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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.
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.
Introduction. Hate speech is a widespread global issue that is also prevalent among children and youth and requires an educational response (United Nations, 2021). Hate speech can be defined as an intentionally harmful and derogatory expression about people (directly or vicariously) based on assigned group characteristics (e.g., ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious affiliation; Kansok-Dusche et al., 2022). For many authors concerned with hate speech among children and adolescents, the extent of the overlap between hate speech and bullying is a debatable question that requires more research (e.g., Bedrosova et al., 2022; Fulantelli et al., 2022). Initial studies showed that online hate speech and cyberbullying perpetration correlate moderately (Kansok-Dusche et al., 2022). However, no studies have investigated the overlap between hate speech and bullying perpetration in on- and offline modes.
Concerning the causes, a systematic review identified joint cyberbullying and online hate speech perpetration determinants (Fulantelli et al., 2022). However, the findings of this review are mainly based on studies examining these factors for either cyberbullying or online hate speech. Whether similar or different associations can also be found for offline hate speech/bullying perpetration is unknown. This study aims to investigate similarities and differences between hate speech and bullying from three analytic perspectives: First, using a variable-centered approach, this paper examines how strong the correlations are between bullying and hate speech perpetration by considering both phenomena in the online and offline context (Aim 1). Following a person-centered approach, it will be further investigated how much overlap exists between the respective student groups perpetrating hate speech and/or bullying, separately for online and offline activities (Aim 2). Finally, we are interested in the similarities and differences in the importance of various determinants of perpetration: we consider social perspective-taking, school belonging, social dominance orientation, and classroom climate (Aim 3).
Methods. The analyses are based on data from a sample of 3.620 students attending grades 7 to 9 (51% female, 41.4% with migration background) from 42 Swiss and German secondary schools. Students voluntarily and anonymously completed self-report surveys (December 2020 to April 2021). The frequency of bullying and hate speech perpetration was assessed with two single items for each phenomenon, one for the online and one for the offline mode (Olweus, 2012; Wachs et al., 2022). Social perspective-taking (Jurkowski & Hänze, 2014, 3 Items, α = .72), social dominance orientation (Klocke, 2012, 8 items, α = .80), school belonging (OECD, 2017; 6 items α = .83), and classroom climate (Currie et al., 2014, 3 items, α = .78) were measured with validated scales.
To address Aim 1, we will investigate bivariate correlations between hate speech and bullying perpetration in on- and offline modes. Regarding Aim 2, contingency tables and Chi-Square tests will be used to examine overlaps by creating mutually distinctive typologies of perpetration (e.g., pure hate speech perpetration, pure bullying perpetration, combined perpetration). This analysis will be done separately for on- and offline modes. To address Aim 3, we will run four multilevel regression analyses in Mplus with hate speech and bullying perpetration as outcomes (online and offline). At Level 1, social perspective-taking, social dominance orientation, and school belonging will be entered while controlling for gender, grade, socio-economic status, and migration background. At Level 2, we include classroom climate. The model-testing follows a stepwise procedure (1: random intercept model, 2: adding covariates, 3: adding classroom climate on L2, and all other variables on L1). The improvement of model fit will be assessed by relative decreases in indices such as AIC, BIC, and ABIC. These procedures will be performed separately for hate speech and bullying perpetration (online and offline). Regression coefficients and explained variance of the models for hate speech and bullying perpetration will be compared.
Preliminary Results. Regarding Aim 1, moderate correlations were found between online hate speech and online bullying perpetration (r = .48 p < .001) as well as between offline hate speech and offline bullying perpetration (r = .42; p <. 001). The final results for the three research aims will be presented at the conference.
Conclusion. These findings support researchers and practitioners in deciding whether hate speech and bullying among young people should be researched and addressed as interlinked or separate forms of aggression.
Practical Implications. Although there are some limitations (e.g., use of self-report and cross-sectional data), the findings of this study will be informative for prevention and intervention efforts aimed at protecting children and adolescents from becoming perpetrators and victims of hate speech, bullying, or both.
Hintergrund. Hatespeech (dt. Hassrede) ist weltweit ein Problem, das auch unter Jugendlichen verbreitet ist und pädagogisch ausgerichtete Präventions- und Interventionsansätze erfordert (Castellanos et al., 2023; United Nations, 2021). Hatespeech wird hier als intentional herabwürdigende Äußerung über Personen verstanden, die auf zugeschriebene Merkmale sozialer Gruppen Bezug nimmt (Kansok-Dusche et al., 2022). Da Hatespeech mit negativen Konsequenzen für Betroffene und die Gesellschaft einhergeht, ist die Schule ein wichtiger Ort zur Hatespeech-Prävention.
