Late Adolescents’ Cyber-Upstanding Intentions towards Bias-Based Cyberbullying of Immigrants in the UK: Exploring the importance of Intergroup Contact

Immigrant youth have been found to be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of cyberbullying.Cyber-upstanders have been highlighted with the potential to tackle bias-based bullying, such as immigrant cyberbullying; thus, it is crucial to understand its predictors.This study examined the indirect effects of intergroup contact on cyber-upstanding intentions towards immigrant cyberbullying, via two mediators: intergroup empathy and intergroup anxiety.Participants (N = 147, Mage = 16.75 years), aged 16-19 years, completed an online survey.Results showed a significant indirect effect of intergroup contact on cyber-upstanding intentions via intergroup empathy, but not via intergroup anxiety.There were also significant total and direct effects of intergroup contact on cyber-upstanding intentions.Therefore, intergroup contact and intergroup empathy have great potential to encourage cyberupstanding intentions in an immigrant cyberbullying context.Theoretical and practical implications for encouraging upstanding in bias-based bullying contexts are discussed with consideration for future directions.Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.