Risk Factors Associated Image-Based Sexual Abuse in Childhood: Findings From a Diverse Sample of Young Adults

Abstract

Advancements in digital communication and imaging technologies have created new avenues for online victimization of youth, including image-based sexual abuse (IBSA). Based on an online survey of 2,652 young adults ages 18–29, the current study examined characteristics of different forms of IBSA experienced before the age of 18 (nonconsensual sending of images, threatened/pressured production, threatened sharing, self-produced image-sharing with someone older, commercial sexual exploitation) and risk factors among different sexual and gender identity groups. Findings show that most forms of IBSA start at ages 13–15, are frequent in occurrence, are interrelated, and differ across sexual and gender identity, with sexual and gender minority (SGM) female individuals most likely to be exposed. Several important risk factors were significantly related to experiencing any IBSA but differed in their relevance across different sexual and gender identity groups. For example, in-person sexual abuse and social networks’ image-sharing with strangers had particularly strong associations with IBSA among SGM male individuals, early sexual initiation was most strongly related to IBSA among heterosexual female individuals, and peer norms favoring sexual image-sharing with friends/acquaintances had the strongest association to IBSA among SGM female individuals. Implications for youth-targeted prevention strategies are discussed.

Keywords

image-based sexual abuse sexual minority gender minority sexting online risk

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