Hate Speech Is Not Fun: Self-Control As a Mediating Variable between Adolescent Victims and Perpetrators of Hate Speech

In this paper we present the results of a moderation analysis of a convenience sample (n=446) of adolescents from 4 secondary schools in Almería (Spain). Our results show that perpetration of hate speech is explained by having been treated in a hurtful way online, but that adolescents' self-control significantly mediates the behavior (low self-control increases the likelihood of perpetrating hate speech) and is only significantly moderated when adolescents think that hate messages are not funny, in which case the likelihood of perpetrating hate speech significantly decreases. Prevention campaigns should aim to make adolescents aware that hate speech is not funny, but that it harms those who experience it and makes them react with more hate speech.