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Hate speech is a global issue that is also prevalent among adolescents and requires an educational response. Teachers handle hate speech as part of their professional role. To date, we know little about their beliefs in relation to the early stages of their interventional actions, specifically to their perception of hate speech in school. Thus, this study examined associations between teachers’ social dominance orientation, their pluralist attitude, and their hate speech perception in school. A sample of 471 secondary school teachers from 38 schools (Germany: n = 251; Switzerland: n = 220) participated in a self-report survey from December 2020 to April 2021 (MAge = 42.8 years; 57.7% females; 21.0% with migration status). Data from a total of 3,560 students from grades 7–9 (Germany: n = 1,841; Switzerland: n = 1,719) were matched with teachers’ data to control for students’ hate speech perception in school. Fixed effects multilevel regressions were run, including covariates (teachers’ age, gender, migration status, students’ hate speech perception), teachers’ social dominance orientation, pluralist attitude, and their hate speech perception in school. Teachers perceived a higher frequency of offline hate speech than online hate speech. Contrary to the hypotheses, social dominance orientation was positively associated with offline and online hate speech perception. As predicted, teachers’ pluralist attitude was positively linked to their off- and online hate speech perception. Further research must now clarify how the investigated beliefs and attitudes and teachers’ hate speech perception in school relate to other aspects of their professional competence.

Abstract Background Violent behaviors in romantic relationships among adolescents and young people are pressing social matter as they have an effect on both victims and aggressors. Moreover, in the last decades, new forms of harassment, control, and abuse through social networks and mobile phones have arisen. Therefore, now forms of online and offline dating violence coexist. Objectives The aim was to analyze the prevalence rates by sex and age and the co-occurrence of online and offline dating violence. Moreover, the roles of online and offline dating violence aggressors and victims for their self-esteem, hostility, general psychological state, and emotional intelligence were investigated. Method Three hundred forty-one university students from the Basque Country, Spain, participated in the study. They completed six validated instruments related to the mentioned variables. Results Results highlight the high prevalence of online and offline dating violence in the sample and the co-occurrence of both types. No gender nor sex differences were found for online and offline dating violence perpetration and victimization. The correlation between online and offline dating violence was confirmed, and the reciprocity of violence is greater for offline violence. In relation to the role, both types of victims (online and offline) showed higher levels of hostility and psychological symptomatology than non-victims, but differences in self-esteem and emotional regulation were found in these modalities. Online and offline perpetrators shared hostility and some psychological symptoms as characteristics compared to non-victims, but differed in other symptoms and emotional intelligence. Conclusion There is a continuum between offline and online victimization perpetration albeit differences in the characteristics such as self-esteem, emotional intelligence, and general functioning exist.

Hate speech, or intentional derogatory expressions about people based on assigned group characteristics, has been studied primarily in online contexts. Less is known about the occurrence of this phenomenon in schools. As it has negative consequences for victims, perpetrators, and those who witness it, it is crucial to characterize the occurrence of offline (i.e., in the school) and online hate speech to describe similarities and differences between these two socialization contexts. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of hate speech witnessing, victimization, and perpetration, in a sample of 3,620 7–9th graders (51% self-identified as female) from 42 schools in Germany and Switzerland. We found that 67% of the students witnessed hate speech in their school, and 65% witnessed online hate speech at least once in the past 12 months. Approximately 21% of the students self-identified as offline perpetrators and 33% as offline victims, whereas these percentages were lower for online hate speech (13 and 20%, respectively). In both settings, skin color and origin were the most common group references for hate speech (50% offline and 63% online). Offline hate speech mainly came from classmates (88%), unknown sources (e.g., graffiti; 19%), or teachers (12%), whereas online hate speech mostly came from unknown persons (77%). The most frequent forms of offline hate speech were offensive jokes (94%) and the spread of lies and rumors about the members of a specific social group (84%). Significant differences by country, gender, and migration background were observed. Girls reported more offline victimization experiences, less perpetration, and a greater frequency of witnessing hate speech. This difference was larger in magnitude in the online setting. Students in Switzerland reported being exposed to hate speech more often than students in Germany. Students with a migration background reported higher hate speech victimization based on skin color and origin than students without a migration background. The high prevalence of hate speech highlights the need for school-based prevention programs. Our findings are discussed in terms of the practical implications.

