Childhood Abuse, Avatar Choices, and Other Risk Factors Associated With Internet-Initiated Victimization of Adolescent Girls

Abstract

Objective-The objective of the study was to determine the risk factors for Internet-initiated victimization of female adolescents. In particular, it was expected that girls who experienced childhood abuse would show higher vulnerability than their nonabused peers. In addition, the study examined how provocative self-presentations might be related to online sexual advances and offline encounters.Patients and Methods-Adolescent girls aged 14 to 17 years who had experienced substantiated childhood abuse (N = 104) were demographically matched with nonabused girls (N = 69) and surveyed regarding Internet usage, maternal and paternal caregiver presence, substance use, highrisk sexual attitudes, and involvement with high-risk peers. To measure online self-presentation, participants each created avatars, which were quantified according to the degree of provocative physical features.Results-Forty percent of the sample reported experiencing online sexual advances, and 26% reported meeting someone offline who they first met online. Abused girls were significantly more likely to have experienced online sexual advances and to have met someone offline. Having been abused and choosing a provocative avatar were significantly and independently associated with online sexual advances, which were, in turn, associated with offline encounters.Conclusions-A history of childhood abuse may increase Internet-initiated victimization vulnerability. Parents should be aware of the ways in which their adolescents are presenting themselves online. Making adolescent girls and their parents aware that provocative online selfpresentations may have implications for sexual solicitation might help to ward off sexual advances Many Internet-initiated sex crimes originate in social networking Web sites, 1 several of which use interactive virtual personas or avatars as a means of user interface. An avatar is a selfrendered, digital representation of the user and, in many social networking sites, the fundamental avenue by which virtual identities are presented to others (Fig 1). For example, Second Life presents users with hundreds of bodily characteristics to choose from spanning all shapes and sizes, allowing for limitless composite possibilities. The selection of an avatar is just 1 example of how social network users choose to present themselves to other users. Many social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, allow self-descriptions and photographs as a means of self-presentation, and these, like avatar selections, may hold considerable influence in shaping online behavior and interactions. There is evidence that the ways in which users present themselves as avatars shape the behaviors of both users and perceivers. 19 For example, avatars with highly feminine features are among the most attractively rated virtual images. 20 A recent study found that people assigned to an attractive avatar were more likely to approach opposite-sex strangers and to engage in higher rates of self-disclosure than people with unattractive avatars. 21 Th...

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 .…”

La familia como mediadora ante la brecha digital: repercusión en la autoridad

“…Son muchos los estudios que reflejan el alto riesgo de esta población ante los desaprensivos que buscan el abuso de menores (Catalina et al, 2014;Garmendia, Garitaonandia, Martínez y Casado, 2011;Livingstone, Haddon, Görzig y Ólafsson, 2010;Noll, Shenk, Barnes y Putnam, 2009;Wolak, Mitchell y Finkelhor, 2007). Las investigaciones señalan que los acosadores suelen generar una relación de confianza con los menores, hasta conseguir intimar y poder citarse con ellos con el objeto de explotarlos sexualmente.…”

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

“…10 The experience of maltreatment may disrupt biological, cognitive, affective, and behavioral regulatory processes involved in recognizing and responding to social cues that heighten risk of revictimization. 11 There are a host of factors that cooccur with maltreatment that are likewise associated with highrisk Internet behaviors, such as depression, substance use, externalizing behavior, and poverty.…”

“…18 Overall, parental presence and the quality of the parental relationship might be more effective in reducing risky Internet use than sole reliance on parental control software or other filtering technologies. 10 Adolescents who have been maltreated report low-quality parental relationships and live predominantly in single-parent households. 19,20 Thus, the ability for parents to monitor media use and effectively communicate about Internet risk behaviors may be especially impaired in these households.…”