@article{GamezGuadixWachsWright2020, author = {Gamez-Guadix, Manuel and Wachs, Sebastian and Wright, Michelle F.}, title = {"Haters back off!" psychometric properties of the coping with cyberhate questionnaire and relationship with well-being in Spanish adolescents}, series = {Psicothema}, volume = {32}, journal = {Psicothema}, number = {4}, publisher = {Colegio oficial de psicologos de asturias}, address = {Oviedo}, issn = {0214-9915}, doi = {10.7334/psicothema2020.219}, pages = {567 -- 574}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Background: Cyberhate is a growing form of online aggression against a person or a group based on race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender, religion, or disability. The present study aims to examine psychometric properties of the Coping with Cyberhate Questionnaire, the prevalence of coping strategies in Spanish adolescents, differences in coping strategies based in sex, age, and victim status, and the association between coping with cyberhate and adolescents' mental well-being. Method: The sample consisted of 1,005 adolescents between 12 and 18 years old (Mage = 14.28 years, SD = 1.63; 51.9\% girls) who completed self-report measures on coping strategies, victimization status, and mental well-being. Results: The results of confirmatory factor analyses showed a structure for the Coping with Cyberhate Questionnaire composed of six factors, namely Distal advice, Assertiveness, Helplessness/Selfblame, Close support, Technical coping, and Retaliation. It demonstrated acceptable internal consistency. The three most frequently endorsed coping strategies were Technical coping, Close support, and Assertiveness. In addition, lower Helplessness/Self-blame, and higher Close-support, Assertiveness, and Distal advice were significantly related to adolescents' better mental well-being. Conclusion: Prevention programs that educate adolescents about how to deal with cyberhate are needed.}, language = {en} } @article{HongKimThornbergetal.2022, author = {Hong, Jun Sung and Kim, Dong Ha and Thornberg, Robert and Wachs, Sebastian and Wright, Michelle F.}, title = {Racial discrimination to bullying behavior among White and Black adolescents in the USA: from parents' perspectives}, series = {International journal of environmental research and public health}, volume = {19}, journal = {International journal of environmental research and public health}, number = {12}, publisher = {MDPI AG}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1660-4601}, doi = {10.3390/ijerph19127084}, pages = {11}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The present study proposes and tests pathways by which racial discrimination might be positively related to bullying victimization among Black and White adolescents. Data were derived from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health, a national survey that provides data on children's physical and mental health and their families. Data were collected from households with one or more children between June 2016 to February 2017. A letter was sent to randomly selected households, who were invited to participate in the survey. The caregivers consisted of 66.9\% females and 33.1\% males for the White sample, whose mean age was 47.51 (SD = 7.26), and 76.8\% females and 23.2\% males for the Black sample, whose mean age was 47.61 (SD = 9.71). In terms of the adolescents, 49.0\% were females among the White sample, whose mean age was 14.73 (SD = 1.69). For Black adolescents, 47.9\% were females and the mean age was 14.67(SD = 1.66). Measures for the study included bullying perpetration, racial discrimination, academic disengagement, and socio-demographic variables of the parent and child. Analyses included descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and structural path analyses. For adolescents in both racial groups, racial discrimination appears to be positively associated with depression, which was positively associated with bullying perpetration. For White adolescents, racial discrimination was positively associated with academic disengagement, which was also positively associated with bullying perpetration. For Black adolescents, although racial discrimination was not significantly associated with academic disengagement, academic disengagement was positively associated with bullying perpetration.}, language = {en} } @article{WachsBilzFischeretal.2018, author = {Wachs, Sebastian and Bilz, Ludwig and Fischer, Saskia M. and Schubarth, Wilfried and Wright, Michelle F.}, title = {Students' Willingness to Intervene in Bullying}, series = {International journal of environmental research and public health : IJERPH}, volume = {15}, journal = {International journal of environmental research and public health : IJERPH}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1660-4601}, doi = {10.3390/ijerph15112577}, pages = {11}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Although school climate and self-efficacy have received some attention in the literature, as correlates of students' willingness to intervene in bullying, to date, very little is known about the potential mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between classroom climate and students' willingness to intervene in bullying. To this end, the present study analyzes whether the relationship between classroom cohesion (as one facet of classroom climate) and students' willingness to intervene in bullying situations is mediated by self-efficacy in social conflicts. This study is based on a representative stratified random sample of two thousand and seventy-one students (51.3\% male), between the ages of twelve and seventeen, from twenty-four schools in Germany. Results showed that between 43\% and 48\% of