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There is some indication that discrimination as well as low levels of life satisfaction render young people at risk of cyberhate victimization. Adopting a socio-ecological perspective, this paper examines whether supportive family, peer and school environments may buffer against the effects of perceived discrimination and low life satisfaction on cyberhate victimization. Data from four countries (N = 3396) of the EU Kids Online IV survey on children aged 11-17 (51% girls) revealed a positive association between perceived discrimination and cyberhate victimization, but this impact was moderated by supportive family and peer environments. A negative association between life satisfaction and cyberhate victimization was mitigated by peer support. However, no associations with the school context were found. The current study provides new insights on how social support on different levels of the social environment may buffer against potential risk factors for cyberhate victimization and can inform decision-makers towards intervention and prevention strategies.

In an international context of increasing racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia in Europe and the USA (FRA, 2013; Hawdon et al. 2015), social media provide a privileged tool for propaganda and victimization. Issues of racism and xenophobia have become more prevalent both in "real life" and on the Internet. This study presents the results of a self-reported questionnaire survey on cyberhate among 1900 French students, age 12-20, where we investigated the association between school bullying and cyberhate victimization and perpetration. Findings show that bullying and cyberhate are a common experience for quite a few young people. Structural equation models provide evidence of the association between ordinary offline victimization and involvement in cyberhate. Our findings for cyberhate provide further evidence suggesting an overlap between traditional bullying and cyberbullying. They confirm the need for further research to acquire a better understanding of the processes that underscore individual involvement in online hate in order to inform effective interventions.

Epidemiological studies on the prevalence of cyberbullying and cybervictimization in different countries, using the same procedure and the same measures, are of relevance in understanding differences in results that are not due to methodological factors. The current study was conducted in 8 European countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Spain), involving a total of 4,847 students, using an online anonymous questionnaire (the Tabby online questionnaire). The results were analyzed by comparing differences between countries and between genders. Cyberbullying and cybervictimization were most prevalent in Bulgaria and Hungary and least prevalent in Spain. Boys committed more cyberbullying than girls in all countries, but there were no overall gender differences in cybervictimization. However, girls were more often cybervictims in four countries and boys were more often cybervictims in the other four countries. The results are discussed with regard to the importance of cross-national studies of cyberbullying and cybervictimization and the use of online data collection in order to reduce methodological bias.

In this paper, we discuss the role that teachers play in preventing the expression of blatant and subtle prejudice among students. Using a self-reported survey conducted in the south of France, we investigated the attitudes of 1,858 middle and high school students. Multivariate analyses show that when students see their teachers addressing issues about racism, discrimination and cultural diversity in the classroom, their attitudes of intolerance decrease. Nevertheless, mediation and moderation models highlight the existence of external factors, such as the parents' educational attainment, that affect the students' capacity to internalise their teachers' discourse. Contrary to our expectations, the students' level of trust in the education system has no significant influence on their perception of the effectiveness of teacher interventions.

The purpose of this research is to test the validity of commonly used measures of exposure to and production of online extremism. Specifically, we investigate if a definition of hate influences survey responses about the production of and exposure to online hate. To explore the effects of a definition, we used a split experimental design on a sample of 18 to 25-year-old Americans where half of the respondents were exposed to the European Union's definition of hate speech and the other half were not. Then, all respondents completed a survey with commonly used items measuring exposure to and perpetration of online hate. The results reveal that providing a definition affects self-reported levels of exposure and perpetration, but the effects are dependent on race. The findings provide evidence that survey responses about online hate may be conditioned by social desirability and framing biases. The findings that group differences exist in how questions about hate are interpreted when definitions of it are not provided mean we must be careful when using measures that try to capture exposure to and the production of hate. While more research is needed, we recommend providing a clear, unambiguous definition when using surveys to measure online hate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents of today grow up in a connected world. While online communication offers great opportunities, it can also have negative impact on adolescents' life. In this work, we are interested in the use of online communication tools to share and create cyberhate content. Anchored in the general strain theory, we studied how social support (i.e., parental, peers and teacher support) may be related to cyberhate perpetration. We further tested how personal characteristics such as empathy, self‐esteem and anxiety could predict the propensity to be involved as cyberhate perpetrators. We collected self‐reported questionnaires of 1019 French young people (13.04 years; ranging from 9 to 17) and measured their perceived (a) parental, (b) peers and (c) teachers' support as well as their (d) empathy/benevolence, (e) self‐esteem and (f) anxiety. We also measured cyberhate perpetration and the association between perpetration, social support and personal characteristics. Our results highlight that parental and teacher support represent protective factors for cyberhate perpetration. Our results further suggest that self‐esteem is negatively linked to the propensity to cyberhate perpetration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is argued that the social control function of education and training is becoming increasingly explicit in England and France. Education and training can be viewed as a form of custody for young people, with enforced participation post 16 planned in the near future in England. Compulsory education for this age group is not currently planned in France, although secondary schools are legally supposed to be under an obligation to follow up and offer help (including the chance to go back and repeat a year) to any child who leaves school without qualifications. England and France share much in common in terms of the social patterning of which young people are likely to become "lost in transition", with social class and ethnicity remaining powerful predictors. Responses to the problem are similar, as in the growth of individualised support and plans to increase apprenticeships. However, France still places more emphasis on "insertion" into the mainstream of ideas, rather than choice and different pathways and routes, as in England. There are powerful political and social incentives to address the needs of these young people, whatever the political stance taken. Hopefully, these incentives mean that those "lost in transition" will reduce, in a way that respects individual choice, through the various initiatives both ongoing and being planned in France and England.

There is some indication that discrimination as well as low levels of life satisfaction render young people at risk of cyberhate victimization. Adopting a socio-ecological perspective, this paper examines whether supportive family, peer and school environments may buffer against the effects of perceived discrimination and low life satisfaction on cyberhate victimization. Data from four countries (N = 3396) of the EU Kids Online IV survey on children aged 11–17 (51% girls) revealed a positive association between perceived discrimination and cyberhate victimization, but this impact was moderated by supportive family and peer environments. A negative association between life satisfaction and cyberhate victimization was mitigated by peer support. However, no associations with the school context were found. The current study provides new insights on how social support on different levels of the social environment may buffer against potential risk factors for cyberhate victimization and can inform decision-makers towards intervention and prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]