Turning Concern into Action: Time-Varying Trends and Cross-Level Moderation in Bystander Defending

Bystander responding in bullying reflects individual, contextual, and developmental processes, yet few studies have examined differences across grades together with cross-level associations between individual and grade-level factors in defending. This study examined (a) grade-related patterns in bystander interpretation of bullying (i.e., interpreting bullying as an emergency) and defending (i.e., actions to stop the bullying or support the victims) across Grades 4-8 and (b) associations of individual factors (i.e., empathy, interpretation) and grade-level climate (i.e., teacher-student and student-student relationships) with defending, including cross-level moderation. Participants were 2,672 students (51.72% girls) from 9 public schools in China, including students in Grades 4 through 8. Time-varying effect models suggested that bullying interpretation declined through the middle grades and rose by Grade 8, whereas defending increased to a peak near Grade 6 and then declined, although 95% confidence intervals largely overlapped across adjacent grades. Gender patterns were similar for defending, though girls scored higher overall. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that empathy and interpretation were positively associated with defending, and both grade-level teacher-student and student-student relationships moderated the association between individual-level empathy and defending. Implications include tailoring bystander defending instruction by grade and considering teacher and peer relationships in bullying prevention efforts in upper elementary and middle schools.Impact StatementThe study extends prior research by charting potentially nonlinear grade-related patterns in bullying interpretation and defending across Grades 4-8. Although 95% confidence intervals largely overlapped across adjacent grades, the observed patterns suggest that these bystander processes may not vary uniformly across grades. The study also highlights grade-level climate, particularly teacher-student and student-student relationships, as contextual factors associated with bystander defending in Chinese school settings.