This study investigated the associations between attained status and adolescents’ social behaviors, as well as the moderating effects of social status goals, culture, and gender. Participants were 1,267 adolescents (Mage = 13.36; 49% girls overall) from China (n = 667) and the United Sates (n = 600). Social status goals, relational and overt aggression, and prosocial behaviors were self-reported, whereas popularity and social preference were peer reported. The findings suggest that the relationships between popularity and relational aggression and overt aggression were stronger when adolescents endorsed high popularity goals, whereas this relationship was weaker when these adolescents endorsed high social preference goals. For prosocial behaviors, these associations were stronger when adolescents endorsed high social preference goals, but lower when they endorsed high popularity goals. The patterns for social preference were stronger for Chinese adolescents, while the relationships for popularity were stronger for American adolescents. No moderation effects were found for gender. These findings indicate the need to consider the cultural context when examining adolescents’ social status and the associated social behaviors.

It is well known that victims of violence are more likely than non-victims to be perpetrators, and that perpetrators are more likely than non-perpetrators to be victims. However, the overlap between being the victim of violence and the perpetrator of violence is not well understood when it comes to online hate. An explanatory mechanism in this relationship could potentially be the use of specific coping strategies. We sought to develop a better understanding of the relationship between the victims and the perpetrators of online hate to inform effective intervention and prevention initiatives in the field of media education. Self-report questionnaires on receiving and committing online hate and on technical and assertive coping were completed by 1,480 young people between 12 and 17 years old (M = 14.21 years; SD = 1.68). Results showed that increases in being the recipient of online hate were positively related to being a perpetrator of online hate. Technical and assertive coping strategies were negatively related to perpetrating online hate. Furthermore, victims of online hate reported less instances of perpetrating online hate when they reported higher levels of technical and assertive coping strategies, and more frequent instances of perpetrating online hate when they reported lower levels of technical and assertive coping strategies. In conclusion, our findings suggest that, if they are to be effective, prevention and intervention programs that target online hate should consider educating young people in problem-focused coping strategies.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between school-based racial discrimination by teachers and peers and academic outcomes (i.e., classroom misconduct, absenteeism, academic performance, school readiness, and school behavioral problems) over one year (Time 2) through the moderation of perceived social support from friends. Participants were 599 Latinx adolescents (56% girls; M[subscript age] = 14.51, SD = 0.55) from middle schools located in the suburbs of a large Midwestern United States city. They completed questionnaires on their perceived school-based racial discrimination and social support from friends. Their teachers completed questionnaires on classroom misconduct and school readiness, measured twice over one year. School records of academic performance, absenteeism, and school behavioral problems were also collected twice over one year. The findings indicated that social support from friends was negatively associated with Time 2 classroom misconduct, absenteeism, and school behavioral problem, but positively associated with Time 2 school readiness and academic performance. School-based racial discrimination by teachers and peers were both related positively to Time 2 classroom misconduct, absenteeism, and school behavioral problems, whereas both types of discrimination were related negatively to Time 2 school readiness and academic performance. Social support from friends buffered against academic outcomes associated with discrimination by teachers. Similar patterns were found for discrimination by peers, but only for Time 2 academic performance and absenteeism. These results suggest that high perceived social support from friends positively impacts Latinx adolescents' academic outcomes after experiencing school-based racial discrimination while low levels increase such negative outcomes.

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.

