Article Title:
The Prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse with Online Sexual Abuse Added
Authors:
Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Colburn, D.
Summary:
Research around the world has sought to estimate the prevalence of ‘generic’ child sexual abuse (CSA), traditionally focusing on offline activities (Stoltenburgh, 2011) and, more recently the prevalence of various forms of online child sexual abuse and exploitation (OCSA) (Madigan, 2018). Evidence suggests that conventional and online forms share similar risk factors (Turner 2023) and mental health impact (Johnson, 2019) and that in many cases children experience both forms. The aim of this study was to determine the aggregate prevalence of all forms of child sexual abuse, including conventional CSA and OCSA. Further, the authors sought to determine if inclusion of OCSA impacted the association between current mental health symptoms and a history of CSA.
The 2639 participants in the study were recruited from a US-based, nationally representative sample of 18–28-year-olds; they completed an online survey that assessed their prior experience with conventional forms of CSA and 9 types of OCSA, as well as their report of current mental health symptoms. Of the total participants, 1215 reported experiences of OCSA. Results of the study showed predicted increases in total estimates when OCSA was included in overall prevalence rates as demonstrated in the table below. Notably, 47.3% of respondents who reported OCSA experiences also reported generic CSA, confirming the high rates of overlap in abuse types. Of the online forms of abuse, those having the greatest impact on prevalence included forms involving non-consensual image sharing and voluntary online sexual interactions with an adult partner. Addition of OCSA improved the ability to predict participants with the most symptoms of psychological distress.
Prevalence estimates of CSA, OCSA and combined forms:
| Generic CSA only | OCSA only (composite prevalence) | Cumulative Combined CSA + OCSA prevalence |
Total sample | 13.5% | 15.6% | 21.7% |
Females | 19.8% | 23.3% | 31.6% |
Males | 6.2% | 7.6% | 10.8% |
Other gender | 35.6% | 19.7% | 41.3% |
The results of this study demonstrate the importance of considering all forms of CSA (generic and online) when estimating the prevalence of exposure, with considerable increases in prevalence noted across gender categories when online forms are included in the analysis. Combined prevalence scores are especially high among females and individuals with a nonbinary gender identity (31.6% and 41.3%, respectively).
The authors make the very important point that the high prevalence rates noted reflect a variety of inappropriate sexual activities that involve adult and juvenile perpetrators; include episodes of physical contact and noncontact sexual abuse; and include brief verbal interactions. They are by no means restricted to the traditional stereotype of CSA that involves an adult perpetrator having physical sexual contact with a child. When citing these statistics, this clarification must be made.
References:
Jonsson, L. S., et al. (2019). “Online sexual abuse of adolescents by a perpetrator met online: a cross-sectional study.” Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 13: 32.
Madigan, S., et al. (2018). “The Prevalence of Unwanted Online Sexual Exposure and Solicitation Among Youth: A Meta-Analysis.” J Adolesc Health 63(2): 133-141.
Stoltenborgh M, et al. (2011). “A global perspective on child sexual abuse: Meta-analysis of prevalence around the world.” Child Maltreatment 16: 79-101.
Turner, H. A., et al. (2023). “Predictors of Online Child Sexual Abuse in a U.S. National Sample.” J Interpers Violence 38(11-12): 7780-7803.
