Standing between harm and help : university belonging as a mediator between empathy, emotion regulation, and student well-being among Indonesian undergraduate bystanders

Abstract

Bullying is known as a concern in higher education. Bullying not only harms the victims but those who witness bullying. Someone who witnesses bullying or bystanders are often exposed to negative social interaction and emotional tension caused by bullying, understanding the factors that support their well-being is important. This study aims to examine the level of empathy, emotion regulation, university belonging, and student well-being among Indonesian undergraduate bystanders. The study also aimed to investigate the relationships among variables and examine whether university belonging significantly mediates the relationships between empathy, emotion regulation, and student well-being. This study used a quantitative cross-sectional design and convenience sampling technique. This study involved 283 Indonesian undergraduate bystanders. The data were collected using questionnaires and analysed based on Rasch model analysis approach for the descriptive analysis and using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to see the relationship among variables. The analysis was performed using Winsteps and SmartPLS software. The finding of this study showed that participants in this study reported to have moderate to high levels of empathy, emotion regulation, and university belonging. While for student belonging, most of the participants were reported to have a moderate level of well-being. Besides, the finding also showed that empathy, emotion regulation, and university belonging have a significant positive relationship with student well-being. In addition, university belonging also partially mediated the relationship between empathy and student well-being and the relationship between emotion regulation and student well-being. The findings suggest that student well-being among Indonesian undergraduate bystanders in this study were not only shaped by individual emotional abilities but also shaped by students’ feel of belonging within their university environment. The finding contributes to understanding the psychological dynamics between individual emotional abilities and social environmental factors and student well-being among undergraduate bystanders. Practically the finding highlights the importance of developing both social-emotional competencies and inclusivity within the university environment to enhance student level of well-being among bystanders.