These summaries were written by SVPEP staff and are based on original papers published within the last 2 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. [Posted September 2006]

Key Points: Current efforts in internet safety education for children are effective at increasing knowledge, but ineffective in changing behavior.

Summary: 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?"

This document is available online.

Topics: media/internet; prevention

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. [Posted September 2006]

Key Points: Media is more likely to influence the sexual behavior of white adolescents than black adolescents.

Summary: 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.

Topics: adolescent/high school; media/internet

Chisholm, J. F. (2006). Cyberspace violence against girls and adolescent females. Annals of New York Academy of Science, 1087, 74-89. [Posted April 2007]

Key Points: 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.

Summary: 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.

Topics: adolescent/high school; media/internet; prevention

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. [Posted August 2008]
 
Key Points: 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.

Summary: 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.
 
Limitations:  There was a low response rate of .45 to the survey.

Topics: adolescent/high school, harassment, media/internet

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. [Posted January 2007]

Key Points: 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.

Summary: 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.

Topics: adolescent/high school; media/internet

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. [Posted April 2008]

Key Points: Prevention efforts based on myths about online sexual abuse are likely to be ineffective.

Summary: 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.

Topics: adolescent/high school; media/internet; myths/stereotypes; perpetration; prevention; risk; treatment

Young, A., Young, A. & Fullwood, H. (2007). Adolescent online victimization. The Prevention Researcher, 14, 8-9. [Posted April 2007]

Key Points: As Internet use becomes more common, the number of youth exposed to online sexual solicitation, sexual material, and harassment (sexual or bullying) has increased.

Summary: 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.

Topics: adolescent/high school; harassment; media/internet; prevalence; prevention; risk

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Updated 09/19/08