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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.
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.
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.
Hatespeech ist ein gesellschaftliches Phänomen, das auch die Lebenswelt Schule betrifft. Was jedoch pädagogisches Schulpersonal unter Hatespeech versteht, ist unklar und daher Thema der vorliegenden Interviewstudie mit Lehrkräften (n = 18) und Sozialpädagog_innen (n = 16). Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Hatespeech als Herabsetzung verschiedener strukturell unterdrückter Gruppen verstanden wird (z. B. Transpersonen, Homosexuelle, jüdische Personen). Die Befragten erkennen subtilere Formen von Hatespeech oft nicht als Problem an und verstehen Hatespeech vorranging als Online-Phänomen, obwohl auch Vorfälle in Schulen berichtet werden. Es lässt sich schlussfolgern, dass pädagogisches Schulpersonal für Offline-Hatespeech und subtilere Formen sensibilisiert werden muss, um ihre Interventionsbereitschaft zu steigern.
Trotz weltweiter Bemühungen zur Bekämpfung von Diskriminierungen bleibt Hatespeech (dt. Hassrede) in vielen Ländern ein wachsendes Problem. Hatespeech wird hier als intentional verletzende Äußerung über Personen verstanden, die herabwürdigend auf zugeschriebene Merkmale sozialer Gruppen Bezug nimmt (Kansok-Dusche et al., 2022). Hatespeech ist unter Jugendlichen weit verbreitet und auch im Schulkontext bedeutsam (Castellanos et al., 2023). Da Hatespeech mit negativen Konsequenzen für Betroffene und die Gesellschaft einhergeht, ist die Schule ein wichtiger Ort zur Hatespeech-Prävention.
Forschungsarbeiten zu verwandten Phänomenen wie Mobbing betonen die wichtige Rolle von Zeug:innen. Bei Hatespeech in Schulen besteht diesbezüglich noch Forschungsbedarf zu Counterspeech (dt. Gegenrede), also Reaktionen von Schüler:innen mit dem Ziel Hatespeech-Vorfälle zu stoppen.
Die vorliegende Studie möchte situative Einflüsse auf das Ausüben von Counterspeech untersuchen. Mit Bezug auf handlungstheoretische Ansätze und Befunde zum Hilfeverhalten wird im On- und Offline-Setting der Einfluss des modellhaften Verhaltens der Lehrkräfte und Mitschüler:innen ergründet. Wir erwarten eine höhere Bereitschaft zu Counterspeech („Ich würde etwas gegen diese Äußerung tun oder sagen“) bei Schüler:innen, wenn Lehrkräfte und andere Mitschüler:innen den Vorfall nicht ignorieren.
Die Stichprobe basiert auf Selbsteinschätzungen von 3225 Schüler:innen der Jahrgangsstufen 7 bis 9 aus 36 Schulen in Deutschland und der Schweiz. Zur Untersuchung unserer Forschungsfragen diente eine experimentelle Vignetten-Studie mit fiktionalen Hatespeech-Vorfällen. Die Vignetten variierten die Lehrkraft-Reaktion (ja/nein), die Reaktion eines anwesenden Mitschülers (ja/nein) und das Setting (online/offline).
Die Ergebnisse der aktuell laufenden Datenanalysen möchten wir im Rahmen des Symposiums vorstellen. Wir erhoffen uns neue Erkenntnisse zu den Bedingungen unter denen Schüler:innen bei Hatespeech eingreifen.
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.