Mareike Brehmer

• Brehmer, Mareike & Jennifer, Meyer, (2025). The roles of moral disengagement and basic moral sensitivity in university students’ antisocial bystander intentions towards relational bullying. Social Psychology of Education. ISSN 1381-2890. 28. doi: 10.1007/s11218-025-10101-0. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Relational bullying is a prevalent issue in higher education, and students who witness bullying incidents react in prosocial or antisocial ways depending on a complex range of factors. To encourage prosocial and discourage antisocial bystander behaviours in students, it is crucial to understand which factors contribute to aggressively defending others, reinforcing bullying and ignoring bullying. The present study examined associations of traditional predictors of intention in the theory of planned behaviour (TPB; cognitive attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control) and associations of moral determinants (moral disengagement, basic moral sensitivity towards bullying) with the distinct antisocial bystander intentions to aggressively defend a victim, reinforce bullying and ignore bullying in a structural equation model. Additionally, we analysed whether moral disengagement mediates the relationships between basic moral sensitivity towards bullying and the three antisocial intentions when added in a second model. The online sample comprised 419 undergraduate students from the United Kingdom (MAge = 22.76 years, SDAge = 4.02 years; 47.0% male, 50.6% female, 2.4% other). In both models, we found significant associations of the TPB variables with the intentions to reinforce and ignore relational bullying, but not with the intention to aggressively defend the victim. The second model indicates that moral disengagement mediates the relationships between basic moral sensitivity towards bullying and all three antisocial bystander intentions. Our findings highlight the role of moral disengagement and the need to create awareness in students of its underlying processes and their collective responsibility for the well-being of all learners in the higher education learning environment.

• Brehmer, Mareike & Meyer, Jennifer (2024). Confronting the Bullies, Comforting the Victim, or Reporting to University Staff? Prosocial Intentions Towards Social Exclusion in University Students. International Journal of Bullying Prevention. ISSN 2523-3653. doi: 10.1007/s42380-024-00248-3. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Social exclusion as a form of in-person relational bullying in higher education (HE) leads to loneliness in students and puts their mental well-being at risk. Utilising and extending the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), we investigated prosocial intentions towards bullying in HE students. We included empathic concern and anticipated regret to potentially explain differences in three behavioural intentions towards bullying: comforting the victim, confronting the bullies, and reporting the bullying to the university. The sample comprised 419 participants in an online sample from the UK (MAge = 22.76 years, SDAge = 4.02 years; 47.0% male, 50.6% female, 2.4% other) who filled in a digital questionnaire consisting of a short vignette describing an in-person situation of relational bullying. Applying structural equation modelling, we examined the three prosocial behavioural intentions towards bullying as outcome variables in two models while controlling for age, gender, and socially desirable responding. Traditional TPB predictors were positively associated with confronting the bullies. Empathic concern and anticipated regret were positively associated with comforting the victim. These results demonstrate how cognitive and emotional predictors uniquely contribute to prosocial intentions towards bullying among students. We discuss practical implications for the design of anti-bullying strategies in HE.

• Brehmer, Mareike (2023). Perceived Moral Norms in an Extended Theory of Planned Behavior in Predicting University Students’ Bystander Intentions toward Relational Bullying. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education. ISSN 2174-8144. 13(7), p. 1202–1218. doi: 10.3390/ejihpe13070089. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Relational forms of bullying, such as social exclusion, are prevalent among students in higher education (HE) and pose challenges to the creation of a safe and inclusive learning environment for young adults. Based on research showing how bystanders in bullying incidents can counteract bullying effectively, the present study investigated the extent to which bystanders’ prosocial behavioral intentions may be predicted using an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB). Students’ behavioral intentions toward the physical–social exclusion of peers in a hypothetical group work setting were investigated in a sample of 419 university students in the United Kingdom. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that moral norms significantly predicted intention over and above cognitive attitude, descriptive norms, and perceived behavioral control. In contrast, emotional attitudes and injunctive norms were not significant predictors of intention. Moreover, significant weak mediation effects could be shown for moral norms as a mediator of the relationships between standard TPB predictors and intention. The present study contributes knowledge to the growing research body on applications of the TPB and on bystander intentions in bullying in HE. Implications for a development in preventive measures to foster university students’ prosocial intentions toward bullying are discussed.

