Sexting Among Australian Adolescents: Risk and Protective Factors.

Although consensual sending of sexts between adolescents is considered developmentally appropriate, it may also entail a range of negative consequences. Current sexting research lacks a comprehensive theoretical framework identifying a range of risk and protective factors underpinning adolescent consensual sending of sexts across individual, interpersonal, and distal levels. Further, there is a lack of systematic evaluation of how the importance of these factors may vary across adolescent age. This study investigated the utility of the Social Development Model to predict a range of risk and protective factors across individual, family, peer, school, and community-level factors. The sample included 1302 teenagers from Victoria, Australia (Mage = 14.54, SD = 1.14, 50.8% girls). Results indicated that 146 (11.7%) participants sent a sext (76 boys and 70 girls). Logistic regression analyses revealed that the Social Development Model accounted for 45.8% of variance in sexting, with greater likelihood of sending sexts being associated with older age, prior sexual activity, school sector, physical activity, lifetime substance use, greater depressive symptoms, sensation seeking, and perceived substance availability in the community. Multigroup analyses revealed that lifetime substance use was associated with a greater likelihood of sending sexts among younger teens. Among older adolescents, adaptive coping was associated with reduced engagement in sexting, while higher parental overcontrol and family conflict increased the odds of sending sexts. Overall, sexting is associated with a range of modifiable factors potentially amenable to intervention.

The Role of Consent and Motivations in Sext Dissemination.

Sext dissemination (i.e., the online sharing of sexually explicit images) has the potential to result in legal, social, and psychological harms. Recent research has shown that this behavior can be consensual or non-consensual in nature; yet little is known about how motivations or attitudes may differ between these forms, or with gender. This study is based on a cross-sectional online survey investigating consensual and non-consensual sext dissemination and associated demographic, behavioral, attitudinal, and psychological factors. Participants were 2,126 cisgendered adults aged 18 to 30 years (M = 22.97, SD = 3.21, 55% women, 45% men), resident in Western, English-speaking nations, particularly Australia. Around 10% of respondents reported disseminating texts, and of these, only 19.8% indicated they had permission for this, with no differences across gender. When sexts were disseminated "to gossip," this was significantly more likely to be non-consensual. There were no significant differences between consensual and non-consensual dissemination in subjective attitudes or norms toward dissemination, nor levels of psychological distress. Women were more likely to non-consensually disseminate sexts that had been received as unwanted or unwelcome. Consensual dissemination was weakly associated with being sexually active and having given consent to having one's own images disseminated. We discuss implications for future research regarding consent, and relationship and sexuality education.

Toward a Global Definition and Understanding of Child Sexual Exploitation: The Development of a Conceptual Model.

Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a serious and persistent global issue affecting up to 5% of the child and youth population worldwide; yet there is no universally accepted definition. To develop a theoretically robust definition of CSE, this review systematically synthesized literature examining CSE definitions aiming to develop a conceptual model and typology. Electronic databases were searched to February 2021, yielding 384 nonduplicative records. Inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed and grey literature investigations of sexual exploitation, with a mean sample age of 18 years or younger, available in the English language. Literature review and data extraction followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Sixty-six studies met final inclusion criteria. Two independent reviewers extracted relevant data and used an epistemological approach to thematically analyse meaning and patterns across CSE definitions. Key findings demonstrate that CSE nomenclature is widely inconsistent, and despite growing awareness of this severe form of abuse, language continues to perpetuate stigma and criminalisation, utilising terms such as 'adolescent or child prostitute'. Our findings propose a scientifically and trauma-informed definition and conceptualisation of CSE, based on the following four-dimensional components: (1) A child/young person; (2) sexual acts; (3) abuse; and (4) exploitation (abuse + exchange). In this systematic review, a unified definition and conceptual model aims to advance knowledge and understanding of CSE, contributing to the progression of social norms which embrace nuances of trauma-informed practice and support for the identification and recovery of children, young people and families affected by sexual exploitation.

