Abstract
The objective of this study was to develop a questionnaire to assess the online sexual solicitation and interactions of minors with adults in order to document the extent of this problem. The questionnaire was constructed in four phases: (a) a review of the previous literature; (b) interviews with convicted online child-sex offenders; (c) a review of the questionnaire items by experts; and (d) a pilot study of the questionnaire administered to adolescents. The validation sample consisted of 2,731 minors (12-15 years old, 50.6% girls). Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure. The first factor, called "sexual solicitation," included items referring to sexual requests from an adult to a minor. The second factor, termed "sexualized interactions," included items indicating an adult groomed a minor with the purpose of committing a sexual offense. Of participants, 12.6% reported sexual solicitations, and 7.9% reported sexualized interactions. These findings open possible directions for research on the characteristics and consequences of online sexual solicitation and abusive interactions.
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