TY  - JOUR
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
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
KW  - disengagement
KW  - adolescents
Y1  - 2022
UR  - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/64095
SN  - 2152-2715
SN  - 2152-2723
VL  - 25
IS  - 4
SP  - 223
EP  - 229
PB  - Liebert
CY  - New Rochelle
ER  -