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.

Department of Educational Studies University of Potsdam 14476 Potsdam Germany

Department of Psychology Pennsylvania State University PA 16802 USA

Faculty of Social Studies Masaryk University 60200 Brno Czech Republic

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Räsänen P., Hawdon J., Holkeri E., Keipi T., Näsi M., Oksanen A. Targets of online hate: Examining determinants of victimization among young Finnish Facebook users. Violence Vict. 2016;31:708–726. doi: 10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-14-00079. PubMed DOI

Hawdon J., Oksanen A., Räsänen P. Exposure to online hate in four nations: A cross-national consideration. Deviant Behav. 2017;38:254–266. doi: 10.1080/01639625.2016.1196985. DOI

Sponholz L. Hate Speech in den Massenmedien. VS Verlag; Wiesbaden, Germany: 2018. Theoretische Grundlagen und empirische Umsetzung.

Unnever J.D., Cullen F.T., Barnes J. Racial discrimination, weakened school bonds, and problematic behaviors: Testing a theory of African American offending. J. Res. Crime Delinq. 2016;53:139–164. doi: 10.1177/0022427815610794. DOI

Kauff M., Wölfer R., Hewstone M. Impact of discrimination on health among adolescent immigrant minorities in Europe: The role of perceived discrimination by police and security personnel. J. Soc. Issues. 2017;73:831–851. doi: 10.1111/josi.12250. DOI

Jakubowicz A., Dunn K., Mason G., Paradies Y., Bliuc A.-M., Bahfen N., Oboler A., Atie R., Connelly K. Cyber Racism and Community Resilience. Springer; Cham, Switzerland: 2017.

Rivers I., Poteat V.P., Noret N., Ashurst N. Observing bullying at school: The mental health implications of witness status. Sch. Psychol. Q. 2009;24:211–223. doi: 10.1037/a0018164. DOI

Erreygers S., Pabian S., Vandebosch H., Baillien E. Helping behavior among adolescent bystanders of cyberbullying: The role of impulsivity. Learn. Individ. Differ. 2016;48:61–67. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2016.03.003. DOI

Pabian S., Vandebosch H., Poels K., Van Cleemput K., Bastiaensens S. Exposure to cyberbullying as a bystander: An investigation of desensitization effects among early adolescents. Comput. Hum. Behav. 2016;62:480–487. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2016.04.022. DOI

Akers R.L., Krohn M.D., Lanza-Kaduce L., Radosevich M. Social learning and deviant behavior: A specific test of a general theory. Am. Sociol. Rev. 1979;44:636–655. doi: 10.2307/2094592. PubMed DOI

Rösner L., Krämer N.C. Verbal venting in the social web: Effects of anonymity and group norms on aggressive language use in online comments. Soc. Media Soc. 2016 doi: 10.1177/2056305116664220. DOI

Miller B., Morris R.G. Virtual peer effects in social learning theory. Crime Delinq. 2016;62:1543–1569. doi: 10.1177/0011128714526499. DOI

Mrug S., Madan A., Windle M. Emotional desensitization to violence contributes to adolescents’ violent behavior. J. Abnorm. Child Psychol. 2016;44:75–86. doi: 10.1007/s10802-015-9986-x. PubMed DOI PMC

Festl R., Scharkow M., Quandt T. Peer influence, internet use and cyberbullying: A comparison of different context effects among German adolescents. J. Child. Media. 2013;7:446–462. doi: 10.1080/17482798.2013.781514. DOI

Salmivalli C. Participant roles in bullying: How can peer bystanders be utilized in interventions? Theor. Pract. 2014;53:286–292. doi: 10.1080/00405841.2014.947222. DOI

Suler J. The online disinhibition effect. Cyberpsychol. Behav. 2004;7:321–326. doi: 10.1089/1094931041291295. PubMed DOI

Voggeser B.J., Singh R.K., Göritz A.S. Self-control in Online Discussions: Disinhibited Online Behavior as a Failure to Recognize Social Cues. Front. Psychol. 2018;8:2372. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02372. PubMed DOI PMC

Hinduja S., Patchin J.W. Cyberbullying: An exploratory analysis of factors related to offending and victimization. Deviant Behav. 2008;29:129–156. doi: 10.1080/01639620701457816. DOI

Tynes B., Reynolds L., Greenfield P.M. Adolescence, race, and ethnicity on the Internet: A comparison of discourse in monitored vs. unmonitored chat rooms. J. Appl. Dev. Psychol. 2004;25:667–684. doi: 10.1016/j.appdev.2004.09.003. DOI

Wright M.F. Predictors of anonymous cyber aggression: The role of adolescents’ beliefs about anonymity, aggression, and the permanency of digital content. Cyberpsychol. Behav. Soc. Netw. 2014;17:431–438. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2013.0457. PubMed DOI

Wright M.F., Harper B.D., Wachs S. The associations between cyberbullying and callous-unemotional traits among adolescents: The moderating effect of online disinhibition. Personal. Individ. Differ. 2018 doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2018.04.001. DOI

Udris R. Cyberbullying among high school students in Japan: Development and validation of the Online Disinhibition Scale. Comput. Hum. Behav. 2014;41:253–261. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2014.09.036. DOI

Görzig A., Ólafsson K. What makes a bully a cyberbully? Unravelling the characteristics of cyberbullies across twenty-five European countries. J. Child. Media. 2013;7:9–27. doi: 10.1080/17482798.2012.739756. DOI

Boyce W., Torsheim T., Currie C., Zambon A. The family affluence scale as a measure of national wealth: Validation of an adolescent self-report measure. Soc. Indic. Res. 2006;78:473–487. doi: 10.1007/s11205-005-1607-6. DOI

Little R.J., Rubin D.B. Statistical Analysis with Missing Data. Wiley; New York, NY, USA: 2002.

Muthen L.K., Muthen B.O. Mplus (Computer Software) Muthén & Muthén; Los Angeles, CA, USA: 2017.

Hayes A. Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach. The Guilford Press; New York, NY, USA: 2013.

Cohen J. Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. 2nd ed. Academic Press; New York, NY, USA: 1988.

Bias-Based Cyberaggression Related To Origin, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Gender, and Weight: Systematic Review of Young People's Experiences, Risk and Protective Factors, and the Consequences

Associations between Witnessing and Perpetrating Online Hate in Eight Countries: The Buffering Effects of Problem-Focused Coping