A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Trajectories of Bystander Behaviors in Bullying during Secondary Education: the Role of Moral Disengagement and Conformity To Peer Pressure
Authors: García-Carrera, Paula; Ortega-Ruiz, Rosario; Camacho, Antonio; Garandeau, Claire; Salmivalli, Christina; Romera, Eva
Publisher: Springer
Publication year: 2025
Journal:Journal of Youth and Adolescence
ISSN: 0047-2891
eISSN: 1573-6601
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-025-02276-8
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-025-02276-8
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/504953335
Bystanders shape bullying dynamics, yet little is known about how their behaviors change over time and related socio-moral factors. This study adopted a person-centered longitudinal approach to examine joint trajectories of bystander behaviors and their co-evolution with moral disengagement and conformity to peer pressure. A sample of 994 Spanish adolescents (48% girls; Mage T1 = 12.5, SD = 0.6) was surveyed across three waves. Parallel-process Latent Class Growth Analysis identified three trajectories: Sustained Defending (defending declined slightly at the end of secondary education), Increase Pro-bullying (pro-bullying gradually increased), and Decrease Pro-bullying (pro-bullying decreased from the first wave). These behavioral shifts were linked to specific socio-moral mechanisms: in the Increase Pro-bullying profile, persistently high moral disengagement and rising conformity co-occurred with the transition from passivity to pro-bullying, while in the Decrease Pro-bullying profile, reductions in both processes co-occurred with the shift toward defending. Findings provide evidence of the variability in behaviors adopted by bystanders across adolescence, with a significant change in pro-bullying patterns from 8th to 9th Grade. The identification of bystanders’ trajectories and the coevolution of sociomoral processes support the reconceptualization of bystanding as a dynamic developmental phenomenon shaped by intrapersonal and interpersonal forces and highlighting targets for long-term intervention.
Downloadable publication This is an electronic reprint of the original article. |
Funding information in the publication:
Funding for open access publishing: Universidad de Córdoba/CBUA. This study was supported by the Spanish National Research Agency - Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PID2020-113911-RB-I00; PI: Eva M. Romera). (https://www.ciencia.gob.es/)