@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{KansokDuscheBallaschkKrauseetal.2022, author = {Kansok-Dusche, Julia and Ballaschk, Cindy and Krause, Norman and Zeissig, Anke and Seemann-Herz, Lisanne and Wachs, Sebastian and Bilz, Ludwig}, title = {A systematic review on hate speech among children and adolescents}, series = {Trauma, violence \& abuse : a review journal}, volume = {24}, journal = {Trauma, violence \& abuse : a review journal}, number = {4}, publisher = {Sage Publ.}, address = {Thousand Oaks}, issn = {1524-8380}, doi = {10.1177/15248380221108070}, pages = {2598 -- 2615}, year = {2022}, abstract = {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 (kappa = .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.}, language = {en} } @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{WachsCastellanosWettsteinetal.2023, author = {Wachs, Sebastian and Castellanos, Melisa and Wettstein, Alexander and Bilz, Ludwig and Gamez-Guadix, Manuel}, title = {Associations between classroom climate, empathy, self-efficacy, and countering hate speech among adolescents}, series = {Journal of interpersonal violence : concerned with the study and treatment of victims and perpetrators of physical and sexual violence}, volume = {38}, journal = {Journal of interpersonal violence : concerned with the study and treatment of victims and perpetrators of physical and sexual violence}, number = {5-6}, publisher = {Sage Publ.}, address = {Thousand Oaks}, issn = {1552-6518}, doi = {10.1177/08862605221120905}, pages = {5067 -- 5091}, year = {2023}, abstract = {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.}, language = {en} } @article{KaufholdBayerBaeumleretal.2023, author = {Kaufhold, Marc-Andr{\´e} and Bayer, Markus and B{\"a}umler, Julian and Reuter, Christian and Stieglitz, Stefan and Basyurt, Ali Sercan and Mirbabaie, Milad and Fuchss, Christoph and Eyilmez, Kaan}, title = {CYLENCE: strategies and tools for cross-media reporting, detection, and treatment of cyberbullying and hatespeech in law enforcement agencies}, series = {Mensch und Computer 2023: Workshopband MuC 2023}, journal = {Mensch und Computer 2023: Workshopband MuC 2023}, publisher = {Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Informatik e.V. (GI)}, address = {Bonn}, doi = {10.18420/MUC2023-MCI-WS01-211}, pages = {1 -- 8}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Despite the merits of public and social media in private and professional spaces, citizens and professionals are increasingly exposed to cyberabuse, such as cyberbullying and hate speech. Thus, Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) are deployed in many countries and organisations to enhance the preventive and reactive capabilities against cyberabuse. However, their tasks are getting more complex by the increasing amount and varying quality of information disseminated into public channels. Adopting the perspectives of Crisis Informatics and safety-critical Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and based on both a narrative literature review and group discussions, this paper first outlines the research agenda of the CYLENCE project, which seeks to design strategies and tools for cross-media reporting, detection, and treatment of cyberbullying and hatespeech in investigative and law enforcement agencies. Second, it identifies and elaborates seven research challenges with regard to the monitoring, analysis and communication of cyberabuse in LEAs, which serve as a starting point for in-depth research within the project.}, language = {en} } @article{WachsMachimbarrenaWrightetal.2022, author = {Wachs, Sebastian and Machimbarrena, Juan Manuel and Wright, Michelle F. and G{\´a}mez-Guadix, Manuel and Yang, Soeun and Sittichai, Ruthaychonnee and Singh, Ritu and Biswal, Ramakrishna and Flora, Katerina and Daskalou, Vassiliki and Maziridou, Evdoxia and Sung Hong, Jun and Krause, Norman}, title = {Associations between Coping Strategies and Cyberhate Involvement: Evidence from Adolescents across Three World Regions}, series = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, volume = {19}, journal = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, edition = {11}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel, Schweiz}, issn = {1660-4601}, doi = {10.3390/ijerph19116749}, pages = {1 -- 14}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Cyberhate represents a risk to adolescents' development and peaceful coexistence in democratic societies. Yet, not much is known about the relationship between adolescents' ability to cope with cyberhate and their cyberhate involvement. To fill current gaps in the literature and inform the development of media education programs, the present study investigated various coping strategies in a hypothetical cyberhate scenario as correlates for being cyberhate victims, perpetrators, and both victim-perpetrators. The sample consisted of 6829 adolescents aged 12-18 years old (Mage = 14.93, SD = 1.64; girls: 50.4\%, boys: 48.9\%, and 0.7\% did not indicate their gender) from Asia, Europe, and North America. Results showed that adolescents who endorsed distal advice or endorsed technical coping showed a lower likelihood to be victims, perpetrators, or victim-perpetrators. In contrast, if adolescents felt helpless or endorsed retaliation to cope with cyberhate, they showed higher odds of being involved in cyberhate as victims, perpetrators, or victim-perpetrators. Finally, adolescents who endorsed close support as a coping strategy showed a lower likelihood to be victim-perpetrators, and adolescents who endorsed assertive coping showed higher odds of being victims. In conclusion, the results confirm the importance of addressing adolescents' ability to deal with cyberhate to develop more tailored prevention approaches. More specifically, such initiatives should focus on adolescents who feel helpless or feel inclined to retaliate. In addition, adolescents should be educated to practice distal advice and technical coping when experiencing cyberhate. Implications for the design and instruction of evidence-based cyberhate prevention (e.g., online educational games, virtual learning environments) will be discussed.