Who Is Searching for Cyberhate? Adolescents' Characteristics Associated with Intentional or Unintentional Exposure to Cyberhate

Cyberhate is one of the online risks that adolescents can experience online. It is considered a content risk when it is unintentionally encountered and a conduct risk when the user actively searches for it. Previous research has not differentiated between these experiences, although they can concern different groups of adolescents and be connected to distinctive risk factors. To address this, our study first focuses on both unintentional and intentional exposure and investigates the individual-level risk factors that differentiate them. Second, we compare each exposed group of adolescents with those who were not exposed to cyberhate. We used survey data from a representative sample of adolescents (N = 6,033, aged 12-16 years, 50.3 percent girls) from eight European countries-Czechia, Finland, Flanders, France, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia-and conducted multinomial logistic regression. Our findings show that adolescents with higher sensation seeking, proactive normative beliefs about aggression (NBA), and who report cyberhate perpetration, are at higher risk of intentionally searching for cyberhate contents compared with those who are unintentionally exposed. In comparison with unexposed adolescents, reporting other risky experiences was a risk factor for both types of exposure. Furthermore, NBA worked differently-reactive NBA was a risk factor for intentional exposure, but proactive NBA did not play a role and even decreased the chance of unintentional exposure. Digital skills increased both types of exposure. Our findings stress the need to differentiate between intentional and unintentional cyberhate exposure and to examine proactive and reactive NBA separately.

The link between exposure to violent media, normative beliefs about aggression, self-control, and aggression: A comparison of traditional and cyberbullying

Adolescence is a high-risk age for exposure to violent media (EVM) and bullying. Some previous theories and empirical studies have highlighted a moderated mediating model that normative beliefs about aggression (NBA) as a mediator and self-control (SC) as a moderator for the link between EVM and aggressive behaviors (including bullying behaviors). However, most previous studies analyzed traditional bullying (TB) and cyberbullying (CB) separately, which is not conducive to finding the differences between the two bullying behaviors. Therefore, this study aims to compare the differences between risk prediction models of TB and CB among adolescents. A total of 777 Chinese adolescent students (336 girls; M_age  = 13.57 ± 0.98) completed questionnaires including EVM, NBA, TB, CB, and SC. The results showed that: (1) EVM was positively related to adolescent TB/CB; (2) NBA mediated the above relations; and (3) SC buffers the direct effect of EVM on TB and the effect of NBA on TB. However, SC buffers the effect of NBA on adolescent CB but not buffers the direct effect of EVM on CB. This study highlights the necessity of distinguishing offline and online situations in aggressive behavior research. We suggested "online disinhibit hypothesis" would be adopted to explain why protector factors (e.g., SC) do not buffer the link between aggression-related risk factors (e.g., EVM) and online aggression (e.g., CB).

Harsh Parenting and Children's Aggressive Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model

Harsh parenting and its effect on children’s aggressive behavior has received attention from researchers, however few studies have considered the role of the emotional process. This study aims to examine the relationship between harsh parenting, children’s aggressive behavior, normative beliefs about aggression, and regulatory emotional self-efficacy, alongside their mechanism of interplay. A sample of 235 senior primary school students in Beijing were recruited as participants by using the Harsh Parenting Scale, the Normative Beliefs about Aggression Scale, the Buss–Warren Aggression Questionnaire, and the Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale. Results indicated that: (1) Harsh parenting had a significant positive predictive effect on children’s aggressive behavior after controlling gender; (2) normative beliefs about the aggression of children mediated the relationship between harsh parenting and children’s aggressive behavior; and (3) regulatory emotional self-efficacy had moderating effects both the mediation model of normative beliefs about the aggression of children and in the direct predictive model of harsh parenting on children’s aggressive behavior. The results are not only helpful to understand the relationship between harsh parenting and children’s aggressive behavior from the perspective of an integrated model of emotion processes and cognition, but also provide a new practical way to prevent and intervene in children’s aggressive behavior in the future.

The Relation of Violent Video Games to Adolescent Aggression: An Examination of Moderated Mediation Effect

To assess the moderated mediation effect of normative beliefs about aggression and family environment on exposure to violent video games and adolescent aggression, the subjects self-reported their exposure to violent video games, family environment, normative beliefs about aggression, and aggressive behavior. The results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between exposure to violent video games and adolescent aggression; normative beliefs about aggression had a mediation effect on exposure to violent video games and adolescent aggression, while family environment moderated the first part of the mediation process. For individuals with a good family environment, exposure to violent video games had only a direct effect on aggression; however, for those with poor family environment, it had both direct and indirect effects mediated by normative beliefs about aggression. This moderated mediation model includes some notions of General Aggression Model (GAM) and Catalyst Model (CM), which helps shed light on the complex mechanism of violent video games influencing adolescent aggression.

