Having a Sexual Photo Shared Without Permission and Associated Health Risks: A Snapshot of Nonconsensual Sexting

The prevalence of child sexual abuse with online sexual abuse added

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Research efforts are measuring various forms of online sexual abuse. There is a need to incorporate such measures of online sexual abuse into the calculation of overall prevalence rates for child sexual abuse.

PARTICIPANTS

A sample of 2639 respondents aged 18-to-28 was recruited from a nationally representative online panel.

METHODS

Using an online questionnaire, respondents were assessed via self-report about 9 types of online sexual abuse in childhood and were also assessed with 2 questions that have been used to assess generic child sexual abuse prevalence in previous surveys.

RESULTS

The addition of the online abuse to the generic questions about child sexual abuse raised the overall prevalence rate from 13.5 % to 21.7 %. The rate for females increased from 19.8 % to 31.6 % and for males from 6.2 % to 10.8 %. The largest independent contribution to the overall combined increase were the offenses involving non-consensual image sharing and voluntary online sexual interactions with an impermissibly older adult partner. The inclusion of the online sexual abuse exposures also increased the ability to identify the survivors with the highest levels of current psychological distress.

CONCLUSION

The study highlights the importance of counting and including online sexual abuse in efforts to estimate the overall prevalence of childhood sexual abuse. The paper proposes 2 or 3 questions that could be added to sexual abuse questionnaires to assess these online offenses efficiently.

The Mental Health and Social Implications of Nonconsensual Sharing of Intimate Images on Youth: A Systematic Review

In the past decade, the sending and sharing of sexual images among youth has become normalized. An associated risk of sharing sexual images is the images being nonconsensually shared among peers or uploaded online. This is the first review to systematically identify, summarize, and critically evaluate existing research on the mental health and social impact of nonconsensual sharing of sexual images (NCSSI) on youth. Database (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus) and manual searches were conducted to identify eligible studies. A narrative synthesis and a Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool were used for quality analysis. Of 4,013 articles retrieved, 13 met the eligibility criteria. The findings suggest that NCSSI is associated with negative mental health and social repercussions. Five quantitative studies found evidence suggestive of increased depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation in young people following NCSSI. The identified qualitative evidence highlighted a range of adverse impacts in the social lives of those affected, including associated bullying, harassment, and victim-blaming attitudes that many individuals face following an experience of NCSSI, which may contribute to a negative sense of self and exacerbate distress. Some of the identified studies used unvalidated tools to assess mental health outcomes, and mainly measured depression and anxiety. Most studies more broadly discussed the sharing of sexual images rather than NCSSI specifically. Future research should adopt a narrow focus on the impact of NCSSI and use validated tools to measure various mental health outcomes.

Nonconsensual Dissemination of Sexual Images Among Adolescents: Associations With Depression and Self-Esteem

The nonconsensual dissemination of sexual images is a form of image-based sexual abuse that is relatively common among adolescents. However, literature on this issue with adolescent samples is relatively scarce. Therefore, this study is aimed at investigating how this phenomenon varies based on gender and sexual orientation, along with its association with depression and self-esteem. Participants were 728 secondary school students in Sweden (50.4% girls and 46.4% boys; 14.4% lesbian, gay, bisexual [LGB+]) aged from 12 to 19 years (M = 14.35, SD = 1.29). A survey was administered during school hours, including a measure assessing the nonconsensual dissemination of sexual images, the short version of the Moods and Feelings Questionnaire, and the Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale. Results showed that LGB+ participants were more likely to indicate that they were victimized compared to their heterosexual peers, while no differences were observed for gender. Being the target of nonconsensual dissemination of sexual images was positively associated with depression, whereas no significant associations were yielded for self-esteem. Based on the findings from this study, we suggest raising adolescent awareness in relation to the nonconsensual dissemination of sexual images as a form of sexual abuse that can have detrimental effects on those who are targeted. Such educational programs should be inclusive of sexual minority adolescents, as they are at a particular risk of being the target of nonconsensual dissemination of sexual images. Psychological support should be provided to the targets of this form of abuse, through both school and online counseling. Future research should adopt longitudinal designs while recruiting diverse samples.

Victim Blaming and Non-Consensual Forwarding of Sexts Among Late Adolescents and Young Adults

This study explored late adolescents' and young adults' willingness to engage in non-consensual forwarding of sexts (NCFS) and its relation to victim blaming beliefs toward female and male victims. The study further examined important determinants in the development of victim blaming beliefs (e.g., perceived victim blaming of peers). An online survey was conducted among 1343 Belgian respondents of which 78.4% were female (M_age = 21.62 years, SD = 3.57 years). Structural equation modeling showed that victim blaming beliefs (i.e., responsibility-based and characteristic-based) were related to willingness to engage in NCFS, which was related to NCFS, regardless of the victim's sex. Further, victim blaming beliefs in the context of NCFS were shaped by parents' and peers' perceived victim blaming, and respondents' high levels of narcissism and low levels of empathy. Surprisingly, pornography use was negatively correlated with characteristic-based victim blaming beliefs. Additionally, males and late adolescents appeared to hold more victim blaming beliefs toward female and male victims in comparison with females and young adults. Lastly, the willingness to engage in NCFS was more strongly related to responsibility-based victim blaming (not characteristic-based victim blaming) if the victim was male. The findings demonstrate how victim blaming encourages NCFS and emphasize that educational programs should avoid victim-focused strategies.