Forscher:innen thematisieren mit Blick auf Hatespeech bei Kindern und Jugendlichen die Überlappung von Hatespeech und Mobbing und fordern mehr Studien dazu (z.B. Bedrosova et al., 2022; Fulantelli et al., 2022). Eine Übersichtsarbeit verweist auf moderate Korrelationen zwischen dem Ausüben von Online-Hatespeech und Cyberbullying (Kansok-Dusche et al., 2022). Studien zur Überlappung der Phänomene im Offline-Modus gibt es bisher nicht. Eine weitere Übersichtsarbeit zeigt, dass das Ausüben von Cyberbullying und Online-Hatespeech durch ähnliche Faktoren determiniert ist (Fulantelli et al., 2022). Allerdings basiert diese Erkenntnis hauptsächlich auf Studien, die diese Faktoren entweder für Cyberbullying oder für Online-Hatespeech untersuchten. Zur Divergenz bzw. Konvergenz von Determinanten beider Phänomene im Offline-Modus gibt es bisher keine Studien.
Fragestellung und Ziele. Die Forschungsfrage der Studie richtet sich auf Ähnlichkeiten und Unterschiede zwischen Hatespeech und Mobbing. Sie nutzt drei analytische Perspektiven: Zunächst untersuchen wir variablenorientiert die Korrelationen zwischen dem Ausüben von Mobbing und Hatespeech im Online- und Offline-Modus (Ziel 1). Dann folgen wir einer personenzentrierten Perspektive und ermitteln, inwieweit es Überschneidungen bei den involvierten Schülergruppen gibt (Ziel 2). Schließlich interessieren uns Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede in der Relevanz verschiedener Determinanten: wir betrachten die soziale Perspektivenübernahme, das schulische Zugehörigkeitsempfinden, die Soziale Dominanzorientierung und das Klassenklima (Ziel 3).
Methoden. Die Analysen basieren auf Selbsteinschätzungen von 3.260 Schüler:innen der Jahrgangsstufen 7 bis 9 aus 42 Schulen in Deutschland und der Schweiz (51% weiblich, 41.4% mit Migrationsstatus). Die Schüler:innen beantworteten freiwillig und anonym einen Fragebogen (12/2020 – 04/2021). Mit Einzelitems wurden die Häufigkeiten für das Ausüben von Mobbing und Hatespeech, separat für den On- und Offline-Modus erfasst. Weitere Skalen dienten der Erfassung der sozialen Perspektivenübernahme (Jurkowski & Hänze, 2014, 3 Items, α = .72), der sozialen Dominanzorientierung (Klocke, 2012, 8 Items, α = .80), des schulischen Zugehörigkeitsempfindens (OECD, 2017; 6 Items α = .83), und des Klassenklimas (Currie et al., 2014, 3 Items, α = .78).
Die Analysen erfolgen separat für den On- und Offline-Modus mittels Korrelationsanalysen (Ziel 1), Kontingenztabellen (Ziel 2) und regressionsanalytische Mehrebenenmodelle (Ziel 3).
Ergebnisse und Diskussion. Die Analysen werden gerade durchgeführt und sollen auf der Konferenz vorgestellt werden. Die Ergebnisse können Forscher:innen und PraktikerIinnen bei der Entscheidung unterstützen, ob Hatespeech und Mobbing unter Jugendlichen als miteinander verknüpfte oder getrennte Formen der Aggression erforscht und adressiert werden sollten. Trotz Limitationen (z.B. Selbsteinschätzungen, Querschnittsdaten) können die Ergebnisse Ausgangspunkt für Präventions- und Interventionsmaßnahmen sein, die Kinder und Jugendliche davor schützen, Täter:in und/oder Opfer von Hatespeech, Mobbing oder beidem zu werden.
Das Phänomen Hatespeech (dt. Hassrede) wird momentan weltweit als Problem wahrgenommen, das sich parallel mit der zunehmenden Nutzung sozialer Medien ausbreitet und den sozialen Zusammenhalt von Gesellschaften gefährdet. Hiervon zeugen länderübergreifende Initiativen zur Eindämmung von Hatespeech, z.B. der Vereinten Nationen oder der Europäischen Kommission.
