NCJ Number
219694
Journal
Journal of Adolescent Health Volume: 41 Issue: 2 Dated: August 2007 Pages: 196-203
Date Published
August 2007
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study examined the prevalence and characteristics of youth who received requests to make and send sexual pictures of themselves over the Internet.
Abstract
Among the 1,500 youth (ages 10-17) who used the Internet, 4 percent reported an online request to send a sexual picture of themselves during the previous year. Of these youth, only one complied with the request. Being female, being of Black ethnicity, having a close online relationship, engaging in sexual behavior online, and having experienced physical or sexual abuse offline were risk factors for receiving a request for a sexual picture. Online requests for sexual pictures were more likely to occur when the youth receiving the request was in the presence of friends, communicating with an adult online, communicating with someone they met online, and who had attempted or made some form of offline contact with the youth. Recipients of the request for a sexual picture were more likely to have already received a sexual picture of the person making the request. These findings provide information about adolescent populations that need targeted prevention education about online dangers, i.e., vulnerable youth (e.g., abused boys and girls) and female Black youth. Data were collected as part of the Second Youth Internet Safety Survey, a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,500 youth Internet users ages 10-17. The survey asked questions that measured interpersonal online victimization, requests for sexual pictures, incident characteristics and impact, demographic characteristics, characteristics of Internet use, online behavior, and psychosocial characteristics. 4 tables and 25 references