}, language = {en} } @article{WachsWright2019, author = {Wachs, Sebastian and Wright, Michelle F.}, title = {The Moderation of online disinhibition and sex on the relationship between online hate victimization and perpetration}, series = {Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking}, volume = {22}, journal = {Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking}, number = {5}, publisher = {Liebert}, address = {New Rochelle}, issn = {2152-2715}, doi = {10.1089/cyber.2018.0551}, pages = {300 -- 306}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Online hatred based on attributes, such as origin, race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation, has become a rising public concern across the world. Past research on aggressive behavior suggests strong associations between victimization and perpetration and that toxic online disinhibition and sex might influence this relationship. However, no study investigated both the relationship between online hate victimization and perpetration and the potential moderation effects of toxic online disinhibition on this relationship. To this end, the present study was conducted. The sample consists of 1,480 7th to 10th graders from Germany. Results revealed positive associations between online hate victimization and perpetration. Furthermore, the results support the idea that toxic online disinhibition and sex, by way of moderator effects, affect the relationship between online hate victimization and perpetration. Victims of online hate reported more online hate perpetration when they reported higher levels of online disinhibition and less frequent online hate perpetration when they reported lower levels of toxic online disinhibition. Additionally, the relationship between online hate victimization and perpetration was significantly greater among boys than among girls. Taken together, our results extend previous findings to online hate involvement among adolescents and substantiate the importance to conduct more research on online hate. In addition, our findings highlight the need for prevention and intervention programs that help adolescents deal with the emerging issue of online hate.}, language = {en} } @article{WachsWrightSittichaietal.2019, author = {Wachs, Sebastian and Wright, Michelle F. and Sittichai, Ruthaychonnee and Singh, Ritu and Biswal, Ramakrishna and Kim, Eun-mee and Yang, Soeun and G{\´a}mez-Guadix, Manuel and Almendros, Carmen and Flora, Katerina and Daskalou, Vassiliki and Maziridou, Evdoxia}, title = {Associations between Witnessing and Perpetrating Online Hate in Eight Countries}, series = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, volume = {16}, journal = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, number = {20}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1660-4601}, doi = {10.3390/ijerph16203992}, pages = {13}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Online hate is a topic that has received considerable interest lately, as online hate represents a risk to self-determination and peaceful coexistence in societies around the globe. However, not much is known about the explanations for adolescents posting or forwarding hateful online material or how adolescents cope with this newly emerging online risk. Thus, we sought to better understand the relationship between a bystander to and perpetrator of online hate, and the moderating effects of problem-focused coping strategies (e.g., assertive, technical coping) within this relationship. Self-report questionnaires on witnessing and committing online hate and assertive and technical coping were completed by 6829 adolescents between 12 and 18 years of age from eight countries. The results showed that increases in witnessing online hate were positively related to being a perpetrator of online hate. Assertive and technical coping strategies were negatively related with perpetrating online hate. Bystanders of online hate reported fewer instances of perpetrating online hate when they reported higher levels of assertive and technical coping strategies, and more frequent instances of perpetrating online hate when they reported lower levels of assertive and technical coping strategies. In conclusion, our findings suggest that, if effective, prevention and intervention programs that target online hate should consider educating young people about problem-focused coping strategies, self-assertiveness, and media skills. Implications for future research are discussed.}, language = {en} } @article{WachsWright2018, author = {Wachs, Sebastian and Wright, Michelle F.}, title = {Associations between Bystanders and Perpetrators of Online Hate}, series = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, volume = {15}, journal = {International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health}, number = {9}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {1660-4601}, doi = {10.3390/ijerph15092030}, pages = {1 -- 9}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Hatred directed at members of groups due to their origin, race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation is not new, but it has taken on a new dimension in the online world. To date, very little is known about online hate among adolescents. It is also unknown how online disinhibition might influence the association between being bystanders and being perpetrators of online hate. Thus, the present study focused on examining the associations among being bystanders of online hate, being perpetrators of online hate, and the moderating role of toxic online disinhibition in the relationship between being bystanders and perpetrators of online hate. In total, 1480 students aged between 12 and 17 years old were included in this study. Results revealed positive associations between being online hate bystanders and perpetrators, regardless of whether adolescents had or had not been victims of online hate themselves. The results also showed an association between toxic online disinhibition and online hate perpetration. Further, toxic online disinhibition moderated the relationship between being bystanders of online hate and being perpetrators of online hate. Implications for prevention programs and future research are discussed.}, language = {en} }