Zumeist werden unter Hatespeech Äußerungen verstanden, durch die Menschen auf der Grundlage bestimmter Gruppenmerkmale (z.B. ethnische Zugehörigkeit, Geschlecht, sexuelle Orientierung) abgewertet werden. Spezifischere Definitionen betonen zudem, dass eine Schädigungsabsicht sowie ein Schädigungspotenzial auf verschiedenen Ebenen (z. B. individuell, gesellschaftlich) vorliegen müssen.
Kinder und Jugendliche gelten als besonders anfällig für die schädlichen Auswirkungen von Hatespeech. Jüngste Forschungen zeigen, dass Personen, die Cyberhate ausgesetzt sind, häufig Gefühle von Wut, Scham und Schuld sowie ein vermindertes Vertrauen erleben (UK Safer Internet Centre, 2016; Reichelmann et al., 2020; Krause et al., 2021; Näsi et. al, 2015). Die Konfrontation mit Hatespeech kann auch Prozesse der politischen Radikalisierung begünstigen (Bilewicz & Soral, 2020).
Somit stellt Hatespeech auch für die Schule eine besondere Herausforderung dar. Zum einen machen Kinder und Jugendliche auch in dieser Lebenswelt Erfahrungen mit Hatespeech, zum anderen ist die Schule der Ort, an dem diesen Entwicklungen durch Demokratie- und Medienerziehung sowie Soziales Lernen entgegengewirkt werden kann (Wachs et al., 2021). Die empirische Basis hierfür ist jedoch äußerst schmal. Es liegen weder zur Verbreitung von Erfahrungen mit Hatespeech im Kindes- und Jugendalter noch zu den Ursachen oder wirksamen Interventions- und Präventionsstrategien Studienbefunde vor. Auch bezüglich der Schnittmenge mit verwandten Phänomenen, wie z.B. Mobbing, gibt es bisher kaum Erkenntnisse.
An diesen Forschungslücken setzt das geplante Symposium an. Aus der Mobbingforschung ist bekannt, dass die Reaktionen des Umfeldes eine wichtige Rolle bei der Eindämmung von Gewalt spielen. Vor diesem Hintergrund werden in den drei Einzel-Beiträgen Forschungsergebnisse zur Verbreitung von Hatespeech und zu den Reaktionen von Schüler:innen und Lehrkräften vorgestellt, die sowohl auf qualitativen als auch auf quantitativen Zugängen beruhen. Entstanden sind sie im Rahmen eines aktuellen DFG-Forschungsprojektes mit erziehungswissenschaftlichen und psychologischen Forschungsteams in Deutschland und der Schweiz. Befragt wurden über 3.600 Schüler:innen und fast 500 Lehrkräfte in beiden Ländern. Im Rahmen des Symposiums sollen die Ergebnisse diskutiert und Implikationen für weitere Forschungen im Rahmen dieses Projekts sowie darüber hinaus abgeleitet werden.
Hate speech, or intentional derogatory expressions about people based on assigned group characteristics, has been studied primarily in online contexts. Less is known about the occurrence of this phenomenon in schools. As it has negative consequences for victims, perpetrators, and those who witness it, it is crucial to characterize the occurrence of offline (i.e., in the school) and online hate speech to describe similarities and differences between these two socialization contexts. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of hate speech witnessing, victimization, and perpetration, in a sample of 3,620 7th to 9th graders (51% self-identified as female) from 42 schools in Germany and Switzerland. We found that 67% of the students witnessed hate speech in their school, and 65% witnessed online hate speech at least once in the past twelve months. Approximately 21% of the students self-identified as offline perpetrators and 33% as offline victims, whereas these percentages were lower for online hate speech (13% and 20%, respectively). In both settings, skin color and origin were the most common group references for hate speech (50% offline and 63% online). Offline hate speech mainly came from classmates (88%), unknown sources (e.g., graffiti; 19%), or teachers (12%), whereas online hate speech mostly came from unknown persons (77%). The most frequent forms of offline hate speech were offensive jokes (94%) and the spread of lies and rumors about the members of a specific social group (84%). Significant differences by country, gender, and migration background were observed. Girls reported more offline victimization experiences, less perpetration, and a greater frequency of witnessing hate speech. This difference was larger in magnitude in the online setting. Students in Switzerland reported being exposed to hate speech more often than students in Germany. Students with a migration background reported higher hate speech victimization based on skin color and origin than students without a migration background. The high prevalence of hate speech highlights the need for school-based prevention programs. Our findings are discussed in terms of the practical implications.
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.