These summaries were written by SVPEP staff and are based on original papers published within the last 6 years. The information available on this web site is provided as a public service and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the Arizona Department of Health Services, or the University of Arizona. To conduct an individual search or locate older articles use the Search Summary Database which includes over 600 articles related to sexual violence.
Berson, M. (2006). Finding ways to change behaviour. In 2006 NetSafe Symposium - Cybersafety & Security Online (pp. 44-46). NetSafe.
Fri, 2006-09-01
Current efforts in internet safety education for children are effective at increasing knowledge, but ineffective in changing behavior.
This document is part of the published proceedings of an internet safety and security conference held in Wellington, New Zealand, in July of 2006. The document is a transcript of a plenary given by Dr. Michael Berson of the University of South Florida, where he comments on current efforts to provide internet safety education to children and future directions. Evaluated efforts of well-funded internet safety education programs have been able to demonstrate an increase in knowledge, but none have demonstrated a significant change in behavior. Current efforts and legislation promoting traditional criminal justice models of behavior prevention are unlikely to succeed. There is too much emphasis on restricting children's access to pornography. Future efforts must get children to be critical consumers of the vast volumes of information they have access to. The critical question educators should be trying to answer is, "...how do children discern fact from fantasy?"
Brown, J., L'Engle, K., Pardun, C., Guang, G., Kenneavy, K., & Jackson, C. (2006). Sexy media matter: Exposure to sexual content in music, movies, television, and magazines predicts black and white adolescents' sexual behavior. Pediatrics, 117, 1018-1027.
Fri, 2006-09-01
Media is more likely to influence the sexual behavior of white adolescents than black adolescents.
This article reports the findings of a longitudinal study of 1,017 adolescents regarding their media use. The study found that white adolescents exposed to sexual content in music, movies, television, and magazines increased their sexual activity and were at higher risk of engaging in early sexual intercourse. Black adolescents were less influenced by the media. Instead, black adolescents were more influenced by their perceptions of their parent's expectations and the sexual behavior of their peers.
Chisholm, J. F. (2006). Cyberspace violence against girls and adolescent females. Annals of New York Academy of Science, 1087, 74-89.
Sun, 2007-04-01
Youth are often not psychologically equipped to protect themselves from bullying and exploitation online. Most adults are not aware of the risks to which young people are exposed through electronic communication.
This article summarized types of “cyberviolence” (online bullying and other forms of exploitation). The ability to send messages anonymously and instantly through text messaging or email has created a new set of potential benefits and dangers for young people. Online culture evolves rapidly and can vary dramatically by age group. Adults who are not as technologically savvy as youth may not be aware of bullying and other damaging online behavior and thus not able to protect young people from online dangers.
Several projects working to prevent or mitigate victimization are presented. The author recommended that research be done to examine the effects of online socializing on adolescent development, and how the Internet continues to change patterns of communication. She also recommended training for mental health practitioners who work with youth to recognize signs of online victimization.
Mitchell, K. J., Wolak, J., & Finkelhor, D. (2008). Are blogs putting youth at risk for online sexual solicitation or harassment? Child Abuse & Neglect, 32, 277-294.
Fri, 2008-08-01
Youth that interact with those they meet online, regardless of whether or not they blog or post personal information, were more at risk of online sexual solicitations.
A national telephone survey of 1,500 youth between ages 10-17 was conducted in 2005. The survey examined online sexual solicitation and harassment. Youth were divided into 3 categories; those who kept an online journal (bloggers), those who interacted with people known in person (interactors), and those who interacted with people they met online (interactors). The findings suggested that it is the actual interaction youth conduct with people they meet online that increases the likelihood of solicitation that may lead to sexual victimization. Youth who were interactors were 2 times more likely to report sexual solicitation regardless if they were bloggers. Bloggers who were not interactors were not found to have an increased risk of solicitation. All youth who were bloggers and/or interactors were found to have an increased risk for harassment.
There was a low response rate of .45 to the survey.
Potter, S. J., Moynihan, M. M., & Stapleton, J. G. (2010). Using social self-identification in social marketing materials aimed at reducing violence against women on campus. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, (online).
Mon, 2010-08-23
Bystander-focused social marketing campaigns aimed to reduce sexual violence may be more effective when scenes portrayed in the campaign look like situations familiar to the target audience.
This study examined how 372 college student’s perceptions of their self and their peer group portrayed in poster images affected their willingness take on prosocial bystander behaviors. The posters used for this study were from the sexual violence prevention poster campaign, Know Your Power. One situation portrayed in a poster showed 2 women strategizing on how to stop a young man leading an incapacitated young woman upstairs at a house party. Posters were displayed throughout a midsize northeastern university and surrounding businesses for 4 weeks. At the end of the poster campaign students were tasked to complete an online survey. Findings indicated that participants who saw the posters and were familiar with the content were more likely to report they were comfortable in taking on prosocial bystander roles. Students who indicated that the scenes portrayed situations that were familiar to them were more likely to take action or contemplate taking action in situations where sexual violence may occur. Social marketing campaigns may be more effective if campaign designers ensure that the target audience can recognize themselves, people like them, or their friends in the campaigns and the situations that are familiar to them.
Posters used in the study lacked diversity in sexual orientation, age, and ethnicity. Results of this study may not be generalizable to other more diverse groups or campus communities.
Webb, T., Martin, K., Afifi, A. A., & Kraus, J. (2009). Media literacy as a violence-prevention strategy: A pilot evaluation. Health Promotion Practice, online.
