@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{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{WachsWettsteinBilzetal.2022, author = {Wachs, Sebastian and Wettstein, Alexander and Bilz, Ludwig and Gamez-Guadix, Manuel}, title = {Motivos del discurso de odio en la adolescencia y su relaci{\´o}n con las normas sociales}, series = {Comunicar : revista cient{\´i}fica de comunicaci{\´o}n y educaci{\´o}n}, volume = {30}, journal = {Comunicar : revista cient{\´i}fica de comunicaci{\´o}n y educaci{\´o}n}, number = {71}, publisher = {Grupo Comunicar}, address = {Huelva}, issn = {1134-3478}, doi = {10.3916/C71-2022-01}, pages = {9 -- 20}, year = {2022}, abstract = {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.}, language = {es} }