Predicting Chinese Adolescent Internet Gaming Addiction From Peer Context and Normative Beliefs About Aggression: A 2-Year Longitudinal Study

There has been growing concern over Internet gaming addiction (IGA) around the world. However, the risk factors and mediating mechanisms of IGA in Chinese youth remain largely unknown. A total of 323 Chinese adolescents (52.94% females, M age = 14.83, SD = 0.49, range = 13.50-16.50) completed questionnaires regarding peer victimization, deviant peer affiliation (DPA), normative beliefs about aggression (NBA), and IGA in the fall semester of 7th, 8th, and 9th grade. Structural equation modeling showed that 7th grade peer victimization predicted higher 8th grade DPA, which in turn was associated with enhanced 9th grade NBA, and ultimately, higher 9th grade IGA. In addition, 7th grade peer victimization made a unique contribution to 9th grade IGA through 9th grade NBA. The current study goes beyond previous research by using a 2-year longitudinal design and by taking into account both peer relations and individual cognitions as predictors of IGA. In addition, these findings have practical significance for improving intervention strategies targeting risk factors for adolescent IGA.

You Are What You Read: The Belief Systems of Cyber-Bystanders on Social Networking Sites

The present study tested how exposure to two types of responses to a hypothetical simulated Facebook setting influenced cyber-bystanders' perceived control and normative beliefs using a 4 cyberbully-victim group (pure cyberbullies, non-involved, pure cyberbullied victims, and cyberbullied-victims) × 2 condition (offend vs. defend) experimental design. 203 Hong Kong Chinese secondary school and university students (132 females, 71 males; 12 to 28; M = 16.70; SD = 3.03 years old) were randomly assigned into one of two conditions. Results showed that participants' involvement in cyberbullying significantly related to their control beliefs about bully and victim assisting behaviors, while exposure to the two different conditions (offend vs. defend comments) was related to both their control and normative beliefs. In general, the defend condition promoted higher control beliefs to help the victims and promoted higher normative beliefs to help the victims. Regardless of their past involvement in cyberbullying and exposure to offend vs. defend conditions, both cyber-bullies and cyber-victims were more inclined to demonstrate normative beliefs to help victims than to assist bullies. These results have implications for examining environmental influences in predicting bystander behaviors in cyberbullying contexts, and for creating a positive environment to motivate adolescents to become "upstanders" in educational programs to combat cyberbullying.

Bystanders' responses to offline bullying and cyberbullying: The role of empathy and normative beliefs about aggression

Cyberbullying often takes place with the virtual presence or knowledge of bystanders. While we have some evidence about the determinants of bystanders' responses to offline bullying, we lack empirical studies concerning the variables that influence bystanders' responses to cyberbullying. The current study examines bystanders' responses to offline bullying and cyberbullying incidents. Two types of responses were captured: support toward the victims and the reinforcement of bullies' actions. Using data from 321 German adolescents (ages 12-18; M = 14.99; 44% girls), the association between bystanders' responses and normative beliefs about verbal aggression and cyberaggression, and affective and cognitive empathy, were tested in a path model. Both types of normative beliefs positively predicted the reinforcement of bullies, and normative belief about verbal aggression also predicted support for the victims of offline bullying. Both types of empathy predicted support in offline bullying, but only affective empathy predicted support in cyberbullying. There was no link between affective or cognitive empathy to the reinforcement of bullies. Moreover, bystanders' tendencies to respond supportively to the victim or to reinforce the bully were rather consistent in both cyber- and offline bullying, but there was no link between support and reinforcement. The findings are discussed with regard to implications for prevention and intervention efforts.

When do normative beliefs about aggression predict aggressive behavior? An application of I3 theory

I(3) theory assumes that aggressive behavior is dependent on three orthogonal processes (i.e., Instigator, Impellance, and Inhibition). Previous studies showed that Impellance (trait aggressiveness, retaliation tendencies) better predicted aggression when Instigator was strong and Inhibition was weak. In the current study, we predicted that another Impellance (i.e., normative beliefs about aggression) might predict aggression when Instigator was absent and Inhibition was high (i.e., the perfect calm proposition). In two experiments, participants first completed the normative beliefs about aggression questionnaire. Two weeks later, participants' self-control resources were manipulated either using the Stroop task (study 1, N = 148) or through an "e-crossing" task (study 2, N = 180). Afterwards, with or without being provoked, participants played a game with an ostensible partner where they had a chance to aggress against them. Study 1 found that normative beliefs about aggression negatively and significantly predicted aggressive behavior only when provocation was absent and self-control resources were not depleted. In Study 2, normative beliefs about aggression negatively predicted aggressive behavior at marginal significance level only in the "no-provocation and no-depletion" condition. In conclusion, the current study provides partial support for the perfect calm proposition and I(3) theory.