Understanding and deterring online child grooming: A qualitative study
Open accessAbstract
The prevalence of online child sexual grooming offenses has been on the rise, posing significant risks to children. Child sexual grooming involves sexual communication with minors. This study aims to understand motivations and pathways of individuals who have engaged in online grooming behaviour, as well as propose effective prevention and intervention strategies. A sample of 14 male participants who had engaged in online child grooming were interviewed. Five themes were identified through thematic analysis: Social aspects, Mental health and psychological aspects, Justification for offending, Secrecy and Technology. Within all five themes risk factors and protective factors relating to online grooming behaviour were identified. Three pathways into online grooming behaviour were hypothesised: social connection, addictive behaviour, and fantasy/roleplay. Additionally, the study highlights the complex relationship between online grooming and other child sexual abuse offences, including the sharing and distribution of indecent images of children. The study underscores the need for greater education and awareness about the risks and harms associated with online grooming for those at risk of engaging in this behaviour as well as wider support and situational prevention approaches, including monitoring and use of warning messages on relevant online platforms.
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Adolescents who hold negative attitudes toward inappropriate online communication tend to take preventive measures more promptly, such as blocking perpetrators, avoiding contact, or seeking assistance from adults.
“Wefers et al. (2024) found that adolescents who hold negative attitudes toward inappropriate online communication tend to take preventive measures more promptly, such as blocking perpetrators, avoiding contact, or seeking assistance from adults.”
From Surfing Online Safety: Assertiveness and Parental Involvement in Adolescents’ Attitudes Toward Cyber Grooming (2025) · cites this paper as Wefers et al., 2024
The Results (Overview of Results and Social Aspects; page not provided) discuss adults who engaged in online grooming and factors that might deter their offending. Searches for adolescents’ attitudes, blocking perpetrators, avoiding contact, and seeking adult help found no passage linking those attitudes to adolescents’ preventive actions or their timing. (LLM, conf=0.76)
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Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Wefers S. Dieseth T. George E. Øverland I. Jolapara J. McAree C. Findlater D. (2024). Supplementary materials to "Understanding and deterring online child grooming: A qualitative study" [Online appendices]. PsychOpen. 10.23668/psycharchives.14139 PMC11778739 39886042 · DOI
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
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- Authors
- Wefers, S., Dieseth, T., George, E., Øverland, I., Jolapara, J., McAree, C., & Findlater, D.
- Affiliations
- The Lucy Faithfull Foundation (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Wefers, Sarah
- ORCID
- Wefers, Sarah
- Venue
- Sexual Offending: Theory, Research, and Prevention
- Published
- 2024-02-15
- Volume
- 19
- Pages
- e13147-e13147
- ISSN
- 2699-8440 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC11778739
- OpenAlex
- W4391842979
- Cited by
- 8
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 1
- FWCI
- 4.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Sexual Offending Theory Research and Prevention (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- PsychOpen Gold (Leibniz Institute for Psychology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Psychology Archives (cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime, Deviance, and Social Control
- Keywords
- online child grooming, child sexual abuse, criminal motivation, risk factors, protective factors, social connectedness, addictive behavior, secrecy, mental health, indecent images of children, prevention, male offenders
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