students reported that they would not intervene in bullying. A mediation test using the structural equation modeling framework revealed that classroom cohesion and self-efficacy in social conflicts were directly associated with students' willingness to intervene in bullying situations. Furthermore, classroom cohesion was indirectly associated with higher levels of students' willingness to intervene in bullying situations, due to self-efficacy in social conflicts. We thus conclude that: (1) It is crucial to increase students' willingness to intervene in bullying; (2) efforts to increase students' willingness to intervene in bullying should promote students' confidence in dealing with social conflicts and interpersonal relationships; and (3) self-efficacy plays an important role in understanding the relationship between classroom cohesion and students' willingness to intervene in bullying. Recommendations are provided to help increase adolescents' willingness to intervene in bullying and for future research.}, language = {en} } @misc{WachsBilzFischeretal.2018, author = {Wachs, Sebastian and Bilz, Ludwig and Fischer, Saskia M. and Schubarth, Wilfried and Wright, Michelle F.}, title = {Students' Willingness to Intervene in Bullying}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {495}, issn = {1866-8364}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-421185}, pages = {11}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Although school climate and self-efficacy have received some attention in the literature, as correlates of students' willingness to intervene in bullying, to date, very little is known about the potential mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between classroom climate and students' willingness to intervene in bullying. To this end, the present study analyzes whether the relationship between classroom cohesion (as one facet of classroom climate) and students' willingness to intervene in bullying situations is mediated by self-efficacy in social conflicts. This study is based on a representative stratified random sample of two thousand and seventy-one students (51.3\% male), between the ages of twelve and seventeen, from twenty-four schools in Germany. Results showed that between 43\% and 48\% of students reported that they would not intervene in bullying. A mediation test using the structural equation modeling framework revealed that classroom cohesion and self-efficacy in social conflicts were directly associated with students' willingness to intervene in bullying situations. Furthermore, classroom cohesion was indirectly associated with higher levels of students' willingness to intervene in bullying situations, due to self-efficacy in social conflicts. We thus conclude that: (1) It is crucial to increase students' willingness to intervene in bullying; (2) efforts to increase students' willingness to intervene in bullying should promote students' confidence in dealing with social conflicts and interpersonal relationships; and (3) self-efficacy plays an important role in understanding the relationship between classroom cohesion and students' willingness to intervene in bullying. Recommendations are provided to help increase adolescents' willingness to intervene in bullying and for future research.}, language = {en} } @article{WachsBilzFischeretal.2017, author = {Wachs, Sebastian and Bilz, Ludwig and Fischer, Saskia M. and Wright, Michelle F.}, title = {Do emotional components of alexithymia mediate the interplay between cyberbullying victimization and perpetration?}, series = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, volume = {14}, journal = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, number = {12}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1660-4601}, doi = {10.3390/ijerph14121530}, pages = {11}, year = {2017}, abstract = {A substantial amount of research has revealed that cyberbully-victims have more emotional and behavioral problems than either cyberbullying victims or perpetrators. However, until now, little research has been conducted into the factors that contribute to the interplay between cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cyberbullying victimization, perpetration, and two emotional components of alexithymia, namely difficulties in identifying and describing one's own feelings. Self-report questions were administered to 1549 adolescents between 12 and 18 years old (M = 14.51; SD = 1.68; 42.1\% (n = 652) male) from Germany and Thailand. Results showed that cyberbullying victimization and alexithymia are associated with cyberbullying perpetration. Moreover, alexithymia mediated the associations between cyberbullying victimization and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration. Consequently, we suggest that the ability to describe and identify one's own feelings might be important for understanding the link between cyberbullying, victimization, and perpetration. The results may help develop prevention and intervention programs focused on reducing cyberbullying.}, language = {en} } @article{WachsBilzWettsteinetal.2022, 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}, series = {Psychology of violence}, volume = {12}, journal = {Psychology of violence}, number = {6}, publisher = {American Psychological Association}, address = {Washington}, issn = {2152-0828}, doi = {10.1037/vio0000422}, pages = {371 -- 381}, year = {2022}, 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 disengagement, 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} } @article{WachsBilzWettsteinetal.2022, 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}, series = {Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking}, volume = {25}, journal = {Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking}, number = {4}, publisher = {Liebert}, address = {New Rochelle}, issn = {2152-2715}, doi = {10.1089/cyber.2021.0159}, pages = {223 -- 229}, year = {2022}, 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} } @article{WachsGamezGuadixWright2022, author = {Wachs, Sebastian and Gamez-Guadix, Manuel and Wright, Michelle F.