Article

Sharing is not always caring: Understanding motivations and behavioural associations with sext dissemination.

June 2020
Computers in Human Behavior 112:106460

DOI:10.1016/j.chb.2020.106460

Authors:

Elizabeth Clancy

Deakin University

Bianca Klettke

Deakin University

David Hallford

Deakin University

Angela Crossman

City University of New York - John Jay College of Criminal Justice

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This study investigated sext dissemination in a large convenience sample of young adults (N = 691, M age = 22.4, SD = 3.2, 53% female). Participants who disseminated sexts (17.4%) were more likely sexually active, and from a younger age, had requested sexts, received disseminated sexts, and reported higher dark triad trait levels. Images were usually received from a different gender and disseminated to the same gender. Men and women were equally likely to disseminate sexts, mainly to the same gender, whilst men tended to distribute to more individuals. Common motivations were attractiveness, humour and unimportance, with revenge uncommon. Men were more frequently motivated by attractiveness and increased social status. Four unique factors were associated with sext dissemination: having requested sexts, received disseminated sexts, had one's own sexts disseminated and elevated narcissistic traits; consistent with social exchange theory. Age, having requested sexts and having one's own images shared were associated with increased frequency of dissemination. One in ten respondents knew of their own sexts being disseminated; with men (27.9%) three times more likely than women (9.5%) to have consented to dissemination. Theoretical explanations and implications are discussed. Future interventions should focus on explicit consent and empathy, rather than punitive approaches.

The Dark Side of Being Connected: Image-Based Sexual Exploitation, Dark Personality Traits, and Coercion Perceptions

Thesis

Full-text available

Aug 2022

Technology use has brought about the perpetration of both sexting coercion and image-based sexual abuse (which includes sharing or threat of sharing someone’s intimate image). This study sought to examine the association between the Dark Tetrad, propensity to morally disengage, and the perpetration of sexting coercion and image-based sexual abuse. As well, this study then examined how those variables influence how someone perceives online coercion, when relationship type and coercion tactic are altered. With a sample of 1467 university students (72% women; 74% heterosexual), higher psychopathy, sadism, or narcissism scores was associated with an increased likelihood of perpetrating image-based sexual abuse. For sexting coercion, identifying as a man, and higher narcissism scores were associated with an increased likelihood of perpetrating sexting coercion. Scoring higher in psychopathy, sadism, and narcissism were predictive of having a higher propensity to morally disengage. Examining coerciveness perceptions from the vignettes, being a woman and not having perpetrated sexting coercion were predictive of rating the vignettes more coercive and being higher in moral disengagement propensity was predictive of rating the vignettes less coercive. There was no interaction between relationship type and coercion tactic and no main effect for relationship type but was a main effect for coercion tactic. The threaten tactic was associated with a mean “Coercion” score 7.71 points higher than the hinting tactic. This study has implications regarding who may be more likely to perpetrate image-based sexual abuse or sexting coercion and what factors may influence perceptions of online coercion. This study also showed that the general aggression model appears to be a valid theory to explain image-based sexual abuse and sexting coercion perpetration.

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

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2023

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.

The Role of Consent and Motivations in Sext Dissemination

Article

Apr 2023
J INTERPERS VIOLENCE

Sext dissemination (i.e., the online sharing of sexually explicit images) has the potential to result in legal, social, and psychological harms. Recent research has shown that this behavior can be consensual or non-consensual in nature; yet little is known about how motivations or attitudes may differ between these forms, or with gender. This study is based on a cross-sectional online survey investigating consensual and non-consensual sext dissemination and associated demographic, behavioral, attitudinal, and psychological factors. Participants were 2,126 cisgendered adults aged 18 to 30 years (M = 22.97, SD = 3.21, 55% women, 45% men), resident in Western, English-speaking nations, particularly Australia. Around 10% of respondents reported disseminating texts, and of these, only 19.8% indicated they had permission for this, with no differences across gender. When sexts were disseminated "to gossip," this was significantly more likely to be non-consensual. There were no significant differences between consensual and non-consensual dissemination in subjective attitudes or norms toward dissemination, nor levels of psychological distress. Women were more likely to non-consensually disseminate sexts that had been received as unwanted or unwelcome. Consensual dissemination was weakly associated with being sexually active and having given consent to having one's own images disseminated. We discuss implications for future research regarding consent, and relationship and sexuality education.