Severe COVID-19 has Low Testosterone, Estrogen Levels, and Impaired Sexuality

For assessing whether women with and without COVID-19 differed with regard to female genital self-image, sexual function and hormonal profile. Female genital self-image being assessed with the female genital self-image scale (FGSIS) and Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and laboratory investigations. The study had revealed significant differences in all domains of the FSFI except pain between the cases and the controls. The study had demonstrated significant differences in all domains of the FGSIS between the cases and the controls. The study had shown significant decline in the post-COVID-19 serum levels of total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT) and estradiol (E) between the two groups (P < 0.05). Positive correlations between serum TT, FT, E and FGSIS domains and total score of FGSIS in the cases were observed.

The Revised Version of the Committing and Experiencing Cyber-Violence Scale and Its Relation to Psychosocial Functioning and Online Behavioral Problems

Cyber-violence is the type of online risk behavior inclined to harm others. Development of new forms of cyber-violent behavior leads to the need to revise specific-item measures of cyber-violence periodically. The aim of this research was to explore the psychometric properties of the revised Committing and Experiencing Cyber-Violence Scale: its latent structure, reliability, and descriptive statistics of underlying dimensions, as well as the relation of some known correlates of cyber-violence, like indicators of psychosocial functioning and online behavioral problems, with cyber-violence. Online questionnaires (cyber-violence, depression, anxiety and stress, problematic Internet use, and problematic gaming) were filled out by 1725 adolescents from a convenient sample. Using exploratory factor analysis and hierarchical regression analysis, the questionnaire’s latent structure and contribution of relevant correlates for explaining cyber-violence variance was examined. Results: Exploratory factor analysis showed a five-factor solution with satisfactory reliability: shaming, information manipulation, hate speech, technology abuse, and information sharing. Participants commit and experience cyber-violence rarely, leading to a positive distribution of data in the factors. The Committing and Experiencing Cyber-violence subscales have a large positive correlation. Gender (male), grades, maternal education, depression, anxiety, stress, problematic Internet use, and problematic gaming are positive predictors of experiencing cyber-violence, whereas gender (male), grades, hours spent online on weekdays, depression, anxiety, stress, problematic Internet use, and problematic gaming are positive predictors of committing cyber-violence. Conclusions: Cyber-violence is connected with lower psychosocial functioning and more risky behavior online (problematic Internet use, problematic online gaming).

Victimization as a Result of Non-Consensual Dissemination of Sexting and Psychopathology Correlates: An Exploratory Analysis

Sexting is generally known as creating, sending and/or forwarding of sexual content using electronic devices. When such content is non-consensually disseminated, it becomes a criminally relevant behavior. To date, very few empirical studies have examined the prevalence of non-consensual dissemination of sexting, and none of them have analyzed the relationship with psychopathology and further victimization outcomes. Therefore, the aims of this study were (1) to examine the prevalence of non-consensual dissemination of sexual content, (2) to analyze the prevalence of further victimization as a result of non-consensual dissemination of sexting and (3) to investigate the association between secondary victimization as a result of non-consensual dissemination of sexting and psychopathology. The sample comprised 1370 Spanish college students (73.6% female; mean age = 21.4 years; SD = 4.85) who answered an online survey about their engagement in sexting behaviors, online sexual victimization and psychopathology, measured by a sexting scale and the Listado de Síntomas Breve (LSB-50), respectively. Overall, 43 participants (3.14) were victims of non-consensual dissemination of sexting, and results showed those participants who had suffered further victimization reported higher psychopathology scores than those who were not victimized and that being victimized by an ex-partner was associated with poorer mental health outcomes in the victim. Further implications are discussed.

Examination of the effect of COVID-19 on sexual dysfunction in women

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of COVID-19 on sexual dysfunction in women.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The women diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalised at a tertiary hospital were included. They completed the Introductory Data Form, the Female Sexual Function Index-(FSFI) and the Short Form-36 Quality of Life Scale (SF-36).

RESULTS

Fifteen women between the ages of 19-49 who completed the treatment protocol, discharged at least 14 days before and who had not been diagnosed as sexual dysfunction; sexually active earlier were included in the study. It was detected that weekly sexual intercourse before and after COVID-19 significantly differed (P = .047). The frequency of relationships decreased statistically after COVID-19. The mean value of the FSFI satisfaction score differs from COVID-19 before and after diagnosis (P = .012). The mean satisfaction score before COVID-19 was 3.47, and after COVID-19 was 2.93. The score of the subgroups of FSFI did not differ from COVID-19 before and after diagnosis (P > .050). The median value of SF-36 pain differs from COVID-19 before and after diagnosis (P = .008).

CONCLUSION

It was concluded that the frequency of sexual intercourse and sexual satisfaction in women decreased after COVID-19 disease, and the quality of life scores did not change in a statistically significant way.

Hot Topics in Social Media and Reproductive Health

Today's generation of adolescents and young adults have been labeled "digital natives" given that they have had access to digital technology since birth. In this review, we address 2 critical areas affecting adolescents' reproductive health and social media. First, we address the current state of the science across several "hot topic" areas of social media use, including body image and privacy concerns. Second, we shift to consider social media as a potential health education tool in the area of reproductive health. Throughout this review, we attend to gender differences for these topics, including differences between males and females as well as differences between cis and trans adolescents. Our goal is for this review to provide a timely update for providers caring for today's digital natives.