Intimate abuse through technology: A systematic review of scientific Constructs and behavioral dimensions

Longitudinal Effects of Electronic Dating Violence on Depressive Symptoms and Delinquent Behaviors Across Adolescence

Depressive symptoms and delinquent behaviors that emerge during adolescence pose both short- and long-term negative outcomes. Though there is growing evidence that exposure to teen dating violence is also associated with a greater likelihood of depressive symptoms and delinquent behaviors such as engaging in peer violence and substance use, less is known about the effects of specific forms of electronic dating violence (i.e., electronic harassment, electronic coercion, and electronic monitoring) across adolescence on depressive symptoms and delinquent behaviors. Data were drawn from a 4-year prospective longitudinal study of two cohorts of youth followed from age 12 to 15 (n = 526, 52% female) and age 15 to 18 (n = 592, 53% female). Two mixed-effects models (stratified by cohort) were employed to evaluate depressive symptoms and delinquent behavior outcomes by exposure to electronic harassment, electronic coercion, and electronic monitoring, while accounting for verbal dating violence, physical dating violence, sexual dating violence, exposure to threat-based adverse childhood experiences, exposure to deprivation-based adverse childhood experiences, and gender across all four waves of data collection. Higher exposure to electronic sexual coercion was predictive of increased depression (β = .015, p = .018). Increased exposure to electronic sexual coercion (β = .007, p = .004) and electronic monitoring (β = .008, p = .045) were both predictive of more delinquency across adolescence. By delineating the effects of in-person verbal, physical, and sexual dating violence with unique electronic domains, we found unique additional risk from domains of electronic dating violence, which was particularly pronounced for youth who reported electronic sexual coercion. Electronic sexual coercion heightens the risk of depressive symptoms and delinquent behaviors in males and females beyond the risk presented by in-person forms of dating violence and should be accounted for in prevention and intervention programs. Future research should explore the effect of perceived normativity on the prevalence of electronic harassment and subsequent influence on outcomes.

Perpetrator Perceptions on the Emotions and Motivations Driving Technology-Facilitated Abuse in Relationships: A Story Completion Study

Technology-facilitated abuse in relationships (TAR) is a widespread social problem that has a significant impact on victim-survivors. Most contemporary evidence on TAR focuses on victim-survivor and practitioner perspectives rather than those of perpetrators who choose to enact this form of harm. Addressing this deficit, this study explored perpetrators' discourses on emotions and motivations associated with engaging in TAR. Using story completion method, 35 self-identified perpetrators of TAR completed story stems describing scenarios that may precede the use of abusive online behaviors. Reflexive thematic analysis generated three themes. Abusive behaviors and negative emotions speaks to maladaptive experiences of anger and/or sadness that can precede a decision to use TAR. A loss of trust, a desire for control describes potential motives for using TAR. Finally, inhibitors of abusive behavior investigates rationales perpetrators use for avoidance of TAR behaviors, suggesting avenues for working with perpetrators to refrain from using TAR. We conclude by discussing policy, practice, and research recommendations including strategies for technology designers and suggestions for primary prevention and response to TAR.

Mapping digital dating abuse in Brasil and Australia

Technology plays a key role in young people's relationships. While its benefits are well known, less is known about its negative impacts and experiences, such as digital dating abuse. Most studies originate from North American and European countries and have not framed digital dating abuse as a multidimensional phenomenon. Exploring this social and public health issue in the Global-South is necessary because it significantly impacts youths' lives. I use Brown and Hegarty's framework of digital dating abuse as a wide range of harmful behaviours and a gender perspective to review the extant literature on adolescent victimisation in digital dating abuse in heterosexual relationships from a southern perspective. This perspective is demonstrated by drawing primarily from the scholarship of two countries in the Global-South, Brasil and Australia. I argue that digital dating abuse is a multifaceted and gendered phenomenon and suggest a qualitative approach across multiple southern countries aids researchers to compile and study adolescent digital dating abuse experiences, contexts and impacts. This contemporary phenomenon of adolescent digital dating abuse merits scholarly attention as a social and public health problem.

Ciberabuso no namoro em estudantes do ensino superior: autoestima e tempo de duração da relação

O aumento da popularidade, quer das novas tecnologias, quer da Internet, tem dado oportunidade ao surgimento de novas formas de violência. O ciberabuso no namoro representa uma nova forma de violência no namoro, tendo o mesmo vindo a ganhar dimensões preocupantes. Assim, este estudo tem como objetivos caraterizar a prevalência do ciberabuso no namoro, estudar a relação entre o ciberabuso no namoro e a autoestima, e averiguar se existem diferenças no ciberabuso no namoro consoante o tempo de duração da relação. Participaram 894 estudantes do ensino superior com idades compreendidas entre os 17 e os 56 anos (M = 21.27, DP = 3.69). Foram aplicados um Questionário Sociodemográfico, o Questionário sobre Ciberabuso no Namoro e a Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Os resultados obtidos indicaram que mais de 50% dos participantes sofreram e/ou perpetraram ciberabuso no namoro, verificando-se uma prevalência superior de ciberabuso no namoro por controlo. A autoestima relacionou-se significativamente com alguns fatores desta tipologia de violência, verificando-se ainda que indivíduos que nunca tinham sido vítimas de ciberabuso no namoro, bem como aqueles que nunca tinham perpetrado ciberabuso no namoro, apresentaram uma autoestima mais baixa. Por fim, observou-se que os participantes que estavam há mais tempo numa relação praticaram mais atos de agressão por controlo. Assim, parece pertinente adotar medidas de consciencialização acerca deste fenómeno.