Association of Maltreatment With High-Risk Internet Behaviors and Offline Encounters

Abstract

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Ninety-five percent of American adolescents have Internet access, and 80% use online social networking sites. Current understanding of high-risk Internet behaviors, including exposures to sexually explicit content, provocative social networking profiles, sexual solicitations, and offline encounters, has not kept pace.WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: Substantiated maltreatment emerged as a unique risk factor for adolescents' high-risk Internet behaviors. The moderating influence of parenting quality and monitoring was also explicated. Findings will enhance media literacy programs to promote the safe and optimal use of the Internet. abstract OBJECTIVE: High-risk Internet behaviors, including viewing sexually explicit content, provocative social networking profiles, and entertaining online sexual solicitations, were examined in a sample of maltreated and nonmaltreated adolescent girls aged 14 to 17 years. The impact of Internet behaviors on subsequent offline meetings was observed over 12 to 16 months. This study tested 2 main hypotheses: (1) maltreatment would be a unique contributor to high-risk Internet behaviors and (2) high-quality parenting would dampen adolescents' propensity to engage in high-risk Internet behaviors and to participate in offline meetings. METHODS: Online and offline behaviors and parenting quality were gleaned from 251 adolescent girls, 130 of whom experienced substantiated maltreatment and 121 of whom were demographically matched comparison girls. Parents reported on adolescent behaviors and on the level of Internet monitoring in the home. Social networking profiles were objectively coded for provocative self-presentations. Offline meetings with persons first met online were assessed 12 to 16 months later. RESULTS: Thirty percent of adolescents reported having offline meetings. Maltreatment, adolescent behavioral problems, and low cognitive ability were uniquely associated with high-risk Internet behaviors. Exposure to sexual content, creating high-risk social networking profiles, and receiving online sexual solicitations were independent predictors of subsequent offline meetings. High-quality parenting and parental monitoring moderated the associations between adolescent risk factors and Internet behaviors, whereas use of parental control software did not. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment modalities for maltreated adolescents should be enhanced to include Internet safety literacy. Adolescents and parents should be aware of how online self-presentations and other Internet behaviors can increase vulnerability for Internet-initiated victimization.

Young people who access harm-advocating online content: A four-country survey

“…The results confirmed our expectations, a lower level of happiness and previous online and offline victimization experiences were associated with exposure to harm-advocating online material. Earlier studies have already established that prior negative experiences and psychological problems explain why some young people take risks online (Livingstone & Görzig, 2012;Noll et al, 2013). Our study expanded this notion.…”

“…The purpose of our study was not, however, to measure the potential negative impact of harm-advocating material, but rather to show who is most likely to encounter such material. As noted earlier, there are only a few longitudinal studies concerning online usage (Dunlop et al, 2011;Noll et al, 2013;Sueki et al, 2014). Future studies should go into the longitudinal direction.…”

“…A study by Livingstone and Görzig (2012) found that facing psychological difficulties may lead to higher risk-taking in the online context. Finally, although very few topical longitudinal studies exist, a study by Noll, Shenk, Barnes, and Haralson (2013) found that previous victimization experiences (child maltreatment) led to increased online risktaking, along with risky offline behavior.…”

From solitude to solicitation: How people with intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder use the internet

“…Their concerns include: 1-exposure to inappropriate content online, including pornography (Dowdell, 2013;Löfgren-Mårtenson et al, 2015); 2-harassment and cyberbullying (Buijs, Boot, Shugar, Fung, & Bassett, 2016;Didden et al, 2009;Guan & Subrahmanyam, 2009;Suzuki, Asaga, Sourander, Hoven, & Mandell, 2012;Wells & Mitchell, 2014;Ybarra, 2004;Ybarra et al, 2007); 3-excessive use of or addiction to the Internet (Blaya, 2015;MacMullin, Lunsky, & Weiss, 2016;Young, 2009); 4-sexual cyber-solicitation (Buijs et al, 2016;Guan & Subrahmanyam, 2009;Noll, Shenk, Barnes, & Haralson, 2013;Noll, Shenk, Barnes, & Putnam, 2009;Molin et al, 2015;Wells & Mitchell, 2014;Ybarra, Espelage, & Mitchell, 2007); 5-maliciousness and abuse, including sex, violence and theft, when online communications with strangers lead to in-person meetings (Buijs et al, 2016;Dowdell, 2013;Löfgren-Mårtenson et al, 2015;Noll et al, 2013;Noll et al, 2009); and 6-prosecution of young people who do not see the negative or serious consequences of their online actions or statements, including harassment, defamation, threats, or sexual solicitation .…”

“Under His Spell”: Victims’ Perspectives of Being Groomed Online

“…Social media and portable technology has contributed to young people becoming accessible to sexual abusers on a scale never known before [1][2][3][4]. While child sexual abuse has long existed and still exists offline [5], the Internet has altered the way in which abuse can be carried out.…”