Sexting with benefits? Exploration of sexting behaviours through the lens of protection motivation theory.

Sexting is a common form of sexual communication that is often considered normative and beneficial despite some research highlighting its negative social, psychological, and legal repercussions. Using protection motivation theory (PMT), this study examines how young adults weigh the pros and cons of sending consensual sexts, sexting under pressure, and deciding against sending sexts, and whether body image dissatisfaction interacts with any of the decision-making processes. In total, 906 participants (554, 61.14% women), aged 18-25 years (M = 21.65, SD = 2.01), completed an online measure of sexting behaviours, body image, and protection motivation. Overall, 71.41% of respondents ever sent a sext. Of those, 45.07% and 36.32% felt pressure to sext or sent a sext because of pressure. Further, 63.90% participants ever considered and decided not to send a sext. All models predicting various sexting behaviours were significant and provided a partial support for the PMT. Body image was a unique predictor of 'pressured' sexting but its interactions with the PMT subscales for pressured sexting and decisions against sexting were non-significant. Our study illustrates the need for increasing young people's self-efficacy and body image to improve their sexting agency and experience.

A Phenomenological Investigation into Cyberbullying as Experienced by People Identifying as Transgender or Gender Diverse.

Cyberbullying can present a serious risk for adolescents and young adults, with severe effects on victims including adverse mental health outcomes and increased risk of suicide. Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals are significantly more likely to experience cyberbullying. However, little is presently known about the lived cyberbullying experiences of TGD adults despite the prevalence of cyberbullying experienced by the TGD community. TGD participants (n = 66, M = 24 years) were recruited through snowball sampling and completed an online questionnaire as part of a larger study, which included qualitative questions regarding cyberbullying. Participants reported that cyberbullying was experienced predominantly on social media sites and was largely anonymous. The content was often physically and sexually threatening and heavily transphobic. Additionally, some cyberbullying experienced by TGD individuals was perpetrated by other TGD individuals and focused on the identity policing and gatekeeping of TGD spaces. Participants reported cyberbullying evoked negative emotions, and they often responded by either arguing with or blocking the perpetrators, thereby demonstrating resilience. Some participants sought social support in response to cyberbullying, which acted as a protective factor. Findings reveal specific harms associated with cyberbullying as experienced by TGD individuals and highlight the need for further research and targeted support.

Factors influencing the perceived credibility of children alleging physical abuse.

Adults' assessments of the credibility of children's reports are affected by factors including the frequency of abuse, reporting delays and the child's age. The present study examined whether similar factors affect the perceived credibility of children reporting physical abuse, which is more common than sexual abuse. Two hundred and eight mock jurors read a simulated transcript of a child reporting physical abuse to police and made credibility ratings. Within each transcript, abuse frequency (once, repeated), reporting timing (recent, delayed), police question type (open, closed) and child age (6 or 10 years) were manipulated. The child was considered more credible when the abuse was only experienced once and reported shortly after it occurred, and when prompted with open questions. The child's age did not affect credibility judgments. Current findings support recommendations to prioritise open questions with children and provide evidence for extension of the benefits of open questions to children's credibility.

The Predictive Validity of Three Youth Violence Assessment Instruments: The SAVRY, VRS-YV, and SAPROF-YV.

This study examined the predictive validity of three assessment instruments for violent youth, the SAVRY, the VRS-YV, and the SAPROF-YV. Files relating to a sample of 233 young male offenders aged between 12 and 18 years were retrospectively reviewed to score each instrument, with reoffending data extracted from prison, community and juvenile justice records. The analysis showed that all three assessments predicted general (any) reoffending better than violent and non-violent reoffending, with higher rates of predictive validity for the SAVRY and VRS-YV Total Scores. There were, however, only small to moderate effect sizes at 1- and 3-year follow up periods for all three instruments in predicting all types of reoffending. The SAPROF-YV had a small effect size for the prediction of violent reoffending and did not add incrementally to the predictive validity (for violent reoffending) of the SAVRY or VRS-YV.

