Hate speech and young minorities - a longitudinal validation study on vulnerability, psychological health and well-being

The purpose is to identify, measure and understand the degree of exposure to hate speech among Swedish youths (15-20-years) in schools, especially young minorities and the consequences for their psychological health. We will use a mixed methods exploratory sequential design that includes three parts to explore this. 1.

Focus group interviews with students, teachers and student health teams to gain a deeper understanding of hate speech (year 1). 2.

Based on part 1, the development and validation of an instrument measuring experiences of hate speech among youth in a Swedish context will follow (year 2). 3.

Use of the instrument created in part 2 to examine Swedish youths’ experiences of hate speech and consequences for psychological health over time (year 3).

Being exposed to hate speech can have serious negative consequences for psychological health, especially among young minorities where there is a risk of impairing development and integration.

Today, there are no studies that systematically examine how hate speech relates to psychological health of Swedish youths and what constitute protective factors. The project will contribute to addressing this knowledge gap.

It will also complement research on how young minorities are affected by aggressions such as hate speech and provide policymakers, schools and health teams with information on hate speech and psychological health in youth for preventive measures and interventions to deal with the negative mechanisms of hate speech.