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• Nydahl, Adina Marie; Brehmer, Mareike & Canrinus, Esther Tamara (2026). Studentenes opplevelse av de to første studieårene i lærerutdanningene. Full text in Research Archive
• Brehmer, Mareike; Denfeld, Annette-Pascale; Eklund, Gunilla Brita Maria & Løvland, Anne (2026). Hva er studentenes syn på den overordnede rollen og ansvarsområdene til studenten og veilederen i masterveiledningen? Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  I rammeplanen for grunnskolelærerutdanningene (1.-10. trinn) innførte Kunnskapsdepartement femårige, forskningsbaserte masterprogrammer. Masteroppgavekravet økte behovet for profesjonell veiledningskompetanse. Med utgangspunkt i intervjuer med ti veiledere har Eklund & Løvland (2025) beskrevet sentrale ansvarsområder som former veilederrollen: prosjektets faglighet, oppgavens akademiske form, bruk av vitenskapelig metode, prosjektets sluttkvalitet, prosjektledelse og tilpasning til studentens personlige omstendigheter. I denne nye påbegynte studien har vi utviklet et digitalt spørreskjema basert på disse ansvarsområdene for å besvare forskningsspørsmålet «Hva er studentenes syn på den overordnede rollen og ansvarsområdene til studenten og veilederen i masterveiledningen?» Vi vil invitere lærerstudenter fra alle relevante norske universiteter og høyskoler (11) som skriver masteroppgave dette semesteret til å delta. Hvert ansvarsområde operasjonaliseres med 3–5 ledd fra både student- og veilederperspektiv (for eksempel ansvar for prosjektets faglighet: «Veilederen bør introdusere meg for relevant litteratur og aktuell forskning.» og «Jeg er ansvarlig for å finne relevant litteratur og aktuell forskning.»). Vi tester tre hypoteser ved hjelp av konfirmatorisk faktoranalyse og bivariat korrelasjonsanalyse: (H1) Rollene består av seks distinkte ansvarsområder. (H2) Det er negativ sammenheng mellom studentens og veilederens ansvarsområder. (H3) Det er negativ sammenheng mellom rollene. Studien skal bidra til en mer differensiert utvikling av veilederkompetanse i lærerutdanningene.

• Brehmer, Mareike; Canrinus, Esther Tamara & Nydahl, Adina Marie (2026). Paths to belongingness: roles of peers, faculty, and digital resources in higher education. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Higher education is a social environment in which students must form new relationships. Research shows that around one third of students in European countries feel lonely or socially excluded (e.g. ​Goldrick et al., 2023​; ​Sivertsen & Johansen, 2022​). Compared to peers who experience belongingness, they are more likely to report anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, low self-esteem, sadness, shame, anger, and reduced motivation to complete their studies. Although direct human interaction is essential for developing a sense of belonging, students increasingly rely on digital resources because of their convenience and flexibility. While such resources may support academic performance, they can reduce opportunities for human interaction and weaken students’ sense of belongingness. To identify factors promoting belongingness, our research project follows 254 teacher students (aged 18-33, Mage=20.38, SDage=2.04; 71.6% female, 27.9% male, 0.5% other) over their first two years of study. It examines how loneliness, belongingness, and social networks develop over time. This paper investigates how loneliness and belongingness relate to how intensively students consult peers, faculty, and other (digital) information sources when they have questions about academic content. Longitudinal data are collected in September 2025, April 2026, and April 2027 using electronic surveys measuring loneliness (Cronbach’s α=.815; ​Sivertsen & Johansen, 2022​), belongingness to peers (Cronbach’s α=.841; adapted from ​Slaten et al., 2018​), number and frequency of peer contacts, and how often students consult peers, faculty, and different digital resources when seeking academic information. We hypothesise that students who: H1) frequently contact peers for general purposes report more belongingness and less loneliness H2) frequently consult peers academically report more belongingness and less loneliness H3) frequently consult the learning platform, Google, or generative artificial intelligence (AI) experience more loneliness and less belongingness Preliminary bivariate correlation analyses based on the first data collection provide initial insights into these relationships. By June 2026, data from two time points will be available, allowing for causal inferences. Regarding background variables, preliminary results indicate that older students reported less contact with peers in general (β=—.301, p<.001) and in academic matters (β=—.227, p=.001). They contacted library services more often (β=.146, p=.041) and consulted Google less frequently (β=—.164, p=.021). Male students reported less contact with peers (β=—.189, p=.029), but more contact with faculty (β=.204, p=.002) and library services (β=.155, p=.002) in academic contexts. Students reporting a higher number of peer contacts also reported more frequent peer contact (β=.340, p<.001), less loneliness (β=—.230, p<.001), greater belongingness to peers (β=—.347, p<.001), and more academic contact with peers (β=.260, p<.001) and faculty (β=.186, p=.001). Those who reported frequent peer contact experienced less loneliness (β=—.207, p=.015), greater belongingness (β=.370, p<.001), and more frequent academic consultation with peers (β=.208, p=.015). Loneliness and belongingness to peers were negatively related (β=—.463, p<.001). More academic contact with peers was associated with less loneliness (β=—.317, p<.001) and greater belongingness (β=.441, p<.001). Academic contact with faculty was positively related to belongingness to peers (β=.141, p=.034), academic peer contact (β=.171, p=.010), and consulting library services (β=.327, p<.001). Contrary to our hypothesis, students who consulted generative AI for academic purposes also reported higher belongingness to peers (β=.156, p=.019). Overall, these preliminary findings suggest that older and male students may be at greater risk of reduced peer contact, lower belongingness, and increased loneliness. Peer contact appears crucial for fostering belongingness and reducing loneliness. Faculty may play a connecting role by linking students to peers and library services, which offer human interaction through in-person support. The use of generative artificial intelligence does not seem to undermine belongingness in this dataset, and longitudinal data will provide more insights into this relationship by the time of the conference.

