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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.
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.
Not much is known about how bystanders' emotional reactions after not intervening in cyberbullying might impact their health issues. Narrowing this gap in the literature, the present study focused on examining the moderating effects of emotional reactions (i.e., guilt, sadness, anger) after not intervening in cyberbullying on the longitudinal relationship between cyberbullying bystanding and health issues (i.e., subjective health complaints, suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-harm). Participants were 1,067 adolescents between 12 and 15 years old included in this study (M-age = 13.67; 51% girls). The findings showed a positive association between Time 1 cyberbullying bystanding and Time 2 health issues. Guilt moderated the positive relationships among Time 1 cyberbullying bystanding, Time 2 subjective health complaints, suicidal ideation, and non-suicidal self-harm. Time 1 sadness also moderated the relationship between Time 1 cyberbullying bystanding and Time 2 suicidal ideation and non-suicidal self-harm. However, anger did not moderate any of the associations.
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of gender and gender stereotype traits (masculinity, femininity) in cyber victimization behaviors (cyber relational victimization, cyber verbal victimization, hacking) through different technologies (mobile phones, gaming consoles, social networking sites). There were 456 8th graders (226 females; M age = 13.66, SD = 0.41) from two midwestern middle schools in the United States included in this study. They completed questionnaires on their endorsement of masculine and feminine traits, and self-reported cyber victimization through different technologies. The findings revealed main effects of types of cyber victimization for boys and of technology for girls. In particular, boys with feminine traits experienced the most victimization by cyber verbal aggression, cyber relational aggression, and hacking when compared to the other groups of boys. Girls with feminine traits experienced the most cyber victimization through social networking sites, gaming consoles, and mobile phones in comparison to the other groups of girls. For girls with feminine traits, they reported more cyber relational victimization and cyber verbal victimization through mobile phones and social networking sites, as well as more hacking via social networking sites. Such findings underscore the importance of considering gender stereotype traits, types of victimization, and technologies when examining cyber victimization.
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of gender and gender stereotype traits (masculinity, femininity) in cyber victimization behaviors (cyber relational victimization, cyber verbal victimization, hacking) through different technologies (mobile phones, gaming consoles, social networking sites). There were 456 8th graders (226 females; M age = 13.66, SD = 0.41) from two midwestern middle schools in the United States included in this study. They completed questionnaires on their endorsement of masculine and feminine traits, and self-reported cyber victimization through different technologies. The findings revealed main effects of types of cyber victimization for boys and of technology for girls. In particular, boys with feminine traits experienced the most victimization by cyber verbal aggression, cyber relational aggression, and hacking when compared to the other groups of boys. Girls with feminine traits experienced the most cyber victimization through social networking sites, gaming consoles, and mobile phones in comparison to the other groups of girls. For girls with feminine traits, they reported more cyber relational victimization and cyber verbal victimization through mobile phones and social networking sites, as well as more hacking via social networking sites. Such findings underscore the importance of considering gender stereotype traits, types of victimization, and technologies when examining cyber victimization.
As competition over peer status becomes intense during adolescence, some adolescents develop insecure feelings regarding their social standing among their peers (i.e., social status insecurity). These adolescents sometimes use aggression to defend or promote their status. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among social status insecurity, callous-unemotional (CU) traits, and popularity-motivated aggression and prosocial behaviors among adolescents, while controlling for gender. Another purpose was to examine the potential moderating role of CU traits in these relationships. Participants were 1,047 (49.2% girls; Mage = 12.44 years; age range from 11 to 14 years) in the 7th or 8th grades from a large Midwestern city. They completed questionnaires on social status insecurity, CU traits, and popularity-motivated relational aggression, physical aggression, cyberaggression, and prosocial behaviors. A structural regression model was conducted, with gender as a covariate. The model had adequate fit. Social status insecurity was associated positively with callousness, unemotional, and popularity-motivated aggression and related negatively to popularity-motivated prosocial behaviors. High social status insecurity was related to greater popularity-motivated aggression when adolescents had high callousness traits. The findings have implications for understanding the individual characteristics associated with social status insecurity.