The Role of Individual Differences in Cyber Dating Abuse Perpetration.

There is a growing research interest in cyber dating abuse (CDA). CDA includes abusive online behavior toward a current or former intimate partner, such as aggression, control, harassment, and humiliation. Despite the potential overlap and reciprocal relationship of CDA and intimate partner violence, there remains considerable paucity in research exploring predictors of this abusive online behavior. In the current study, we adopt the General Aggression Model framework and explore the role of gender, hegemonic masculinity, vulnerable narcissism, and sexual aggression myths to predict perpetration of CDA. Participants (N = 415, 51 percent women; Mage = 32.68 years) were recruited via social media advertisements and completed an anonymous, confidential online questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised the Conformity to Masculine Roles Norms Inventory, the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale, the Acceptance of Modern Myths About Sexual Aggression Scale, and a modified Cyber Aggression in Relationships Scale. A hierarchical regression analysis indicated that hegemonic masculinity, vulnerable narcissism, and sexual aggression myths were all significant positive predictors of perpetrating CDA. As gender was a significant predictor until the inclusion of these variables, a multiple mediation analysis was performed, indicating that both hegemonic masculinity and sexual aggression myths fully mediated the relationship between gender and perpetrating CDA. These results add to the growing body of research exploring how CDA emerges as a behavior and highlight possible implications for management and intervention.

Just Checking It Out? Motivations for and Behavioral Associations With Visiting "Slutpages" in the United States and Australia.

"Slutpages" are a pernicious form of online image-based evaluative voyeurism (OIBEV), whereby (sexualized) images of women are posted on webpages for (predominantly) male groups to rate and comment. Despite media and public concern, OIBEV sites have garnered limited empirical study. This paper presents the first analysis of OIBEV site visitation motivations across United States and Australian samples. Participants comprised a convenience sample of 1148 young adults aged 18 to 29 years (M = 22.54, SD = 2.50); 53.0% women, 47.0% men; 54% residing in the U.S. and 46% in Australia. Respondents completed an online questionnaire. Overall, 23% of United States and 16% of Australian respondents had visited OIBEV sites. OIBEV site visitation was uniquely associated with gender and country (with men and United States being more likely to visit OIBEV sites), requesting and disseminating sexts and having one's own image shared. Cyberbullying perpetration was associated with reduced odds of OIBEV site visitation. Motivations differed by gender, with men (80%) being most likely to visit sites to "check them out" while women were equally likely to check it out (41%) or to see if they were depicted (36%). For men, unique predictors of OIBEV site visitation were having requested, disseminated and received disseminated sexts, lower levels of anxiety and reduced likelihood of cyberbullying perpetration. For women, OIBEV site visitation was uniquely associated with being a United States resident, sext dissemination victimization, receipt of disseminated sexts, higher levels of anxiety but reduced stress. Our findings confirm that OIBEV sites represent a highly gendered form of online image-based sexual abuse, and may have important mental health implications, given the associations with increased anxiety. Our results support the need for "slutpage" education for adolescents and young adults to address social and peer norms that encourage and support non-consensual use of intimate images.

Sext Dissemination: Differences across Nations in Motivations and Associations.