The sudden switch to distance education to contain the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered adolescents' lives around the globe. The present research aims to identify psychological characteristics that relate to adolescents' well-being in terms of positive emotion and intrinsic learning motivation, and key characteristics of their learning behavior in a situation of unplanned, involuntary distance education. Following Self-Determination Theory, experienced competence, autonomy, and relatedness were assumed to relate to active learning behavior (i.e., engagement and persistence), and negatively relate to passive learning behavior (i.e., procrastination), mediated via positive emotion and intrinsic learning motivation. Data were collected via online questionnaires in altogether eight countries from Europe, Asia, and North America (N = 25,305) and comparable results across countries were expected. Experienced competence was consistently found to relate to positive emotion and intrinsic learning motivation, and, in turn, active learning behavior in terms of engagement and persistence. The study results further highlight the role of perceived relatedness for positive emotion. The high proportions of explained variance speak in favor of taking these central results into account when designing distance education in times of COVID-19.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, higher educational institutions worldwide switched to emergency distance learning in early 2020. The less structured environment of distance learning forced students to regulate their learning and motivation more independently. According to self-determination theory (SDT), satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and social relatedness affects intrinsic motivation, which in turn relates to more active or passive learning behavior. As the social context plays a major role for basic need satisfaction, distance learning may impair basic need satisfaction and thus intrinsic motivation and learning behavior. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between basic need satisfaction and procrastination and persistence in the context of emergency distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in a cross-sectional study. We also investigated the mediating role of intrinsic motivation in this relationship. Furthermore, to test the universal importance of SDT for intrinsic motivation and learning behavior under these circumstances in different countries, we collected data in Europe, Asia and North America. A total of N = 15,462 participants from Albania, Austria, China, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Kosovo, Lithuania, Poland, Malta, North Macedonia, Romania, Sweden, and the US answered questions regarding perceived competence, autonomy, social relatedness, intrinsic motivation, procrastination, persistence, and sociodemographic background. Our results support SDT's claim of universality regarding the relation between basic psychological need fulfilment, intrinsic motivation, procrastination, and persistence. However, whereas perceived competence had the highest direct effect on procrastination and persistence, social relatedness was mainly influential via intrinsic motivation.

The relationship among cyberbullying victimization, lower self-esteem, and internet addiction has been well-established. Yet, little research exists that explains the nature of these associations, and no previous work has considered the inability to identify or describe one’s emotions, namely, alexithymia, as a potential mediator of these links. The present study sought to investigate the indirect effects of cyberbullying victimization on self-esteem and internet addiction, mediated by alexithymia. The sample consisted of 1,442 participants between 12 and 17 years (Mage = 14.17, SD = 1.38, 51.5% male) from Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. Results showed a direct relationship between cyberbullying victimization and self-esteem and an indirect association mediated by alexithymia in the Dutch sample. However, in the German and U.S. samples, only an indirect relationship via alexithymia, but not a direct effect of cyberbullying victimization on self-esteem, was found. Consistent across the three country samples, cyberbullying victimization and internet addiction were directly and also indirectly associated via alexithymia. In sum, findings indicate that alexithymia might help better understand which detrimental effects cyberbullying victimization has on adolescent psychological health. Thus, cyberbullying prevention programs should consider implementing elements that educate adolescents on the ability to identify and describe their own emotions.

While the role of and consequences of being a bystander to face-to-face bullying has received some attention in the literature, to date, little is known about the effects of being a bystander to cyberbullying. It is also unknown how empathy might impact the negative consequences associated with being a bystander of cyberbullying. The present study focused on examining the longitudinal association between bystander of cyberbullying, depression, and anxiety, and the moderating role of empathy in the relationship between bystander of cyberbullying and subsequent depression and anxiety. There were 1,090 adolescents (Mage = 12.19; 50% female) from the United States included at Time 1, and they completed questionnaires on empathy, cyberbullying roles (bystander, perpetrator, victim), depression, and anxiety. One year later, at Time 2, 1,067 adolescents (Mage = 13.76; 51% female) completed questionnaires on depression and anxiety. Results revealed a positive association between bystander of cyberbullying and depression and anxiety. Further, empathy moderated the positive relationship between bystander of cyberbullying and depression, but not for anxiety. Implications for intervention and prevention programs are discussed.

