TITLE:
Beyond Physical Violence: Bullying-Related Experiences and Bystander Responses among Chinese International Students
AUTHORS:
Celina Chu
KEYWORDS:
Chinese International Students, Bullying-Related Experiences, Cyberbullying, Bystander Intervention, Cross-Cultural Adjustment
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.14 No.7,
July
16,
2026
ABSTRACT: Bullying in higher education remains underexamined, particularly among international students. This exploratory cross-sectional survey examined perceptions of bullying, bullying-related negative experiences, bystander responses, and retrospectively reported concerns among 62 Chinese international students studying overseas. Because the behavioural items did not separately establish repetition and power imbalance for each endorsed event, the findings are interpreted as reports of bullying-related experiences rather than prevalence estimates of strictly defined bullying. Verbal aggression (41.94%) and social exclusion (40.32%) were endorsed above “never” more often than physical violence (8.06%). Direct intervention was selected by 90.32% of participants when the target was a friend, compared with 32.26% when the target was a stranger. In the same cross-sectional survey, 25.80% retrospectively recalled high pre-departure anxiety about language-based discrimination or social exclusion, whereas 4.84% reported high post-departure distress on the corresponding experience item; this contrast does not represent measured change over time. The findings highlight the salience of non-physical harm and relational closeness in bystander responses, while underscoring the need for validated measures and longitudinal research.