Standing up to bullying: A social ecological review of peer defending in offline and online contexts

• Published in: Aggression and violent behavior 2019-03, Vol.45, p.51-74
• Main Authors: Lambe, Laura J., Cioppa, Victoria Della, Hong, Irene K., Craig, Wendy M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bullying; Bullying participant roles; Cyberbullying; Defending; Disengagement; Ecological studies; Empathy; Morality; Peer intervention; Peers; Personal relationships; Social Ecological Model; Social research; Systematic review; Teachers
• ISSN: 1359-1789; 1873-6335
• DOI: 10.1016/j.avb.2018.05.007

Bullying is a relationship problem that most often occurs in the presence of peers. Peers who witness bullying play a critical role in intervening. Peer intervention, or defending, is a complex behavior. Defending a victimized peer can occur offline and online, with many similarities between the two contexts. This paper, guided by the Social Ecological Model, systematically reviewed the correlates associated with defending at different levels including: individual, peer, family, and school. Inclusion criteria retrieved a final sample of 130 original, peer-reviewed research articles on offline defending, and 25 articles for online defending. Consistent results across both contexts reveal that individuals who defend tend to be girls, have high empathy and low moral disengagement, are popular and well-liked by their peers, and perceive supportive relationships with their parents, teachers, and schools. More research is needed to understand interactions that may occur between levels of the model, as defending is a complex behavior that cannot be characterized by isolated correlates. •Both offline and online defending are associated with individual, peer, family, and school correlates.•Empathy was the most researched individual correlate, with all significant findings (75%) positively related to defending.•For offline defending, sociometric status was the most researched correlate, and its association may be bidirectional.•The bystander model was the most studied correlate of online defending, with most research (84%) noting a positive link.