TY - GEN A1 - Wachs, Sebastian A1 - Wettstein, Alexander A1 - Bilz, Ludwig A1 - Krause, Norman A1 - Ballaschk, Cindy A1 - Kansok-Dusche, Julia A1 - Wright, Michelle F. T1 - Playing by the Rules? An Investigation of the Relationship Between Social Norms and Adolescents’ Hate Speech Perpetration in Schools T2 - Journal of Interpersonal Violence N2 - Hate speech is often discussed and investigated as an online phenomenon, while hate speech among adolescents in the real world (e.g., in schools) has rarely been researched. Consequently, not much is known about potential interpersonal correlates and theoretical frameworks that might help us better understand why adolescents engage in hate speech in offline environments. To add to the literature, this study investigates hate speech perpetration among young people by utilizing the Social Cognitive Theory; more specifically, the association between witnessing and perpetrating hate speech in schools, and whether this relation is weakened or strengthened by anti-hate speech injunctive norms and deviant peer pressure. The sample consists of 1719 young people (45.1% boys, 53.6% girls, 1.3% gender diverse) between 11 and 18 years old (Mage = 13.96; SD = .98) from 22 schools in Switzerland. Self-report questionnaires were administered to measure hate speech involvement and adolescents’ perception of social norms (i.e., anti-hate speech injunctive norms and deviant peer pressure). Multilevel regression analyses revealed that witnessing and perpetrating hate speech were positively associated. Moreover, injunctive anti-hate speech norms were negatively related and deviant peer pressure positively related to hate speech perpetration. Finally, increasing levels of injunctive anti-hate speech norms weakened the relation between witnessing and perpetrating hate speech, whereas higher levels of deviant peer pressure strengthened this association. The findings demonstrate that the Social Cognitive Theory is a useful framework for understanding hate speech perpetration in schools. The results also highlight the importance of taking into account social norms and interpersonal relationships (e.g., within the class) when designing anti-hate speech prevention programs and not focusing solely on intrapersonal factors. KW - hate crimes KW - hate speech KW - social norms KW - school violence KW - discrimination KW - adolescents Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211056032 SN - 0886-2605 VL - 37 IS - 21-22 SP - 21143 EP - 21164 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Wachs, Sebastian A1 - Wettstein, Alexander A1 - Bilz, Ludwig A1 - Gámez-Guadix, Manuel T1 - Adolescents’ motivations to perpetrate hate speech and links with social norms T2 - Comunicar - Media Education Research Journal N2 - Hate speech has become a widespread phenomenon, however, it remains largely unclear why adolescents engage in it and which factors are associated with their motivations for perpetrating hate speech. To this end, we developed the multidimensional “Motivations for Hate Speech Perpetration Scale” (MHATE) and evaluated the psychometric properties. We also explored the associations between social norms and adolescents’ motivations for hate speech perpetration. The sample consisted of 346 adolescents from Switzerland (54.6% boys; Mage=14; SD=0.96) who reported engagement in hate speech as perpetrators. The analyses revealed good psychometric properties for the MHATE, including good internal consistency. The most frequently endorsed subscale was revenge, followed by ideology, group conformity, status enhancement, exhilaration, and power. The results also showed that descriptive norms and peer pressure were related to a wide range of different motivations for perpetrating hate speech. Injunctive norms, however, were only associated with power. In conclusion, findings indicate that hate speech fulfills various functions. We argue that knowing the specific motivations that underlie hate speech could help us derive individually tailored prevention strategies (e.g., anger management, promoting an inclusive classroom climate). Furthermore, we suggest that practitioners working in the field of hate speech prevention give special attention to social norms surrounding adolescents. KW - hate speech KW - cyberhate KW - motives KW - social norms KW - injunctive norms KW - peer pressure Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3916/C71-2022-01 SN - 1134-3478 SN - 1988-3293 VL - 71 IS - 2 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Wachs, Sebastian