The risk of sexual-erotic online behavior in adolescents – Which personality factors predict sexting and grooming victimization?

When Is Online Sexual Solicitation of a Minor Considered Sexual Abuse? Recommendations for Victim Prevalence Surveys

Many new surveys have been developed to assess the prevalence of online sexual abuse. An important type of question asked in many of these surveys is about online sexual solicitation. However, not all sexual solicitations of children necessarily qualify as sexual abuse as it has conventionally been defined. Sexual solicitations from other same age youth may be legal and nonabusive. Solicitations of youth above the age of consent by adults may also be legal. At the same time, many true online sex offenses may not be identified with questions about solicitation wanted or unwanted. This article reviewed 25 online sexual abuse survey reports. It also examined episodes and narratives from the U.S. National Technology Facilitated Abuse (TFA) survey, which asked about online solicitation and other online sexual offenses. Among the surveys reviewed, 9 of 25 elicited and counted online sexual solicitation from adults only, but the rest counted other youth solicitors as well as adults. Eight of 25 asked about only "unwanted" solicitations, but the rest had no such qualification, possibly including solicitations with positive or neutral reactions. Analysis of the TFA survey showed that in over half of solicitation episodes, the recipients did not actually know the age or identity of the solicitor. Very large differences in prevalence rates can occur depending on what types of solicitation are counted and how missing information is classified. Recommendations are made about classifying and reporting on findings about online solicitation.

Online Child Sexual Exploitation and the Role of Computer-Mediated Communication: A Scoping Review

The online landscape has shifted since the rise of smartphones and social media in the 2010s and altered the way children use technologies. Along with a reliance on computer-mediated communication (CMC) is the concern of online child sexual exploitation (OCSE). This scoping review provided an updated examination of the prevalence, risk factors, outcomes, and disclosures of OCSE since 2010. Systematic searches were conducted using three databases for studies published between January 2010 and January 2023. Results indicated an alarming prevalence of, and a wide range of risk factors and consequences associated with OCSE worldwide. Many young victims struggled to recognize OCSE as a serious form of abuse. The need to monitor the ever-changing Internet landscape for young users is highlighted.

School prevention of non-consensual sexting among middle adolescents: Does sexual preoccupation awareness matter?

Although non-consensual sexting seems to concern not only adults but also middle adolescent students, with detrimental consequences on their well-being, the related research-based effective school prevention programs are almost absent. Furthermore, there is an unanswered research question as to whether sex-related issues, such as sexual preoccupation, matters in adolescents' non-consensual sexting and its prevention. The present study investigated the effectiveness of a school-based intervention against non-consensual sexting among middle adolescents, based on the European funded program TABBY (Threat Assessment of Bullying Behavior in Youth). Furthermore, the predictive role of sexual preoccupation was examined. Overall, 280 Greek students from randomly selected junior high school responded to self-report scales on non-consensual sexting and sexual preoccupation. Based on an experimental longitudinal research design, only the experimental (N = 131), but not the control group of students (N = 149), participated in the intervention. To test the effectiveness of the intervention, both student groups completed the scales before (1st phase), immediately after (2nd phase), and six months after the intervention (3rd phase), which was implemented by trained teachers. The results showed both, the short-term and long-term effectiveness of the intervention. Also, the study highlighted the significant contribution of sexual preoccupation awareness in reducing non-consensual sexting, especially immediately after and six months after the intervention. The study implies the necessity to adapt existed prevention programs to the specific parameters of non-consensual sexting, integrating at the same time sexual preoccupation awareness activities to better address this issue.

