Department of Educational Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
Institute of Education, National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland.
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2022 Apr;25(4):223-229. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2021.0159. Epub 2022 Feb 16.
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.
全球青少年越来越多地接触到网络仇恨言论（OHS）。然而，对于青少年参与仇恨言论的不同角色以及决定其仇恨言论行为的因素知之甚少。本研究基于以往的研究，旨在检验 OHS 的暴力循环假说，并分析道德脱离（MD）和同理心是否会调节受害者到加害者的关系。该样本由来自德国和瑞士 40 所学校的 3560 名 7 至 9 年级学生（52.1%为女生）组成。采用自我报告问卷评估 OHS 的参与度、MD 和同理心。多层次分析表明，OHS 的受害者更有可能报告 OHS 的实施。此外，与 MD 水平较低的受害者相比，OHS 的受害者报告 MD 水平较高时，更有可能报告 OHS 的实施。最后，与 MD 水平较低的受害者相比，OHS 的受害者报告同理心水平较高时，更不可能报告 OHS 的实施。这些发现将暴力循环假说扩展到了 OHS，并强调了在仇恨言论预防中需要解决 MD 和同理心的问题。未来的研究将讨论其意义。