• Brehmer, Mareike; Canrinus, Esther Tamara & Nydahl, Adina Marie (2026). Belonging matters: The role of program context in students’ loneliness. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  One third of students in Norway feel very or extremely lonely, increasing risks of anxiety, depression, and suicide. Student teachers are no exception in having to find their social environment at the start of their studies. How educational programs are arranged can affect the social environments first year students experience. This study investigates loneliness and sense of belonging in 211 students from three teacher education programs at one university. Survey-data from wave one (September 2025) indicate that the sense of belonging to fellow students (β=-.45, p<.001) and enrolment in the program educating for teaching years 5-10 (β=-.19 p<.05) significantly mitigate loneliness, while having moved to the university’s city from elsewhere significantly contributes to loneliness (β=.16 p<.05). Longitudinal data including wave two (April 2026) will be used to investigate additional contextual factors and students’ development of their social networks during their first year of studies. 

• Brehmer, Mareike (2024). Values in democracy education. Full text in Research Archive
• Brehmer, Mareike & Endresen-Maharaj, Kristin (2024). Presentation of ValiDE: Values in Democratic Education. Full text in Research Archive
• Dalehefte, Inger Marie; Brehmer, Mareike; Endresen, Kristin; Kristiansen, Aslaug; Demeschkant, Nataliia & Schnebel, Stefanie (2024). Competencies for Democratic Culture – A Comparison of German, Polish, and Norwegian Core Curricula. Full text in Research Archive
• Brehmer, Mareike; Dalehefte, Inger Marie; Endresen-Maharaj, Kristin; Kristiansen, Aslaug; Schnebel, Stefanie & Demeshkant, Nataliia (2024). Competences for Democratic Culture - A Comparison of German, Polish, and Norwegian Core Curricula. Full text in Research Archive
• Endresen-Maharaj, Kristin; Brehmer, Mareike; Dalehefte, Inger Marie; Kristiansen, Aslaug; Demeschkant, Nataliia & Schnebel, Stefanie (2024). Fostering teacher students’ value attitudes and didactic competencies - A study course. Full text in Research Archive
• Dalehefte, Inger Marie; Brehmer, Mareike; Endresen, Kristin; Kristiansen, Aslaug; Schnebel, Stefanie & Demeshkant, Nataliia (2024). Competences for Democratic Culture - A Comparison of German, Polish, and Norwegian Core Curricula. Full text in Research Archive
• Brehmer, Mareike & Meyer, Jennifer (2023). An extended Theory of Planned Behaviour to predict university students' intentions towards social exclusion. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Introduction Social exclusion from group activities is a prevalent issue among students in higher education and poses challenges to the creation of a safe and inclusive learning environment. We conceptually replicated and extended a study by Hayashi and Tahmasbi (2021) to investigate to what extent the Theory of Planned Behaviour may predict university students’ behavioural intention towards in-person peer social exclusion in a hypothetical group work setting. Relevance Social exclusion describes an individual purposefully being left out of a group setting (Williams & Govan, 2013). The ways onlooking people react to social exclusion and other bullying incidents are various (e. g. Salmivalli, 2014; Bauman et al., 2020; Harrison et al., 2022). Assertive onlookers intervene in a situation in a prosocial way and can influence group norms (Abbott & Cameron, 2014). The present study will enhance knowledge about factors predicting prosocial and antisocial behavioural intentions to intervene in a hypothetical situation with the aim to support resource-oriented pedagogical work in higher education (Lambe & Craig, 2020). Fostering factors which contribute to prosocial behavioural intentions in students may contribute to their acting as assertive onlookers who challenge antisocial behaviours among