A1 - Bilz, Ludwig A1 - Wettstein, Alexander A1 - Wright, Michelle F. A1 - Krause, Norman A1 - Ballaschk, Cindy A1 - Kansok-Dusche, Julia T1 - The Online Hate Speech Cycle of Violence: Moderating Effects of Moral Disengagement and Empathy in the Victim-to-Perpetrator Relationship T2 - Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking N2 - 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. KW - hate speech KW - cyberhate KW - online discrimination KW - empathy KW - moral disengagement KW - adolescents Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2021.0159 SN - 2152-2715 VL - 25 IS - 4 SP - 223 EP - 229 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Wachs, Sebastian A1 - Bilz, Ludwig A1 - Wettstein, Alexander A1 - Wright, Michelle F. A1 - Kansok-Dusche, Julia A1 - Krause, Norman A1 - Ballaschk, Cindy T1 - Associations Between Witnessing and Perpetrating Online Hate Speech Among Adolescents: Testing Moderation Effects of Moral Disengagement and Empathy T2 - Psychology of Violence N2 - 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. KW - hate speech KW - cyberhate KW - empathy KW - moral disengagement KW - adolescents Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000422 SN - 2152-0828 VL - 12 IS - 6 SP - 371 EP - 381 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kansok-Dusche, Julia A1 - Ballaschk, Cindy A1 - Krause, Norman A1 - Zeißig, Anke A1 - Seemann-Herz, Lisanne A1 - Wachs, Sebastian A1 - Bilz, Ludwig T1 - A Systematic Review on Hate Speech among Children and Adolescents: Definitions, Prevalence, and Overlap with Related Phenomena T2 - Trauma, Violence, & Abuse N2 - Little is known about the current state of research on the involvement of young people in hate speech. Thus, this systematic review presents findings on a) the prevalence of hate speech among children and adolescents and on hate speech definitions that guide prevalence assessments for this population; and b) the theoretical and empirical overlap of hate speech with related concepts. This review was guided by the Cochrane approach. To be included, publications were required to deal with real-life experiences of hate speech, to provide empirical data on prevalence for samples aged 5 to 21 years and they had to be published in academic formats. Included publications were full-text coded using two raters (κ = .80) and their quality was assessed. The string-guided electronic search (ERIC, SocInfo, Psycinfo, Psyndex) yielded 1,850 publications. Eighteen publications based on 10 studies met the inclusion criteria and their findings were systematized. Twelve publications were of medium quality due to minor deficiencies in their theoretical or methodological foundations. All studies used samples of adolescents and none of younger children. Nine out of 10 studies applied quantitative methodologies. Eighteen publications based on 10 studies were included. Results showed that frequencies for hate speech exposure were higher than those related to victimization and perpetration. Definitions of hate speech and assessment instruments were heterogeneous. Empirical evidence for an often theorized overlap between hate speech and bullying was found. The paper concludes by presenting a definition of hate speech, including implications for practice, policy, and research. KW - hate speech KW - bullying KW - adolescents KW - children KW - youth Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380221108070 SN - 1524-8380 SN - 1552-8324 VL - 24(2023) IS - 4 SP - 2598 EP - 2615 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Wachs, Sebastian A1 - Castellanos, Melisa A1 - Wettstein, Alexander A1 - Bilz, Ludwig A1 - Gámez-Guadix, Manuel T1 - Associations Between Classroom Climate, Empathy, Self-Efficacy, and Countering Hate Speech Among Adolescents: A Multilevel Mediation Analysis T2 - Journal of Interpersonal Violence N2 - 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. KW - hate speech KW - counter speech KW - empathy KW - self-efficacy KW - adolescents Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221120905 SN - 0886-2605 SN - 1552-6518 VL - 38 IS - 5-6 SP - 5067 EP - 5091 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Wachs, Sebastian A1 - Valido, Alberto A1 - Espelage, Dorothy L. A1 - Castellanos, Melisa A1 - Wettstein, Alexander A1 - Bilz, Ludwig T1 - The relation of classroom climate to adolescents' countering hate speech via social skills: A positive youth development perspective T2 - Journal of Adolescence