This one-year longitudinal study examined the moderating effect of perceived social support from school-based Gay-Straight Alliances in the associations between homophobic cyberbullying involvement (i.e., victimization, bystanding) and academic outcomes (e.g., classroom misconduct, school readiness, academic performance, absenteeism, school behavioural problems), measured one year later, among 470 adolescents (M[subscript age] = 16.01 years; 56% female) who identified as LGBTQIA. Perceived social support from Gay-Straight Alliances moderated the relationship between homophobic cyberbullying victimization and Time 2 classroom misconduct, absenteeism, and school behavioural problem. Furthermore, perceived social support from Gay-Straight Alliances further moderated these associations for Time 2 academic performance, school readiness, and cyberbullying victimization. Similar patterns were found for homophobic cyberbullying bystanding and Time 2 academic performance and absenteeism. Our findings highlight the need for more research on homophobic cyberbullying, the crucial role Gay-Straight Alliances can play in mitigating negative outcomes associated with homophobic cyberbullying involvement, and the development of inclusive anti-cyberbullying prevention programmes that acknowledge the needs of LGBTQIA adolescents.

Die zunehmende Verbreitung von Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien (IKT) eröffnet neue Handlungs- und Erfahrungsräume für Kinder, in denen Vorsichtsmaßnahmen und sozial akzeptierte Verhaltensregeln erst noch entwickelt bzw. ausgehandelt werden müssen. Dabei verändert sich die Nutzung über die Altersgruppen stark. Nutzen laut KIM Studie 2012 von den 6- bis 7-Jährigen 7 Prozent das Internet/Online-Dienste jeden bzw. fast jeden Tag, so sind es bereits 58 Prozent der 12- bis 13-Jährigen. 55 Prozent der gleichen Altersklasse dürfen online gehen, ohne ihre Eltern um Erlaubnis zu bitten, und 68 Prozent sind bei einem sozialen Netzwerk angemeldet (überwiegend Facebook). Dort sind sie äußerst aktiv, chatten, versenden Nachrichten, posten, was sie machen, schreiben Kommentare, stellen Fotos und Videos ein oder suchen nach neuen Kontakten.

This study (1) reports frequency rates of mutually exclusive traditional, cyber and combined (both traditional and cyber) bullying roles; and (2) investigates whether adolescents belonging to particular bullying roles show higher levels of involvement in risky online activities (Compulsive Internet Use (CIU), online grooming victimization, and sexting) and risky offline activities (bad behavior in school, drinking alcohol and truancy) than non-involved adolescents. The sample comprised self-reports of 1928 German, Dutch and Thai adolescents (Age = 12–18; M = 14.52; SD = 1.6). The results revealed age, sex and country differences in bullying frequency rates. CIU, sending of sexts and risky offline activities were most strongly associated with combined bully-victims. The receiving of sexts was most strongly associated with combined bullies; and online grooming victimization was most strongly related to cyber bully-victims. Another important finding is that the associations between risky offline activities and combined bullying are stronger than for traditional and cyber bullying. The findings contribute to better understanding of the associations between varying bullying roles and risky online and offline activities among adolescents. In sum, the results underscore the need to promote life skills rather than adopting more conventional approaches, which focus almost exclusively on reduction of risks.

