@misc{FischerWachsBilz, author = {Fischer, Saskia M. and Wachs, Sebastian and Bilz, Ludwig}, title = {Teachers' empathy and likelihood of intervention in hypothetical relational and retrospectively reported bullying situations}, series = {European Journal of Developmental Psychology}, journal = {European Journal of Developmental Psychology}, issn = {1740-5610}, doi = {10.1080/17405629.2020.1869538}, pages = {16}, abstract = {Prior research suggests that teachers with higher levels of empathy are more willing to intervene in bullying among students. However, these findings are based on hypothetical bullying situations and teachers' self-reports. In this study with 2,071 German students and their 556 teachers, we analysed reactions to hypothetical relational bullying situations as well as retrospectively reported bullying situations both from the teachers' as well as the students' perspectives. Results showed that teachers with higher levels of empathy reported stronger intentions to intervene in hypothetical relational bullying situations but were not more likely to intervene in retrospectively reported bullying situations. From the students' perspective, teachers' empathy was neither connected to the teachers' intention to intervene nor to the likelihood of intervention in the retrospectively reported situations. These different results could be taken as an opportunity to investigate whether existing findings could be influenced by methodological aspects such as teachers' self-reports. Implications for future research are discussed.}, language = {en} } @misc{WachsBilzWettsteinetal., author = {Wachs, Sebastian and Bilz, Ludwig and Wettstein, Alexander and Wright, Michelle F. and Krause, Norman and Ballaschk, Cindy and Kansok-Dusche, Julia}, title = {The Online Hate Speech Cycle of Violence: Moderating Effects of Moral Disengagement and Empathy in the Victim-to-Perpetrator Relationship}, series = {Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking}, volume = {25}, journal = {Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking}, number = {4}, issn = {2152-2715}, doi = {10.1089/cyber.2021.0159}, pages = {223 -- 229}, abstract = {Adolescents around the globe are increasingly exposed to online hate speech (OHS). And yet little is known about the varying roles of involvement and the determinants of adolescents' hate speech perpetration. Building on previous research, this study aims to test the cycle of violence hypothesis for OHS and to analyze whether moral disengagement (MD) and empathy moderate the victim-to-perpetrator relationship. The sample consists of 3,560 seventh to ninth graders (52.1 percent girls), recruited from 40 schools across Germany and Switzerland. Self-report questionnaires were administered to assess OHS involvement, MD, and empathy. Multilevel analyses revealed that victims of OHS were more likely to report OHS perpetration. In addition, victims of OHS were more likely to report OHS perpetration when they reported higher levels of MD than those with lower levels of MD. Finally, victims of OHS were less likely to report OHS perpetration when they reported higher levels of empathy than those with lower levels of empathy. The findings extend the cycle of violence hypothesis to OHS and highlight the need to address MD and empathy in hate speech prevention. Implications for future research will be discussed.}, language = {en} } @misc{WachsBilzWettsteinetal., author = {Wachs, Sebastian and Bilz, Ludwig and Wettstein, Alexander and Wright, Michelle F. and Kansok-Dusche, Julia and Krause, Norman and Ballaschk, Cindy}, title = {Associations Between Witnessing and Perpetrating Online Hate Speech Among Adolescents: Testing Moderation Effects of Moral Disengagement and Empathy}, series = {Psychology of Violence}, volume = {12}, journal = {Psychology of Violence}, number = {6}, issn = {2152-0828}, doi = {10.1037/vio0000422}, pages = {371 -- 381}, abstract = {Objective: The open expression of hatred, hostility, and violence against minorities has become a common online phenomenon. Adolescents are at particular risk of being involved in different hate speech roles (e.g., witness, perpetrator). However, the correlates of their involvement as perpetrators and the mechanisms that might explain their involvement in hate speech across different roles have not yet been thoroughly investigated. To this end, this study investigates moral disengagement and empathy as correlates of online hate speech perpetration and the moderation effects of empathy and moral disengagement in the relationship between witnessing and perpetrating online hate speech. Method: The sample consists of 3,560 7th to 9th graders from 40 schools in Germany and Switzerland. Self-report questionnaires were utilized to assess online hate speech involvement, moral dis- engagement, and empathy. Results: Multilevel regression analyses revealed that moral disengagement and witnessing online hate speech were positively associated with online hate speech perpetration, while empathy was negatively associated with it. The findings also showed that the positive relationship between witnessing and perpetrating online hate speech was stronger at higher levels of moral disengagement and weaker when moral disengagement was low. The association between witnessing and perpetrating online hate speech was weaker when adolescents had higher rather than lower levels of empathy. Conclusions: The findings underscore the need for prevention efforts to accelerate moral engagement and empathy as critical future directions in hate speech prevention. This study also contributes to our understanding of underlying mechanisms that explain adolescents' involvement across different roles in hate speech.