N2 - Introduction. Hate speech is a current challenge for schools around the globe. At the same time, students worldwide stand up to hate speech by countering it. Guided by a positive youth development perspective, the present study investigated the direct and indirect associations between classroom climate (environmental assets), social skills (personal assets), and countering hate speech (as a proxy of thriving) among adolescents. Methods. The sample included 3225 students in grades 7–9 (51.7% self-identified as female) from 40 schools in Germany (n = 1841) and Switzerland (n = 1384). Students completed self-report questionnaires that assessed classroom climate, three facets of social skills (i.e., perspective-taking, prosocial behavior, assertiveness), and counterspeech. Results. The results of the 2-(1-1-1)-1 multilevel mediation analysis revealed that classroom climate (L2) and the three facets of social skills (L1) had a direct positive effect on counterspeech (L1). Furthermore, classroom climate (L2) also had a direct positive effect on the three facets of social skills (L1). Finally, classroom climate (L2) had an indirect positive effect on counterspeech (L1) via all three aspects of social skills (L1). Conclusion. The findings highlight that successful anti-hate speech programs may entail a combination of environmental and personal factors for increasing adolescents' active contribution to an inclusive and discrimination-free classroom environment where hate speech is not tolerated. KW - adolescents KW - classroom climate KW - counterspeech KW - hate speech KW - schools KW - social skills Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.12180 SN - 1095-9254 VL - 95 IS - 6 SP - 1127 EP - 1139 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Wachs, Sebastian A1 - Bilz, Ludwig A1 - Wettstein, Alexander A1 - Espelage, Dorothy L. T1 - Validation of the multidimensional bystander responses to racist hate speech scale and its association with empathy and moral disengagement among adolescents T2 - Aggressive Behavior N2 - 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. KW - adolescents KW - civic education KW - counter speech KW - empathy KW - hate speech KW - measurement invariance KW - discrimination Y1 - 2023 UR - https://phrepo.phbern.ch/7123/ SN - 1098-2337 VL - 50 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 12 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Castellanos, Melisa A1 - Wettstein, Alexander A1 - Wachs, Sebastian A1 - Bilz, Ludwig T1 - Direct and indirect effects of social dominance orientation on hate speech perpetration via empathy and moral disengagement among adolescents: A multilevel mediation model T2 - Aggressive Behavior N2 - 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. KW - adolescents KW - cyberhate KW - empathy KW - hate speech KW - moral disengagement KW - social dominance orientation Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.22100 SN - 1098-2337 VL - 50(2024) IS - 1 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Castellanos, Melisa A1 - Wettstein, Alexander A1 - Bilz, Ludwig A1 - Wachs, Sebastian T1 - Racist Hate Speech at School and its Association with Bystanders’ Active Defending – The Protective Role of Immigrant Background T2 - International Journal of Developmental Science N2 - There are scarce studies on bystanders’ responses to racist hate speech. The present study was rooted in the general aggression model to examine the direct and indirect associations between witnessing racist hate speech and bystanders’ active defending behaviors. Moreover, we examined if these associations varied as a function of the immigration background of bystanders. The sample included 3,225 7th, 8th, and 9th graders (51.7% girls, 37.2% with an immigrant background) from 40 schools in Switzerland and Germany. A multilevel mediation path model revealed that witnessing racist hate speech negatively predicted bystanders’ active defending. It also had indirect associations with bystanders’ active defending via low levels of empathy. Finally, associations were not observed in students with an immigrant background. The findings regarding the potential contribution of these results to preventing hate speech in school are discussed. KW - hate speech KW - general aggression model KW - bystanders' responses KW - desensitization KW - migration background Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3233/DEV-230341 SN - 2192-001X SN - 2191-7485 VL - 17 IS - 1-3 SP - 31 EP - 41 ER -