As competition over peer status becomes intense during adolescence, some adolescents develop insecure feelings regarding their social standing among their peers (i.e., social status insecurity). These adolescents sometimes use aggression to defend or promote their status. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among social status insecurity, callous-unemotional (CU) traits, and popularity-motivated aggression and prosocial behaviors among adolescents, while controlling for gender. Another purpose was to examine the potential moderating role of CU traits in these relationships. Participants were 1,047 (49.2% girls; Mage = 12.44 years; age range from 11 to 14 years) in the 7th or 8th grades from a large Midwestern city. They completed questionnaires on social status insecurity, CU traits, and popularity-motivated relational aggression, physical aggression, cyberaggression, and prosocial behaviors. A structural regression model was conducted, with gender as a covariate. The model had adequate fit. Social status insecurity was associated positively with callousness, unemotional, and popularity-motivated aggression and related negatively to popularity-motivated prosocial behaviors. High social status insecurity was related to greater popularity-motivated aggression when adolescents had high callousness traits. The findings have implications for understanding the individual characteristics associated with social status insecurity.
Cyber victimization research reveals various personal and contextual correlations and negative consequences associated with this experience. Despite increasing attention on cyber victimization, few studies have examined such experiences among ethnic minority adolescents. The purpose of the present study was to examine the moderating effect of ethnicity in the longitudinal associations among cyber victimization, school-belongingness, and psychological consequences (i.e., depression, loneliness, anxiety). These associations were investigated among 416 Latinx and white adolescents (46% female; M age = 13.89, SD = 0.41) from one middle school in the United States. They answered questionnaires on cyber victimization, school belongingness, depression, loneliness, and anxiety in the 7th grade (Time 1). One year later, in the 8th grade (Time 2), they completed questionnaires on depression, loneliness, and anxiety. Low levels of school-belongingness strengthened the positive relationships between cyber victimization and Time 2 depression and anxiety, especially among Latinx adolescents. The positive association between cyber victimization and Time 2 loneliness was strengthened for low levels of school-belongingness for all adolescents. These findings may indicate that cyber victimization threatens adolescents’ school-belongingness, which has implications for their emotional adjustment. Such findings underscore the importance of considering diverse populations when examining cyber victimization.
Cyber victimization research reveals various personal and contextual correlations and negative consequences associated with this experience. Despite increasing attention on cyber victimization, few studies have examined such experiences among ethnic minority adolescents. The purpose of the present study was to examine the moderating effect of ethnicity in the longitudinal associations among cyber victimization, school-belongingness, and psychological consequences (i.e., depression, loneliness, anxiety). These associations were investigated among 416 Latinx and white adolescents (46% female; M age = 13.89, SD = 0.41) from one middle school in the United States. They answered questionnaires on cyber victimization, school belongingness, depression, loneliness, and anxiety in the 7th grade (Time 1). One year later, in the 8th grade (Time 2), they completed questionnaires on depression, loneliness, and anxiety. Low levels of school-belongingness strengthened the positive relationships between cyber victimization and Time 2 depression and anxiety, especially among Latinx adolescents. The positive association between cyber victimization and Time 2 loneliness was strengthened for low levels of school-belongingness for all adolescents. These findings may indicate that cyber victimization threatens adolescents’ school-belongingness, which has implications for their emotional adjustment. Such findings underscore the importance of considering diverse populations when examining cyber victimization.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Bullying and alexithymia
(2018)
AimsTo investigate whether there are differences among 12-18year-olds in capacity for identifying and/or describing own emotions between traditional bullies, cyber bullies, combined bullies, and nonbullies. MethodsData from self-report questionnaires completed by 897 female and 652 male 12-18year-olds (mean 14.5years, standard deviation 1.68) from Germany and Thailand were analysed using analysis of covariance. ResultsYoung people who reported never having bullied others scored lower on the alexithymia scale than traditional, cyber, or combined bullies. There were no differences between traditional and cyber bullies on this measure, but those who operated in both ways had significantly higher alexithymia scores compared with those who bullied in just one modality.
To date, little has been known about teachers’ success in bullying interventions. Thus, the present study analyzes how successfully teachers intervene in real bullying situations, based on an analysis of 1,996 reports by German students aged between 12 and 15 (49.2% female) from 24 schools. Predictors of success included intervention strategy (authoritarian-punitive, supportive-individual, supportive-cooperative intervention), bullying form (physical, verbal, relational, cyber), and the student’s bullying role (bully, victim, bystander) in the particular situation. Multilevel analyses showed that supportive-cooperative intervention strategies were the most successful in dealing with bullying in both the short and long term. In the long term, students evaluated teachers as being more successful in dealing with cyberbullying compared with physical bullying. Compared with students who observed bullying, students who perpetrated it were less likely to report that teachers’ interventions were successful in the short term. Implications for bullying intervention, preservice teacher-training, and future research are discussed.