Abstract
BackgroundThe current study aimed at exploring adolescents’ experiences of online sexual contacts leading to online sexual abuse by a perpetrator whom the victim had first met online. Associations with socio demographic background, experience of abuse, relation to parents, health and risk behaviors were studied.MethodsThe participants were a representative national sample of 5175 students in the third year of the Swedish high school Swedish (M age = 17.97). Analyses included bivariate statistics and stepwise multiple logistic regression models.ResultsIn total 330 (5.8%) adolescents had gotten to know someone during the preceding 12 months for the purpose of engaging in some kind of sexual activity online. Thirty-two (9.7%) of those, the index group, had felt that they had been persuaded, pressed or coerced on at least one occasion. Sexual interaction under pressure was seen as constituting sexual abuse. These adolescent victims of online sexual abuse, the index group, did not differ with respect to socio-demographic background from the adolescents without this experience, the reference group. The index group had significantly more prior experiences of different kind of abuse, indicating that they belong to a polyvictimized group. More frequent risk behavior, poorer psychological health, poorer relationships with parents and lower self-esteem also characterized the index group. Online sexual abuse, without experiences of offline abuse, was associated with a poorer psychological health, at least at the same level as offline sexual abuse only.ConclusionsThe study made clear the importance of viewing online sexual abuse as a serious form of sexual abuse. Professionals meeting these children need to focus not only on their psychological health such as symptoms of trauma and depression but also need to screen them for online behavior, online abuse and other forms of previous abuse.
Highlights
Voluntary online sexual exposure Most children in western countries use the internet daily [1]
Aim The current study aimed to study experience that Swedish adolescents have had of sexual abuse by a person met online
This study focused on the association of online sexual abuse with:
Summary
Voluntary online sexual exposure Most children in western countries use the internet daily [1]. The internet is mostly used for doing schoolwork, playing online games and watching film clips, but many young people use it to stay in contact with people and to meet new people for friendship, love and/or sex [2, 3]. One behavior that has been well studied recently is that of young people sending or receiving nude images of themselves, so called sexting. In a Swedish study of 18-year-old students, 20.9% had engaged in some form of voluntary sexual exposure online by posting pictures of themselves partially undressed, flashing, masturbating, or having sex on webcam [6]. Similar results were reported by the same group from a study 5 years later where 21% of 18-year old students reported having posted or sent nude images [7]. Associations with socio demographic background, experience of abuse, relation to parents, health and risk behaviors were studied
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