Determinants of Bystander Behaviour in Cyberbullying Incidents amongst adolescents Ann DESMETª 1 , Sara BASTIAENSENSᵇ, Katrien VAN CLEEMPUTᵇ, Karolien POELSᵇ, Heidi VANDEBOSCHᵇ, and Ilse DE BOURDEAUDHUIJª ª Ghent University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Movement and Sport Sciences ᵇ University of Antwerp, MIOS, Department of Communication Science Presented at ICA 2013, 19 th June 2013, London Abstract. This study explores behavioural determinants of bystander behaviour in cyberbullying. Five focus groups were conducted with young-adolescents. Assertive defending, reporting to others who can help, providing advice, and seeking more support were most mentioned behaviours. Bystander behaviour heavily depended on circumstances and should not be considered a fixed role. Most prevailing behavioural determinants to defend or support the victim were low moral disengagement, that the victim is an in-group member and that the bystander is popular. Bystanders preferred to handle cyberbullying offline and in person, and comforting the victim was considered more feasible than facing the bully. With high peer acceptance of passive bystanding and lack of parental support for defending behaviour, youngsters do not receive much encouragement from their environment to exhibit positive behaviour towards victims. These preliminary results suggest peer support interventions coupled with environmental interventions with parents and teachers hold promise to change cyberbullying bystander behaviour. Introduction Although Internet and mobile phone communication provide many social opportunities to adolescents, such as strengthening friendships (Van Cleemput, 2012), they also carry risks. They offer a medium to cyberbullies to cause emotional harm to others, for example through sending hate mails, verbal threats, spreading rumours or gossip, posting embarrassing 1 Corresponding Author: Ann DeSmet, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Watersportlaan 2, 9000 Gent, Belgium. E-mail: Ann.DeSmet@ugent.be