}, title = {Online hate speech victimization and depressive symptoms among adolescents}, series = {Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking}, volume = {25}, journal = {Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking}, number = {7}, publisher = {Liebert}, address = {New Rochelle}, issn = {2152-2715}, doi = {10.1089/cyber.2022.0009}, pages = {416 -- 423}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Online hate speech has become a widespread problem in the daily life of adolescents. Despite growing societal and academic interest in this online risk, not much is known about the relationship between online hate speech victimization (OHSV) and adolescents' mental well-being. In addition, potential factors influencing the magnitude of this relationship remain unclear. To address these gaps in the literature, this study investigated the relationship between OHSV and depressive symptoms and the buffering effects of resilience in this relationship. The sample consists of 1,632 adolescents (49.1\% girls) between 12 and 18 years old (M-age = 13.83, SDage = 1.23), recruited from nine schools across Spain. Self-report questionnaires were administered to assess OHSV, depressive symptoms, and resilience. Regression analyses revealed that OHSV was positively linked to depressive symptoms. In addition, victims of online hate speech were less likely to report depressive symptoms when they reported average or high levels of resilience (i.e., social competence, personal competence, structured style, social resources, and family cohesion) compared with those with low levels of resilience. Our findings highlight the need for the development of intervention programs and the relevance of focusing on internal and external developmental assets to mitigate negative outcomes for victims of online hate speech.}, language = {en} } @article{WachsGoerzigWrightetal.2020, author = {Wachs, Sebastian and G{\"o}rzig, Anke and Wright, Michelle F. and Schubarth, Wilfried and Bilz, Ludwig}, title = {Associations among Adolescents' Relationships with Parents, Peers, and Teachers, Self-Efficacy, and Willingness to Intervene in Bullying}, series = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, volume = {17}, journal = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, number = {2}, publisher = {MDPI AG}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1660-4601}, doi = {10.3390/ijerph17020420}, pages = {16}, year = {2020}, abstract = {We applied the Social Cognitive Theory to investigate whether parent-child relationships, bullying victimization, and teacher-student relationships are directly as well as indirectly via self-efficacy in social conflicts associated with adolescents' willingness to intervene in a bullying incident. There were 2071 (51.3\% male) adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 from 24 schools in Germany who participated in this study. A mediation test using structural equation modeling revealed that parent-child relationships, bullying victimization, and teacher-student relationships were directly related to adolescents' self-efficacy in social conflicts. Further, teacher-student relationships and bullying victimization were directly associated with adolescents' willingness to intervene in bullying. Finally, relationships with parents, peers and teachers were indirectly related to higher levels of students' willingness to intervene in bullying situations due to self-efficacy in social conflicts. Thus, our analysis confirms the general assumptions of Social Cognitive Theory and the usefulness of applying its approach to social conflicts such as bullying situations.}, language = {en} } @misc{WachsGoerzigWrightetal.2020, author = {Wachs, Sebastian and G{\"o}rzig, Anke and Wright, Michelle F. and Schubarth, Wilfried and Bilz, Ludwig}, title = {Associations among Adolescents' Relationships with Parents, Peers, and Teachers, Self-Efficacy, and Willingness to Intervene in Bullying}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {603}, issn = {1866-8364}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-44545}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-445458}, pages = {18}, year = {2020}, abstract = {We applied the Social Cognitive Theory to investigate whether parent-child relationships, bullying victimization, and teacher-student relationships are directly as well as indirectly via self-efficacy in social conflicts associated with adolescents' willingness to intervene in a bullying incident. There were 2071 (51.3\% male) adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 from 24 schools in Germany who participated in this study. A mediation test using structural equation modeling revealed that parent-child relationships, bullying victimization, and teacher-student relationships were directly related to adolescents' self-efficacy in social conflicts. Further, teacher-student relationships and bullying victimization were directly associated with adolescents' willingness to intervene in bullying. Finally, relationships with parents, peers and teachers were indirectly related to higher levels of students' willingness to intervene in bullying situations due to self-efficacy in social conflicts. Thus, our analysis confirms the general assumptions of Social Cognitive Theory and the usefulness of applying its approach to social conflicts such as bullying situations.}, language = {en} }