their fellow students and encourage a safe social environment from within the peer group. Theoretical background The Theory of Planned Behaviour assumes that a person’s attitudes towards a behaviour, their subjective norms deriving from significant others, and their perceived behavioural control predict their intention to execute the behaviour in question (Ajzen, 2012). The intention is considered a proxy and the most reliable predictor of behaviour (Fishbein & Ajzen, 2010). The Theory of Planned Behaviour is open to extensions and several potential predictors have been examined previously. In the above mentioned study by Hayashi and Tahmasbi (2021) empathy and anticipated regret were found to be significant predictors of intention, over and above the standard variables. Hypotheses In line with their conceptualisation, we included these in our replication study and hypothesised the following for preliminary analyses: H1a-1c: The more positive the attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control, the likelier a person intends to intervene H2: Higher empathic concern will significantly predict intention over and above attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control H3: Higher anticipated regret will significantly predict intention over and above attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. Methods and sample We collected data using an online questionnaire distributed to undergraduate students. The final sample consisted of N=420 undergraduate students (MAge= 22.76 years, SDAge= 4.02 years; 47.0% male, 50.6 % female, 2.4 % other). Following a text describing a hypothetical group work situation asking participants to imagine being an onlooker of social exclusion, the intention to intervene (4 items, α =.90), attitude (7 items, α =.77), subjective norms (6 items, α =.77), perceived behavioural control (5 items, α=.76), Davis’ (1980) empathic concern (7 items, α=.80) and Hayashi and Tahmasbi ‘s (2021) anticipated regret (2 items, r=.74**) were assessed. Preliminary analyses and results Preliminary regression analyses were conducted in IBM SPSS 28. The data supported H1a-1c, indicating that attitude (ß=.312), subjective norms (ß=.220) and perceived behavioural control (ß=.252) were significant (all p

• Schnebel, Stefanie; Visotschnig, Marion; Brehmer, Mareike; Demeshkant, Nataliia & Endresen, Kristin (2023). Values in Democracy Education -Integrating a Joint Study Program in Teacher Education to Foster Teacher Students’ Competencies and Beliefs. Full text in Research Archive
• Demeshkant, Nataliia; Schnebel, Stefanie; Potyrala, Katarzyna; Brehmer, Mareike; Rapp, Hilke & Kristiansen, Aslaug [Show all 9 contributors for this article] (2023). Partnership in cooperation for value based democracy education in primary education – preliminary results after first edition of the VALIDE international project students’ exchange program. Full text in Research Archive
• Brehmer, Mareike & Meyer, Jennifer (2023). The moral dimension of university students' behavioural intentions towards social exclusion. Full text in Research Archive
• Brehmer, Mareike & Meyer, Jennifer (2023). University students' behavioural intentions towards social exclusion. Full text in Research Archive
• Brehmer, Mareike & Meyer, Jennifer (2022). The role of moral norms in the prediction of adolescents' bystander intentions. Full text in Research Archive
• Brehmer, Mareike & Meyer, Jennifer (2022). The moral dimension of young bystanders' intentions: an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour - A pilot study. Full text in Research Archive
• Brehmer, Mareike; Kovac, Velibor Bobo & Meyer, Jennifer (2024). The Complex Antecedents of Bystander Intentions in Higher Education Bullying. A Multidimensional Investigation of Socio-cognitive, Emotional and Moral Determinants Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Universitetet i Agder. Full text in Research Archive

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