While the consequences of cyberbullying victimization have received some attention in the literature, to date, little is known about the multiple types of strains in adolescents’ lives, such as whether cyberbullying victimization and peer rejection increase their vulnerability to depression and anxiety. Even though some research found that adolescents with disabilities show higher risk for cyberbullying victimization, most research has focused on typically developing adolescents. Thus, the present study focused on examining the moderating effect of peer rejection in the relationships between cyberbullying victimization, depression, and anxiety among adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. There were 128 participants (89% male; ages ranging from 11–16 years old) with autism spectrum disorder in the sixth, seventh, or eighth grade at 16 middle schools in the United States. Participants completed questionnaires on cyberbullying victimization, peer rejection, depression, and anxiety. Results revealed that cyberbullying victimization was associated positively with peer rejection, anxiety, and depression among adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Further, peer rejection was linked positively with depression and anxiety. Peer rejection moderated the positive relationship between cyberbullying victimization and depression, but not anxiety. Implications for prevention programs and future research are discussed.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the moderation of parental mediation in the longitudinal association between being a bystander of cyberbullying and cyberbullying perpetration and cyberbullying victimization. Participants were 1067 7th and 8th graders between 12 and 15 years old (51% female) from six middle schools in predominantly middle-class neighborhoods in the Midwestern United States. Increases in being bystanders of cyberbullying was related positively to restrictive and instructive parental mediation. Restrictive parental mediation was related positively to Time 2 (T2) cyberbullying victimization, while instructive parental mediation was negatively related to T2 cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. Restrictive parental mediation was a moderator in the association between bystanders of cyberbullying and T2 cyberbullying victimization. Increases in restrictive parental mediation strengthened the positive relationship between these variables. In addition, instructive mediation moderated the association between bystanders of cyberbullying and T2 cyberbullying victimization such that increases in this form of parental mediation strategy weakened the association between bystanders of cyberbullying and T2 cyberbullying victimization. The current findings indicate a need for parents to be aware of how they can impact adolescents’ involvement in cyberbullying as bullies and victims. In addition, greater attention should be given to developing parental intervention programs that focus on the role of parents in helping to mitigate adolescents’ likelihood of cyberbullying involvement.

There are scarce studies on bystanders' responses to racist hate speech. The present study was rooted in the general aggression model to examine the direct and indirect associations between witnessing racist hate speech and bystanders' active defending behaviors. Moreover, we examined if these associations varied as a function of the immigration background of bystanders. The sample included 3,225 7th, 8th, and 9th graders (51.7% girls, 37.2% with an immigrant background) from 40 schools in Switzerland and Germany. A multilevel mediation path model revealed that witnessing racist hate speech negatively predicted bystanders' active defending. It also had indirect associations with bystanders' active defending via low levels of empathy. Finally, associations were not observed in students with an immigrant background. The findings regarding the potential contribution of these results to preventing hate speech in school are discussed.

While the role of and consequences of being a bystander to face-to-face homophobic bullying has received some attention in the literature, to date, very little is known about the relationship between witnessing and perpetrating homophobic cyberbullying. It is also unknown how empathy and toxic online disinhibition might impact the association between witnessing and perpetrating homophobic cyberbullying. The present study focused on examining the longitudinal association between witnessing and perpetrating homophobic cyberbullying, and the potentially moderating role of empathy and toxic online disinhibition in this relationship. There were 1067 adolescents (age range from 12 through 15) included in this study, and they answered questionnaires about empathy, toxic online disinhibition, homophobic cyberbullying involvement (witnessing, perpetration), and face-to-face homophobic bullying involvement (witnessing, perpetration). One year later, adolescents also completed a questionnaire on the perpetration of homophobic cyberbullying. Results revealed an association between witnessing homophobic cyberbullying and homophobic cyberbullying perpetration, as measured over one year, while controlling for face-to-face homophobic bullying involvement. Further, empathy and toxic online disinhibition moderated the relationship.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in social status insecurity and self-reported relational and overt aggression based on the ethnic context of the schools, and how ethnic context moderates the associations between social status insecurity and self-reported relational and overt aggression. Participants were 405 Latinx adolescents (53% girls; M = 14.51, SD = 0.58). Adolescents were from one of two schools in which they were either the majority (84% Latinx population; n = 203) or the minority (10% Latinx population; n = 202). They completed questionnaires on social status insecurity and self-reported relational and overt aggression at time 1 (in 7th grade) and self-reported relational and overt aggression at time 2 (1 year later in 8th grade). The findings revealed that minority adolescents reported higher levels of social status insecurity and self-reported relational aggression at time 1 and time 2. The association between social status insecurity and time 2 self-reported relational aggression was more positive for minority adolescents. Majority adolescent status did not influence this association.