Sext dissemination presents policy and legislative challenges given its potential psychological, social, and legal harms. We report on a cross-national comparison of sext-image dissemination in a large sample of 1148 young adults aged 18-29 years (M = 22.54, SD = 2.50, 53.0% women, 47.0% men), either U.S. (53.8%) or Australian (46.2%) residents. The results indicate that 14% of young adults disseminated sexts, with no difference by gender or country. Over 50% of respondents indicated that the last time they received a disseminated sext, it was unexpected or unwelcome, with women twice as likely as men to receive unwelcome sexts. The most frequent motivations for sext dissemination were similar cross-nationally, relating to the attractiveness of the person depicted, as a joke, to gossip, because it was not a big deal, bragging, roasting or teasing, and to increase social status. Motivations of attractiveness, bragging, or social status were more commonly endorsed by men, while women endorsed reasons around gossip or roasting/teasing. Unique predictors of sext dissemination included U.S. residence, requesting sexts, receiving disseminated sexts, having one's own images disseminated, and more positive subjective norms to dissemination, and there was a country-gender interaction, where Australian women and U.S. men were more likely to disseminate sexts than then U.S. women or Australian men. The findings have implications for prevention programs seeking to address harmful online sexual interactions, including addressing respect, consent, and subjective norms supporting non-consensual dissemination.

Slutpage Use Among U.S. College Students: The Secret and Social Platforms of Image-Based Sexual Abuse.

The phenomenon of "slutpages," tied to high schools, fraternities, and the military, used to post, share, and comment on nude and semi-nude images of women, has emerged in mass media. To our knowledge, this is the first study to empirically investigate slutpage use behaviors including: visiting slutpages, posting nude images/videos online without consent, and using a vault app to store/share nude images. We conducted a survey of undergraduate college students attending a large Midwestern university in the U.S., with 1867 respondents (36.4% cis/transgender men, 63.6% cisgender women; 18-24 years old M = 20.39) to determine who is engaging in slutpage use behaviors. Our results showed that younger participants and men were more likely to engage in slutpage use behaviors than older participants and women, especially if they participated in Greek Life or played a team sport for their university. Men in a fraternity or on a team sport visited slutpages and posted nude images/video online without consent more frequently than men outside these groups, or women in general. Drinking alcohol and using pornography more frequently were also associated with slutpage use behaviors. This study provides a new understanding of slutpages as a social form of image-based sexual abuse and informs researchers, educators, and policy makers to expand their inquiry into online sexual experiences and exploitation to include this phenomenon.

The Development and Validation of the Child Sexual Assault Victim Credibility Scale: An Instrument to Measure Laypersons' Perceptions of Victim Credibility.

Child sexual assault is a global health issue, with extensive implications for legal, social, clinical, and health psychology. The perceived credibility of child victims is of considerable importance in terms of the successful prosecution of such cases. However, there has been considerable inconsistency within past research regarding how best to measure credibility, and to date, there exists no broadly accepted scale for the measurement of lay perceptions of credibility of child victims. The current study evaluates a proposed Child Sexual Assault Victim Credibility Scale (CSAVCS) and includes the results of both a pilot and scale validation study. A two-phase approach for instrument development was adopted. Thirty-six participants from the general community were involved in the pilot study (Phase I), comprising six males and 30 females. A further 210 participants (61 males and 149 females) were included in the scale validation sample (Phase II). Participants read a transcript of a child disclosing sexual abuse and rated their perceptions of the child's accuracy, believability, competency, reliability, and truthfulness. The scale's reliability and internal validity were successfully tested and modified in Phase I and subsequently validated and confirmed in Phase II. There was strong evidence of internal consistency, reliability, and content validity. Following model respecification, the final 23-item model was confirmed. The evaluation of the CSAVCS was a crucial first step and will be useful for future research exploring perceived credibility. Using a validated and reliable scale may serve to improve the consistency of measurement of credibility and to facilitate comparisons among studies.

Jury decision-making: the impact of engagement and perceived threat on verdict decisions.

The present study examined the role of political orientation and task engagement in juror decision-making. The study was conducted as a 2 (mode: laboratory versus online) × 2 (role: juror, observer) × 3 (evidence: admissible, inadmissible, control) between-subjects experiment, with participants (N = 157) recruited from a mid-sized Australian university. Findings supported our predictions that political conservatism is associated with convictions, and that university students endorse a wide range of political orientations. Participants who were more engaged in the study perceived more threat in the defendant, and threat, in turn, led to higher conviction rates; furthermore, the effect of participation mode on verdict decisions was completely mediated by perceptions of the threat posed by the defendant. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for jury decision-making research and its relevance to actual juror decisions.

