This study employed descriptive research methods to investigate the connection between victims' perceived entitlement to assistance, as perceived by bystanders, and their intervention timing in cyberbullying incidents. It delved into the nuanced relationship between these factors, examining how perceived incident severity shaped this relationship and the role of empathy.  Drawing upon theories of the bystander effect and pertinent literature on intervention, this research shed light on the complex interplay among victim worthiness, incident severity perception, and levels of empathy, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of predictive factors in reducing cyberbullying intervention latency.
A large sample of 395 young individuals (53.4% female), aged between 13 and 24 years (with a mean age of 18.19 and a standard deviation of 2.37), took part in this research. They completed an online questionnaire crafted to gauge various variables and gather empirical insights. Initially, bivariate correlations were used to explore connections between these variables. Subsequently, a structural Equation Modeling Analysis was conducted to investigate the mediating role of perceived severity between a victim's worthiness of assistance and bystander intervention latency. Additionally, a multigroup analysis was performed to assess the moderating impact of empathy.
The main findings of the study revealed several significant correlations and effects. Firstly, there was a significant negative correlation between help worthiness and intervention latency, indicating that higher perceived help worthiness was associated with lower latency of intervention. Sex, on the other hand, did not show a significant correlation with intervention latency. Age showed a weak positive correlation, suggesting that younger participants tended to intervene more quickly. Perceived incident severity, cognitive empathy, and overall empathy levels were significantly correlated with intervention latency, while affective empathy showed a marginal correlation. Perceived worthiness of help had a positive direct effect on perceived incident severity but a negative direct effect on the latency of intervention. Furthermore, the perceived worthiness of help had a negative indirect effect on the latency of intervention through perceived incident severity, with an overall total effect. The study also indicated that there was no statistically significant distinction in the coefficients associated with low and high empathy groups, implying the absence of a moderation effect.