RT Article
T1 Promoting Classroom Climate and Why it Matters in Anti-Hate Speech Prevention Programs: A HateLess Evaluation Study
JF Journal of interpersonal violence
VO 41
IS 1/2
SP 93
OP 119
A1 Wachs, Sebastian 1981-
A1 Schittenhelm, Catherine
A1 Kops, Maxime
A1 Wright, Michelle F.
A2 Schittenhelm, Catherine
A2 Kops, Maxime
A2 Wright, Michelle F.
LA English
YR 2026
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1946015989
AB Inclusive and supportive classroom environments are essential, particularly during political and societal crises such as wars, disinformation, polarization, and rising populism and extremism. While existing research underscores the importance of such environments, few studies comprehensively examine the impact of anti-hate speech prevention programs on classroom dynamics and students’ social development. This study addressed this gap by investigating the direct and indirect effects of the HateLess anti-hate speech prevention program on inclusive classroom climate, classroom cohesion, empathy, and self-efficacy among adolescents. A sample of 820 adolescents aged 12 to 16 years (M = 13.27, SD = 1.04) from 11 German schools was divided into an intervention group (n = 567), who participated in the 1-week program, and a control group (n = 253). Multilevel mediation analyses revealed that, at T2 (1 month after the intervention), the intervention group reported significantly higher levels of inclusive classroom climate, cohesion, empathy, and self-efficacy than the control group. In addition, inclusive classroom climate and cohesion were positively associated with empathy and self-efficacy, and significant indirect effects indicated that the intervention’s impact on empathy and self-efficacy was partially mediated through classroom climate and cohesion. These findings highlight the effectiveness of HateLess in fostering inclusive classroom environments and suggest integrating such interventions into school curricula to cultivate supportive learning spaces that empower adolescents to address hate speech effectively.
K1 Self-efficacy
K1 Empathy
K1 Inclusion
K1 School climate
K1 Adolescents
K1 Prevention
K1 Hate Speech
DO 10.1177/08862605241308296