Demographic and Psychosocial Factors Associated With Child Sexual Exploitation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Importance: Although research has examined factors associated with child sexual exploitation (CSE), consensus is lacking in regard to which factors should be prioritized, thereby hindering policy reform, prevention efforts, and development of early detection and intervention. Objective: To provide a meta-analytic synthesis of studies examining factors associated with CSE and to quantify their relative importance. Data Sources: Electronic databases searched to June 2019 included Medline, PsycINFO, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, EMBASE, and Informit, yielding 396 nonduplicative records. Literature search was performed in July 2019. Study Selection: Inclusion criteria were quantitative investigations of sexual exploitation and mean sample age of 18 years or younger. Data Extraction and Synthesis: Literature review and data extraction followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Thirty-seven studies met final inclusion criteria. Two independent reviewers extracted all relevant data. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to derive odds ratios (ORs) for each factor. Data were analyzed from September 1 to October 28, 2019, and prediction intervals calculated in June 2020. Main Outcomes and Measures: Child sexual exploitation, defined as coerced sexual acts between a child or a young person (aged ≤18 years) and an individual or a group in exchange for money, gifts, substances, or other commodities and associated factors. Results: Thirty-seven unique studies were included with a total of 67 453 unique participants (mean [SD] age of 16.2 [2.5] years; 49.9% female). Fifty-two factors associated with CSE were included in the meta-analysis. The strongest factors significantly associated with exposure to sexual exploitation were engagement in sexual risk behaviors (OR, 6.31 [95% CI, 3.12-12.76]; P < .001), having more than 5 sexual partners (OR, 5.96 [95% CI, 1.63-21.87]; P = .007), a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (OR, 5.29 [95% CI, 3.40-8.22]; P < .001), historical exposure to child pornography (OR, 5.50 [95% CI, 0.99-30.53]; P = .049), and a history of childhood sexual abuse (OR, 3.80 [95% CI, 3.19-4.52]; P < .001). A number of other potentially modifiable factors had moderate to strong associations. Conclusions and Relevance: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, children and adolescents affected by sexual exploitation showed high levels of sexual risk taking, multiple sexual partners, posttraumatic stress disorder, exposure to child pornography, and childhood trauma. Accurate detection of CSE may prevent this type of sexual violence occurring to adolescents and/or provide opportunities for intervention and recovery. Therefore, prevention and intervention efforts will likely benefit from integrating these factors into screening, assessment, and treatment.

Trait body image flexibility as a predictor of body image states in everyday life of young Australian women.

The present study evaluated whether individuals with varying levels of trait body image flexibility differ in the severity, variability, and correlates of state body dissatisfaction experienced in their daily lives. One hundred and forty-seven women completed a baseline measure of trait body image flexibility, followed by a 7-day ecological momentary assessment phase in which participants self-reported state body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behavior, drive for thinness, and appearance comparisons at 10 semi-random intervals daily. Higher trait body image flexibility predicted lower average scores, less frequent reporting of high state body dissatisfaction, and less variability in their state body dissatisfaction ratings. Individuals with higher trait body image flexibility were also less likely to engage in a range of behaviors and cognitions previously shown to produce body dissatisfaction, including upward appearance comparisons, drive for thinness, binge eating, and dieting. However, few of these state-based relationships involving body dissatisfaction and these related behaviors and cognitions were moderated by trait body image flexibility. Overall, this pattern of findings suggests that body image flexible individuals may have less negative body image because they are less inclined to engage in behaviors and cognitions in their daily lives that encourage negative body image.

Sexting, Mental Health, and Victimization Among Adolescents: A Literature Review.

