A systematic review of literature on cyber intimate partner victimization in adolescent girls and women

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV), and dating violence are major health issues, causing negative health outcomes, and in some cases, ending in homicides. In a lifetime, nearly one out of two individuals will have reported being victimized by a current or a former partner, with higher victimization rates in women. The development of communication technologies, and infatuation for online social networks created new tools to stalk, harass, and pressure current or former partners. Until now, major discrepancies have been noted in the literature regarding prevalence rates for cyber IPV. Risk factors of victimization remain unknown, making intervention targets hazardous. To address these limitations, this systematic review used a mixed-method approach to gather available data on adolescent girls and women cyber IPV victimization. Complementary perspectives will be offered by quantitative and qualitative publications. On the 1036 screened studies, 32 were retained, which resulted in a final sample of N = 13, 143. Analysis of qualitative studies resulted in a typology for cyber IPV, identifying forms of direct and indirect victimization in women (stalking and control, harassment, sexual). Quantitative results showed that prevalence rates varied from <1% to 78% across studies, and that only a few correlates of victimization have been examined, with limited information on possible protective factors. To orient prevention effort, it is urgent to identify women who present a higher risk of victimization with population-based studies relying on longitudinal designs.