The Role of Technology in the Perpetration of Childhood Sexual Abuse: The Importance of Considering Both In-Person and Online Interactions

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a pervasive global problem. To date, prevention efforts have largely focused on legislative efforts, parent and child education, and environmental protections. Due to the proliferation of the Internet, and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, recent prevention efforts have focused on online CSA. However, the extent to which technology is being used in the perpetration of in-person, contact CSA remains unclear. This study examined the role of technology in the perpetration of in-person, contact CSA using a sample of 332 adult CSA survivors who completed an anonymous online survey. Overall, we found that only 8.5% of the sample reported that they met the perpetrator online through social media, chatrooms, and other online applications. When looking at the role of technology in the perpetration of the abuse, 35% reported texting with the perpetrator, 27% reported engaging in online chats, and 33% spoke to the perpetrator on the phone. Few participants reported sending (11%) or receiving (13%) photographs or videos that were sexual in nature. Technology use was reported more frequently in CSA involving adolescents than CSA involving children aged 12 and under. There were no differences in the use of technology based on the age of the person who perpetrated the CSA. These findings will be discussed as they pertain to prevention efforts for CSA.

Motivations, Behaviors and Expectancies of Sexting: The Role of Defensive Strategies and Social Media Addiction in a Sample of Adolescents

Adolescents and young adults engage in sexting behaviors. Research has mainly emphasized the relationship between motivations and sexting behaviors, with little attention paid to sexting expectations and the potential role of coping strategies. This study aims to explore the measure of emotional-behavioral functioning with the Youth/Adult Self Report (based on the subject's age), the use of defensive strategies measured with the Response Evaluation Measure (REM-71), social media addiction with the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) and all dimensions of sexting: motivations, behavior and expectations measured with the Sexting Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ), Sexting Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ) and Sexpectancies Questionnaire (SQ), respectively. N = 209 adolescents and young adults were recruited from high schools and universities in Rome to complete the self-report questionnaires. Results show that males tend to have higher expectations of sexting than females. We also found that expectations play a role in determining sexting behaviors and motivations. Our hypotheses on social media addiction and sexting were confirmed, while the relationship between the defensive strategies and sexting was not significant as expected. Further studies on this topic are desirable in the future.

Víctimas de ciberviolencia: formas, prevalencia y diferencias de género

Esta investigación tiene como objetivo analizar la cibervictimización en adolescentes escolarizados, por medio de un estudio descriptivo en una muestra de 656 estudiantes de básica secundaria y media de una institución educativa colombiana, a quienes se les aplicó el Cuestionario de Cibervictimización en Estudiantes de Secundaria. Los resultados evidencian que el 63,41% de los estudiantes manifiestan haber sufrido de cibervictimización, presentándose en mayor medida en quienes no se identifican con ninguno de los dos géneros, seguido de los géneros masculino y femenino, respectivamente. En cuanto a los tipos de cibervictimización, se presenta en mayor medida la relacional sexual, sufrida principalmente por niñas, seguida de la exclusión online, presente mayormente en los niños, y la cibervictimización verbal-escrita, la cual se presenta en la misma medida en los dos géneros. Se concluye que es necesario establecer estrategias que contribuyan a mejorar la convivencia en espacios virtuales frecuentados por los escolares colombianos.

The Relationship between Dark Triad Personality Traits and Sexting Behaviors among Adolescents and Young Adults across 11 Countries

Background: Sexting is an increasingly common phenomenon among adolescents and young adults. Some studies have investigated the role of personality traits in different sexting behaviors within mainstream personality taxonomies like Big Five and HEXACO. However, very few studies have investigated the role of maladaptive personality factors in sexting. Therefore, the present study investigated the relationship between Dark Triad Personality Traits and experimental (i.e., sharing own sexts), risky (i.e., sexting under substance use and with strangers), and aggravated sexting (i.e., non-consensual sexting and sexting under pressure) across 11 countries. Methods: An online survey was completed by 6093 participants (Mage = 20.35; SDage = 3.63) from 11 different countries which covered four continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, and America). Participants completed the Sexting Behaviors Questionnaire and the 12-item Dark Triad Dirty Dozen scale. Results: Hierarchical regression analyses showed that sharing own sexts was positively predicted by Machiavellianism and Narcissism. Both risky and aggravated sexting were positively predicted by Machiavellianism and Psychopathy. Conclusions: The present study provided empirical evidence that different sexting behaviors were predicted by Dark Triad Personality Traits, showing a relevant role of Machiavellianism in all kinds of investigated sexting behaviors. Research, clinical, and education implications for prevention programs are discussed.