has recently turned her attention to the role of those who observe incidents but do not intervene.
Cyberbullying can take the form of posts on social media, direct messages sent to the victim, or emails, messages or photographs shared among a group – and it tends to affect far more people than traditional bullying because of the number of potential witnesses in the online environment.
Just like physical bullying, it can have severe effects on the victim's physical and mental health and wellbeing, but the immediate impact may go unseen by both perpetrators and bystanders.
PhD candidate Aileen Luo and Bussey recently published a paper in the Journal of Adolescence that looked more closely at the role of bystanders and the influence of moral disengagement.
"Moral disengagement allows people to detach their behaviour from their usual moral code, severing the link between doing something bad and feeling bad about it," Bussey says.
"They might still agree bullying was wrong, but they've justified it to themselves. For example, they tell themselves the person being victimised deserved that treatment, or they might disperse blame among a group, or tell themselves no real harm was done."
Worryingly, it is not only bullies who experience moral disengagement. It has been evident in all players in cyberbullying, and Bussey and Luo have explored the theory that it contributes to victims and bystanders becoming perpetrators.
How cyberbullying affects everyone involved
As part of Luo and Bussey's most recent study, they surveyed 563 students in Years 7 and 9, asking them how often they had been involved in cyberbullying incidents, what role they had played (perpetrator, victim, bystander, or a mix), and gauged their level of moral disengagement.
Turning a blind eye: researchers say there are typically no consequences for not intervening in cyberbullying and little incentive for being a defender.
The study found that 4.1% were bullies, 13.9% were victims, 7.3% were bully/victims, 23.8% were bystanders, and 51% were not involved in cyberbullying episodes.
Moral disengagement was recorded on a scale, from low to high. It was most pronounced in bullies, higher in Year 9s than in Year 7s, and higher levels were more common in boys than girls.
Thirty-nine per cent of the bullies scored on the higher end of the scale, followed by 15 per cent of victims and 11 per cent the of bystanders. Only 8 per cent of children who were uninvolved were on the higher end.
Victims and bystanders who reported higher levels of moral disengagement were also more likely to perpetrate cyberbullying.
"We need to reinforce that cyberbullying is unacceptable if we are to prevent moral disengagement.
"We already knew there was a lot of fluidity between the roles of bully, victim and bystander, and moral disengagement is a key component of aggressive behaviour," Luo says.
"Our results show that disengagement is the stepping stone, the mediating factor propelling a victim or bystander into the role of perpetrator.
"The effect of being involved in cyberbullying is also cumulative in that the more incidents of bullying someone is involved in, the more desensitised and morally disengaged they become."
A perfect breeding ground
"It's easy to feel there are no consequences for cyberbullying, as you can't see the victim's reaction, and some researchers are suggesting this makes it easier to tap into those moral disengagement mechanisms," Bussey says.
"You could even argue that the internet is creating a breeding ground for moral disengagement, because it's so easy to share a post and there's that sense of anonymity. You can also see that nobody else is doing anything to intervene, so those witnessing the cyberbullying are effectively condoning it.
Luo says there are typically no consequences for not intervening and little incentive for being a defender.
"We need to reinforce that cyberbullying is unacceptable if we are to prevent moral disengagement," she says.
"It's also important to equip victims and bystanders with adaptive coping skills to more effectively manage cyberbullying."
Tackling the problem in the classroom
Bussey is leading an Australian Research Council-funded study, "Reducing cyberbullying: Turning bystanders into constructive defenders", which will assess a classroom intervention program to reduce moral disengagement.
She is looking for Year 7 and year 9 classes from across Greater Sydney to take part, and is inviting interested schools to contact her.
"Defending through aggressive behaviour isn't helpful, as that is more likely to perpetuate bullying than stop it," she says.
"What we are aiming to do is help young people recognise that cyberbullying is always wrong, and give them the tools to intervene in a constructive way when it happens."
If you are a teacher or principal and would like your school to be involved in the study, please email [email protected]
Kay Bussey is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the School of Psychological Sciences and the Centre for Emotional Health at Macquarie University.
Aileen Luo is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Emotional Health at Macquarie University.
