Where Are the Helpful Bystanders? Ecological Niche and Victims’ Perceptions of Bystander Intervention

Bibliographic Data

ID11045302
AuthorsVictoria L Banyard (0000-0002-9645-5055, University of New Hampshire, corresponding author), Victoria Banyard, Marcela C Weber (0000-0003-1650-9074, Sewanee: The University of the South), John H Grych (Marquette University), John Grych (Marquette University), Sherry Hamby (0000-0002-1197-0534, Sewanee: The University of the South)
Year2016
Volume44
Issue2
Pages214-231
Publication date2016-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Community Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-4392 • E-ISSN: 1520-6629
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/jcop.21760
OpenAlexW783797889
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited18

This study explores an emergent area of bystander research by describing associations between bystander involvement and community or microsystemic support factors across different types of victimizations. A total of 1703 adults and adolescents were surveyed about bystander presence, bystander actions, and bystander safety across 9 forms of victimization. They were also surveyed about 3 community‐level factors—collective efficacy, support for community youth, informal community support—and 2 microsystemic factors—social support and tangible family resources community and microsystemic support scores were not typically associated with bystander presence. Higher community and microsystemic support scores, particularly support for community youth, informal community support, and social support, were commonly associated with perceiving bystanders as helpful to the situation. Support scores, especially collective efficacy, were also associated with bystander safety for some victimization types. Our exploratory findings show a relationship between bystander helpfulness and characteristics of the victim's community and microsystem, especially for victimization types that are typically public, like peer aggression

Bystander effect · Collective efficacy · Helpfulness · Intervention (counseling) · Peer support · Perception · Psychiatry · Social support · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression · Intimate Partner and Family Violence · Psychology · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies · Social Psychology

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