The practice of creating and sharing sexual images via technological devices, known as sexting, has received crescent attention in the past years, especially due to the increase of adolescent engagement in this behavior. Although consensual sexting is not prima facie a crime, as some research has shown, it has the potential to be a risky behavior, and a threshold to get exposure to dangerous kinds of victimization as sextortion, online grooming or cyberbullying. In this context, teenagers represent a vulnerable group due to their limited ability of self-regulation, their high susceptibility to peer pressure, their technophilia, and their growing sexual curiosity. The present paper aims to review the scientific literature to analyze the relationship between mental health and sexting as a potentially risky behavior and its association with online victimization. The results and implications will be discussed.

Sexting and Psychological Distress: The Role of Unwanted and Coerced Sexts.

Sexting (e.g., conveying nude electronic images) is now common among young adults. Despite leading to negative consequences for some (e.g., harassment and unwanted dissemination), findings regarding sexting behaviors and mental health variables have been mixed. We recruited a convenience sample of young adults (N = 444, M age = 20, SD = 1) to test the hypothesis that sexting might be associated with poorer mental health. Our results showed no association between receiving or sending sexts overall. However, receiving unwanted sexts, or sexting under coercion, was associated with higher depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, and lower self-esteem, and these two sexting experiences were independent predictors of psychological distress. The relationship between these sexting behaviors with poor mental health was moderated by gender, with poorer outcomes for males receiving unwanted sexts. These findings indicate a possible moderating factor in sexting and mental health.

Measurement of Victim Credibility in Child Sexual Assault Cases: A Systematic Review.

While the concept of credibility seems like an intuitive one, research has indicated that there is no consistent definition of this construct and that credibility may, in fact, be multidimensional. This article is the first to review how the measurement of credibility in child sexual assault cases has been conducted, with the view to improve how credibility is psychometrically measured. Our findings indicate that the majority of experiments have been conducted in the United States (67%), have been based primarily on undergraduate students as participants (67%), and primarily investigated cases involving a male defendant and female victim (69%). Ultimately, among experiments investigating victim credibility, approximately 60% of all measures were based on a single item and 53% used materials not based on the testimony of the child. Moreover, credibility has been measured using a great variety of constructs such as believability, honesty, truthfulness, suggestibility, accuracy, and reliability. A more nuanced and consistent definition of credibility will be needed to facilitate meaningful applications of the research literature.

The Effects of Victim Age, Perceiver Gender, and Parental Status on Perceptions of Victim Culpability When Girls or Women Are Sexually Abused.

This study investigated perceptions of victim culpability in sexual assaults against girls and women according to victim age, perceiver gender, and perceiver parental status. Overall, 420 jury-eligible participants completed an online survey recording their attributions of guilt, responsibility, and blame toward 10-, 15-, and 20-year-old girls and women in relation to sexual assault. Attributions of culpability were affected by whether the victim physically or verbally resisted the abuse, wore sexually revealing clothes, or was described as having acted promiscuously. Fifteen-year-old victims were perceived as more culpable for the abuse than 10-year-old victims. Implications of these findings are discussed.

The Effect of Gender on Perceptions of Credibility in Child Sexual Assault Cases: A Systematic Review.

Child sexual assault cases have one of the highest attrition rates throughout the justice system, with jurors' perceptions of the credibility of the child playing a critical role in the judicial process and resulting outcomes. One of the most prominent influences on credibility is gender, specifically victim and perceiver gender. This article reports the findings of a systematic search of the literature exploring the impact of these factors on perceptions of victim credibility. Results suggest that overall females tend to rate victim credibility higher than do males; however, this gender effect is minimized when the alleged perpetrator is not the biological parent of the victim. There is little support for a victim gender effect, such that potential jurors' ratings of victim credibility does not appear to be influenced by the gender of the victim. The review highlights the lack of consistent and comprehensive measurement of credibility. Legal implications are discussed.