Thu, 2010-01-07
Media literacy programs can be a viable approach to addressing youth violence among middle school students.
The purpose of the pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of doing a full-scale evaluation of the effectiveness of Beyond Blame, an 8 lesson curriculum that addressed youth violence. In 2005, 3 middle schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District participated in the intervention and 1 school was the control. A majority of the students were Hispanic (61.8%). Results indicated that intervention group increased knowledge of media violence but no significant changes were documented in attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs. Concerns about the literacy level of curriculum were reported.
Conclusions about the effectiveness of the curriculum can not be drawn because the purpose of the study was to determine the feasibility of conducting a full-scale intervention.
Wells, M. & Mitchell, K. J. (2008). How do high-risk youth use the internet? Characteristics and implications for prevention. Child Maltreatment, 13, 227-234.
Fri, 2008-08-01
Youth that may be at risk or have experienced victimization offline may be at higher risk for victimization on the internet than other youth.
Data from the Second Youth Internet Survey in 2005 examined youth’s experiences with online harassment, unwanted sexual solicitation, and unwanted exposure to sexual material. Participants included 1,500 youth between the ages of 10 to 17 and caregivers in each household. High-risk youth (those who reported experiencing sexual or physical abuse or high parent conflict in past year) differed from other youth by age, race/ethnicity, and use of Internet on cell phones. They talked with friends more online, engaged in aggressive online acts, and received aggressive sexual solicitations. Youth that reported receiving aggressive sexual solicitation were 2.5 times as likely to have experienced physical abuse, sexual abuse, or high parent conflict. Targeted prevention efforts are needed with high-risk youth. Professionals who work with high-risk youth should assess youth who have experienced maltreatment offline for online victimization.
Sample excluded youth who did not perceive sexualized messages or solicitations as unwanted.
Wolak, J., Finkelhor, D., Mitchell, K. J., & Ybarra, M. L. (2008). Online "predators" and their victims: Myths, realities, and implications for prevention and treatment. American Psychologist, 63, 111-128.
Tue, 2008-04-01
Prevention efforts based on myths about online sexual abuse are likely to be ineffective.
This article summarizes current research on online sexual victimization and compares it to media accounts. The authors identify the known characteristics of online crimes, victims, and offenders, using data from the nationally representative Youth Internet Safety Surveys (YISS) and the National Juvenile Online Victimization Study (N-JOV). The YISS studies surveyed Internet users aged 10-17, and the N-JOV study collected information from law enforcement agencies on Internet-related sex crimes with underage victims.
The authors note that only 5% of crimes from the N-JOV study involved the use of force, and none involved children under the age of 12. They suggest that the emotional immaturity and strong sexual feelings of young adolescents may lead them to develop romantic attachments to people they meet online. The authors point out that traditional therapeutic treatment that emphasizes recovery from abuse may not be appropriate for youth who do not identify as victims, and that new models need to be developed. They recommend that prevention efforts with adolescents be targeted, age-appropriate, and include frank discussions of sexuality and the hazards of relationships with older people. Finally, they caution that the dynamic and evolving sphere of electronic communication, including text messaging and new online technologies, make continuing research into monitoring online environments essential to prevent victimization.
Wolak, J., Mitchell, K., & Finkelhor, D. (2007). Unwanted and wanted exposure to online pornography in a national sample of young Internet users. Pediatrics, 119, 247-257.
Mon, 2007-01-01
A survey of Internet users aged 10-17 found that 42% had seen pornography online during the previous year, and 66% of those exposures were unwanted.
The 2005 Youth Internet Safety Survey conducted phone interviews with 1,422 youth to measure exposure to online pornography during the previous year and the characteristics of those most at risk of being exposed. Online pornography was defined as pictures on a website or as a downloaded image of naked people or people having sex. Youth were divided into three groups: those with wanted exposure (they wanted to see the image); unwanted exposure (they did not want to see the image); and those with both types of exposures. Youth were also asked about how they used the Internet. The only type of Internet use related to unwanted exposure was the use of file-sharing programs to download images. More than half of all boys 14-15 years old and two-thirds of 16-17 year olds had some exposure to online pornography. As boys aged, they were more likely to want exposure than not. Among girls, wanted exposure increased slightly with age but unwanted exposure strongly increased. Depressed youth were slightly more likely to be exposed to wanted and unwanted pornography. Filtering, blocking, or monitoring software and law enforcement presentations reduced unwanted exposure to online pornography.
Young, A., Young, A. & Fullwood, H. (2007). Adolescent online victimization. The Prevention Researcher, 14, 8-9.
Sun, 2007-04-01
As Internet use becomes more common, the number of youth exposed to online sexual solicitation, sexual material, and harassment (sexual or bullying) has increased.
In a review of three recent studies, the authors estimated national prevalence of online victimization of youth at 13% for sexual solicitation; 34% for exposure to unwanted sexual material; and 9% for any type of harassment. The majority of incidents was not distressing and was not reported to adults. Risk factors for online victimization included older age (youth 14-17 were at higher risk than younger children) and gender (girls were more likely to experience sexual solicitation or harassment than boys). In one study, 60% of youth gave out personal information in an online questionnaire or form. About 45% gave that information to someone they had met online. Possible prevention strategies include frank discussion by adults about Internet victimization so that youth are better equipped to avoid it and deal with it if it happens. The authors recommended making youth aware of the possible consequences of sharing personal information online. Adults can also prepare youth to take action if they are victimized: removing themselves from the situation; changing screen name; and reporting the incident to prevent others from being victimized.
