Defending is considered important in reducing bullying and victimization in schools. Yet, the
prevalence of defending is quite low and there is little insight into aspects that explain why
students intervene in bullying situations. The current study used a longitudinal design to simultaneously
examine the antecedents and status outcomes of defending behavior. It was expected
that affective and social-cognitive factors explain involvement in defending. Moreover, it
was proposed that defending would be rewarded with popularity among peers, but only for
defenders who were not victimized themselves. Unconflated multilevel path models were used
and data came from students in grades 4–6 of Finnish elementary schools (N =4209 students
from 210 classrooms and 38 schools; Mage 11.25; 50% boys). Affective empathy and students' selfefficacy
beliefs were predictive of defending behavior over time, whereas cognitive empathy was
not. Additionally, defenders increased their popularity among their peers. No substantial differences
between victims and non-victims were found. This pattern of results suggests that, irrespective
of victim status, specific children are more likely to defend in bullying situations and
are rewarded with increased popularity.