Which dynamics make online child sexual abuse and cyberstalking more emotionally impactful: Perpetrator identity and images?
Abstract
Background The migration of offenses against children to the online environment requires a revised understanding of how episode dynamics aggravate the harm. Objective To assess the contribution of various online offense episode elements to the overall negative emotional impact. Participants and settings The sample comprised 2639 IPSOS KnowledgePanel members aged 18 to 28, 1215 of whom reported episodes of online sexual abuse or cyberstalking that occurred prior to the age of 18. The analysis was based on 2056 episodes with detailed follow-up information. Methods Participants were recruited online and filled out online questionnaires about online sexual abuse and cyberstalking episodes, their characteristics, and the negative emotional impact (NEI) associated with each episode. NEI was derived from a factor analysis of 8 impact items. Results Higher negative emotional impact was associated with forms of sexual image misuse: non-consensual sharing, non-consensual taking and threatened sharing/sextortion. Peers made up a majority of offenders, and their impact was just as great as adult offenders. Known perpetrators, including intimate partners, also made up the largest proportion of offenders and their impact was just as great as online strangers or anonymous offenders. Conclusion Online safety awareness and prevention need a larger focus on peer and acquaintance offenses, particularly around the misuse of sexual images.
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Further studies revealed that cybergrooming victimization might negatively affect mental well-being, for example, in terms of lower health-related quality of life and negative emotional impact.
“Further studies revealed that cybergrooming victimization might negatively affect mental well-being, for example, in terms of lower health-related quality of life (Calvete et al., 2020; Ortega-Barón et al., 2022) and negative emotional impact (Finkelhor et al., 2023).”
From Cybergrooming Victimization Among Young People: A Systematic Review of Prevalence Rates, Risk Factors, and Outcomes (2025) · cites this paper as Finkelhor et al., 2023
Most of the quantitative studies found that sextortion perpetrators were more likely to be intimate partners or other known persons as opposed to strangers or those known only online to the victim.
“Most of the quantitative studies found that sextortion perpetrators were more likely to be intimate partners or other known persons as opposed to strangers or those known only online to the victim (Finkelhor et al., 2023; Henry et al., 2019; Patchin & Hinduja, 2020; Wolak et al., 2016, 2018).”
From Sextortion: A Scoping Review (2025) · cites this paper as Finkelhor et al., 2023
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., & Colburn, D.
- Affiliations
- University of New Hampshire (US)
- Venue
- Child Abuse & Neglect
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2023-03
- Volume
- 137
- Pages
- 106020
- ISSN
- 0145-2134 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4317568200
- Cited by
- 45
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 4
- FWCI
- 19.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Child Abuse & Neglect (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Justice (2020R2CX0015 2020)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Stalking, Cyberstalking, and Harassment
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies
- Keywords
- online child sexual abuse, cyberstalking, perpetrator identity, sextortion, online safety awareness
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Child, Child Abuse, Sexual, Humans, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sexual Behavior, Sex Offenses, Sexual Partners, Friends
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