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Measuring Online Ethical Values and Behaviors: Relationships with Cyberhate, Empathy, and Sociodemographic Variables
Mariana Alonso-Fernández1, Sebastian Wachs2, Estíbaliz Mateos-Pérez3
1Biological and Health Psychology Department, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking
|February 28, 2026
Summary
This study developed a scale to measure youth online ethical values and behaviors, finding they correlate with empathy and prosocial actions. The scale aids in understanding and improving digital citizenship interventions for safer online engagement.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Media Studies
Background:
- Digital citizenship is crucial for youth online engagement.
- Understanding the ethical dimension of digital citizenship requires defining specific values and behaviors.
- Existing measures may not fully capture the nuances of online ethical values and behaviors in adolescents.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a self-report measure for assessing online ethical values and behaviors in youth.
- To examine the interrelations between these online ethical values and behaviors.
- To explore demographic and psychological correlates of online ethical values and behaviors.
Main Methods:
- A sample of 529 Spanish youth (aged 13-23) completed a self-report measure.
- Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to validate the scale structure.
- Correlational analyses examined relationships with empathy, cyberhate perpetration, and demographic variables.
Main Results:
- A five-factor structure emerged: Online Respect, Online Responsibility, Tolerance for Diversity, Prosocial Cyberbystander, and Online Self-Development.
- Online ethical values positively correlated with empathy and prosocial bystander interventions, and negatively with cyberhate perpetration.
- Women, non-heterosexual, and older youth (18-23) reported higher ethical values, but no significant differences in behaviors were found across groups.
Conclusions:
- The validated scale provides a practical tool for assessing youth online ethical values and behaviors.
- Findings underscore the importance of socio-emotional factors like empathy in promoting ethical online conduct.
- Interventions should consider sociodemographic factors to effectively prevent unethical online behaviors and enhance digital citizenship.
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