Studies on bullying as a group process are crucial to understand the nature and dynamics of face-to-face bullying, but little is known about different types of bystanders in cyberbullying. This cross-national study was conducted in Colombia and Spain to describe different groups of bystanders in cyberbullying and to design and validate the Cyberbullying Bystanders Scale. This study used a sample of 996 Colombian and Spanish young adults who filled in an online survey focused on different behaviors while witnessing cyberbullying. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed, together with construct validity and invariance analyses to validate the questionnaire and describe different cyberbullying bystander groups. The questionnaire showed excellent psychometric properties. Different groups of cyber-bystanders were described including online and offline defenders of cybervictims, reinforcers of cyberbullying, and outsiders. Findings from this study can be used for policy and practice against cyberbullying.

Introduction

Research on bullying as a group process has been crucial to understand the nature and dynamics of face-to-face bullying. In the late 1990s, different roles of bullying bystanders were described. It was found that some children reinforce the bully, other children defend the victim, and that there is a group of outsiders who do not react to the bullying situations (Salmivalli, Lagerspetz, Björkqvist, Österman, & Kaukiainen, 1996). It was discovered that achieving a high social status in the peer group is an important motivation for the perpetrators (Salmivalli, 2010). Working with the peer group is an important component of antibullying programs (Farrington & Ttofi, 2009), and encouraging the bystanders to defend the victims has been one of the pillars of major antibullying interventions (Kärnä et al., 2013). Although research on different groups of bystanders in bullying has been very fruitful, little is known about different groups of bystanders in a new form of bullying called cyberbullying. This study was conducted to fill these gaps in knowledge by describing different groups and behaviors of young people who witness cyberbullying.