ERIC Number: EJ1341375
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1134-3478
EISSN: N/A
Adolescents' Motivations to Perpetrate Hate Speech and Links with Social Norms
Comunicar: Media Education Research Journal, v30 n71 p9-19 2022
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; M[subscript age]=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.
Descriptors: Antisocial Behavior, Behavior Standards, Social Behavior, Test Construction, Psychometrics, Motivation, Adolescents, Foreign Countries, Test Validity, Factor Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Switzerland
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A