Youth Experiences of Online Sexual Grooming

• In Event: Poster Session II

Abstract

Internet predation of minors has increasingly become a focus of child abuse research and legislation. Concerns have arisen regarding “online grooming,” the ongoing process during which an adult offender prepares a child for sexual abuse by gaining emotional access to the child through an intimate online relationship. The present study provided one of the first comprehensive examinations of a victim's perspective of online grooming. Participants were 1,253 male and female college students at two public institutions who completed an online survey covering demographics, lifestyle factors, and experiences online of sexual solicitation or online grooming.The findings from the present study have significant implications for prevention of online sexual grooming by understanding the way in which young Internet users perceive potentially predatory communications and relationships with adults.

Authors

• Cristal Noemi Hernandez, Sam Houston State University

• Emily Greene-Colozzi, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

• Brandy L. Blasko, Sam Houston State University

• Elizabeth L. Jeglic, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY