Study: Bullying Victims Say Most Bystanders Try to Help

A University of New Hampshire study finds that young victims of bullying - either in person or online - say bystanders tried to help them, in most cases.

The study by the Crimes Against Children Research Center at UNH found that bystanders are present for 80 percent of harassment incidents. In about 70 percent of the cases, victims report that a bystander tried to make them feel better. Negative reactions from bystanders, though considerably less frequent, still happened in nearly a quarter of incidents. They also were associated with a significantly higher negative impact on the victim.

The study, funded by the National Institute of Justice, surveyed a national sample of 791 people ages 10-20 interviewed by phone from December 2013 to March 2014.