ABSTRACT
It is still debatable whether bystanders’ psychological well-being plays a role on helping behaviour in bullying incidences. 4.807 students completed the Ryff psychological well-being scale and bullying vignettes. High scores in psychological well-being were found to be related with helping behaviour. In contrast, participants with low psychological well-being tended to support the perpetrator. The findings of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) demonstrated a moderate effect of gender on psychological well-being, which was evident only in helping the victim. The moderation analysis also suggests that when the bystander was a male student, he tended to help a victim if he had a high score in his psychological well-being. It is concluded that the psychological well-being state of the bystander would determine whether a student bystander would help a victim or support the perpetrator. This study suggests the importance of maintaining the positive psychological well-being of students to reduce bullying in schools.