}, language = {en} } @misc{WachsCastellanosWettsteinetal., author = {Wachs, Sebastian and Castellanos, Melisa and Wettstein, Alexander and Bilz, Ludwig and G{\´a}mez-Guadix, Manuel}, title = {Associations Between Classroom Climate, Empathy, Self-Efficacy, and Countering Hate Speech Among Adolescents: A Multilevel Mediation Analysis}, series = {Journal of Interpersonal Violence}, volume = {38}, journal = {Journal of Interpersonal Violence}, number = {5-6}, issn = {0886-2605}, doi = {10.1177/08862605221120905}, pages = {5067 -- 5091}, abstract = {Although hate speech is widely recognized as an online phenomenon, very few studies have investigated hate speech among adolescents in offline settings (e.g., schools). At the same time, not much is known about countering hate speech (counterspeech) among adolescents and which factors are associated with it. To this end, the present study used the socio- ecological framework to investigate the direct and indirect links among one contextual factor (i.e., classroom climate) and two intrapersonal factors (i.e.,empathy for victims of hate speech, self-efficacy regarding intervention in hate speech) to understand counterspeech among adolescents. The sample is based on self-reports of 3,225 students in Grades 7 to 9 (51.7\% self- identified as female) from 36 schools in Germany and Switzerland. Self- report questionnaires were administered to measure classroom climate, empathy, self-efficacy, and counterspeech. After controlling for adolescents' grade, gender, immigrant background, and socioeconomic status (SES), the 2-(1-1)-1 multilevel mediation analysis showed that classroom climate (L2), empathy for victims of hate speech (L1), and self-efficacy toward intervention in hate speech (L1) had a positive effect on countering hate speech (L1). Classroom climate (L2) was also positively linked to empathy for victims of hate speech (L1), and self-efficacy toward intervention in hate speech (L1). Furthermore, classroom climate (L2) was indirectly associated with countering hate speech (L1) via greater empathy (L1) and self-efficacy (L1). The findings highlight the need to focus on contextual and intrapersonal factors when trying to facilitate adolescents' willingness to face hate speech with civic courage and proactively engage against it.}, language = {en} } @misc{WolgastFischerBilz, author = {Wolgast, Anett and Fischer, Saskia M. and Bilz, Ludwig}, title = {Teachers' Empathy for Bullying Victims, Understanding of Violence, and Likelihood of Intervention}, series = {Journal of School Violence}, volume = {21}, journal = {Journal of School Violence}, number = {4}, issn = {1538-8220}, doi = {10.1080/15388220.2022.2114488}, pages = {491 -- 503}, abstract = {Relational bullying is still underappreciated by teachers. Based on the theoretical model of teachers' intervention competence in bullying, the aim of the current research was to gain insights into the concurrent relationships between teachers' empathy, understanding of violence, and likelihood of intervention. In this study, n = 556 teachers (79.4\% female, Mage = 50.6) indicated on a questionnaire their empathy, understanding of relational violence, and likelihood of intervention in a relational bullying situation. The relationships were simultaneously estimated in a structural equation model. The results suggest significantly positive concurrent relations between these variables. We conclude that the effectiveness of teacher trainings could be increased through such elements as cognitive empathy training, raising awareness of violence, and teaching appropriate interventions in relational bullying situations.}, language = {en} } @misc{WachsBilzWettsteinetal., author = {Wachs, Sebastian and Bilz, Ludwig and Wettstein, Alexander and Espelage, Dorothy L.}, title = {Validation of the multidimensional bystander responses to racist hate speech scale and its association with empathy and moral disengagement among adolescents}, series = {Aggressive Behavior}, volume = {50}, journal = {Aggressive Behavior}, number = {1}, issn = {1098-2337}, pages = {1 -- 12}, abstract = {Our understanding of how bystanders respond to hate speech is limited. This may be due, in part, to the lack of available measurement tools. However, understanding adolescents' responses to hate speech is critical because this kind of research can support schools in empowering students to exhibit courageous moral behavior. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the newly developed Multidimensional Bystander Responses to Hate Speech Scale (MBRHS) and to explore demographic differences and correlates of bystander behavior in school hate speech. The sample consisted of 3225 seventh to ninth graders from Germany and Switzerland. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a model with seven factors. We found that adolescents with immigrant background and boys showed particularly unfavorable response patterns. In addition, our study suggests that empathy is positively correlated with the factors comforting the victim, seeking help at school, and countering hate speech but negatively correlated with helplessness, revenge, reinforcing, and ignoring. Moral disengagement showed the opposite correlational pattern. The findings indicate that the MBRHS is a psychometrically valid and reliable measure that could aid in measuring varied responses to hate speech. In addition, this work highlights the relevance of empathy and moral engagement training in anti-hate speech prevention programs.}, language = {en} } @misc{CastellanosWettsteinWachsetal., author = {Castellanos, Melisa and Wettstein, Alexander and Wachs, Sebastian and Bilz, Ludwig}, title = {Direct and indirect effects of social dominance orientation on hate speech perpetration via empathy and moral disengagement among adolescents: A multilevel mediation model}, series = {Aggressive Behavior}, volume = {50(2024)}, journal = {Aggressive Behavior}, number = {1}, issn = {1098-2337}, doi = {10.1002/ab.22100}, abstract = {Although it is known that social dominance orientation directly affects hate speech perpetration, few studies have explored the mechanisms by which this effect takes place during adolescence. Based on the socio-cognitive theory of moral agency, we aimed to fill this gap in the literature by exploring the direct and indirect effects of social dominance orientation on hate speech perpetration in offline and online settings. The sample included seventh, eigth, and ninth graders (N = 3225) (51.2\% girls, 37.2\% with an immigrant background) from 36 Swiss and German schools who completed a survey about hate speech, social dominance orientation, empathy, and moral disengagement. A multilevel mediation path model revealed that social dominance orientation had a direct effect on offline and online hate speech perpetration. Moreover, social dominance also had indirect effects via low levels of empathy and high levels of moral disengagement. No gender differences were observed. Our findings are discussed regarding the potential contribution to preventing hate speech during adolescence.}, language = {en} }