Abstract:

In bullying incidents, the behaviors of bystanders who support and defend the victims are crucial. While previous research has examined the influencing factors and positive effects of defending behavior, there is limited understanding of their negative effects on the victims and the structure of defending behavior. Furthermore, the mechanisms linking the relationship between defending behavior and victims’ psychosocial adjustment remain largely underexplored.
To bridge the gap above, the current review proposes the structure of defending behavior, sorts out the “double-edged sword” effects of defending behavior on the victims’ psychosocial adjustment, and then analyzes the underlying mechanisms connecting this double-edged effect based on the general aggression model. In terms of the structure of defending, this study identified four-type structure of defending behaviors: direct constructive defending behavior, indirect constructive defending behavior, direct aggressive defending behavior and indirect aggressive defending behavior. In terms of the double-edged sword effect, the current study sorted out positive and negative effect of defending behavior on victims’ psychosocial adjustment. Defending behavior can decrease the risk of being bullied of victims in the future and improve the mental health of victims in one hand. In the other hand, defending behavior can increase the risk of being bullied of victims in the future and aggravate the mental problem of victims. In terms of the mechanisms, based on the general aggression model, the current study proposes that as an input, perceived defending behavior could lead to double-edged sword effect on victims’ psychosocial adjustment through the route of cognitive, affective, and the interconnections between them. Specifically, when being defended, victims could make different attribution about the defender’s motivation, the responsibility and the solution of the bullying, which leads to different psychosocial outcomes for the victims. Similarly, victims may experience different emotions depending on the type of defending behavior they encounter, leading to varied psychosocial outcomes. Furthermore, defending behaviors may have a double-edged effect on the psychosocial adjustment of victims through a chain path of cognitive and emotional processes. if victims perceived that defenders are motivated by altruism, and understand that bullying is not their fault, and bullying can be addressed independently, they may experience positive emotions like gratitude, which can improve their psychosocial adjustment. Conversely, if victims perceived that defenders are motivated strategically, and believe that bullying is their fault, and feeling that bullying should be handled by others, they might experience negative emotions such as indebtedness, which can hinder their psychosocial adjustment. Moreover, victims’ emotion can affect their attributions, which in turn affects their psychosocial adjustment. if victims experience positive emotions such as gratitude after being defended, they may develop positive attributions, believing that defenders are motivated altruistically, that bullying is not their fault, and that bullying can be addressed independently. Conversely, if victims experience negative emotions such as indebtedness after being defended, they may develop negative attributions, believing that defenders are motivated strategically, that bullying is their fault, and that bullying should be addressed by others.
This study makes significant theoretical and empirical contributions. It proposes a classification framework for defending behavior, which can more finely distinguish different forms of defending behaviors. Additionally, it introduces a model of the mechanism underlying the relationship between defending behavior on victims’ psychosocial adjustment, which provides an explanation for existing research debates on the double-edged swords effect of defending behavior on victims’ psychosocial adjustment. Practitioners can use this theoretical model to create more effective bullying intervention programs. future research should examine the four-typed defending classification framework proposed in this study and explore the intervention effects of different defending behaviors based on the classification framework. Researchers should also identify methods to reduce the negative impacts of defending behaviors on victims, clarify the mechanisms linking different defending behaviors to victims’ psychosocial adjustment. Moreover, future studies should investigate the subsequent behaviors of victims and other bystanders within social networks after being defended.

Key words: defending behavior, psychosocial adjustment, general aggression model, double-edged sword effect