Understanding the Vicious Cycle: Relationships between Nonconsensual Sexting Behaviours and Cyberbullying Perpetration

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2023

With the increased ubiquity of digital technology, sexting behaviours, defined as the online sending, receiving, or disseminating of sexually explicit messages, images, or videos, have become increasingly frequent, particularly among young adults. While prior research found sexting behaviours to be associated with cyberbullying behaviours, the role of consent as part of this association has been largely unexplored. The current study investigates whether the relationship between sexting behaviours and cyberbullying perpetration might be explained by a subset of nonconsensual sexting behaviours, such as engagement in nonconsensual sext dissemination and sext-hassling. A large convenience sample of young Western cisgendered adults (n = 1688, M age = 23.15, SD = 3.23, 52.7% women) completed an anonymous online survey exploring harmful online behaviours (nonconsensual sext dissemination, sext-hassling, cyberbullying victimisation/perpetration). A hierarchical logistic regression was used to analyse predictive relationships between variables. The results showed no significant association between consensual sext-sending and cyberbullying perpetration in young adults. However, nonconsensual sexting behaviours, particularly sext-hassling and nonconsensual sext dissemination, were predictive of cyberbullying perpetration. Finally, cyberbullying victimization appeared to be the most strongly associated factor with cyberbullying perpetration. These findings suggest that future research and prevention efforts surrounding sexting and cyberbullying perpetration would benefit from a focus on consent and the bidirectional nature of cyberbullying behaviours.

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

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2023
ARCH SEX BEHAV

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 (Mage = 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.

Psychopathological aspects of sexting and IBSA perpetrators: A brief research report

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2022

IntroductionIBSA has been defined as taking, distributing, and/or making threats to distribute, a sexual image without a person's consent, and up to date there is still limited research on IBSA perpetration and characteristics of IBSA perpetrators. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify characteristics of IBSA perpetrators, in order to guide future intervention and prevention programs.Methods An online survey was conducted regarding IBSA related behaviors and psychopathology. The original sample comprised 1,370 Spanish college students (74% females).ResultsThe IBSA perpetrator subsample comprised 284 participants (49.5% females). Our findings indicate that perpetrators are more commonly males, with higher psychopathology scores, especially in hostility scales, with previous IBSA victimization experiences, and who usually target friends, to have fun or as a joke, or partners, to flirt. Furthermore, when examining intragroup differences regarding perpetration level of severity, results showed that those who reported engaging in the most severe forms of IBSA reported higher rates of psychopathology and hostility. Yet, to intervene in those who present more severe behaviors, we must also pay attention to depression, somatization and sleep disturbances.ConclusionsIBSA perpetrators share key factors that could be targeted in forensic and clinical interventions, and that should be taken into account when designing effective offender intervention programs. Intervention programs should focus on anger-management issues that help reduce perpetrators' hostility and anxiety symptoms, and should also be aimed at modifying attitudes that justify perpetration behaviors and contribute to harmful interactions with their friends or to intimate partner violent dynamics.

A Cross-Cultural Examination of the Sexting Motives and Attitudes: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Croatia

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2022

Many sexting studies conducted in the Western cultures have shown that the percentage is higher in less traditional cultures. However, the generalizability of this phenomenon to non-Western cultures has not been extensively researched. The purpose of this study is to examine and explain cross-cultural differences in sexting behavior among subjects from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. A mixed methods approach was used. The first, qualitative phase included focus groups with two groups of high school students from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia (N = 57), aged 15 to 19. In the second, quantitative phase, questionnaires were sent to 440 young adults with an average age of 21 years (SD = 3:8). From the interviews with the young people, nonconsensual sexting was perceived as less beneficial. Sexting was viewed as a double standard. The quantitative study revealed gender and country differences in attitudes toward sexting and motives for sexting. Positive attitudes toward sexting were found to predict different forms of sexting motives in both samples. In the sample from Bosnia and Herzegovina, age was found to predict sexting with instrumental motives and body image reinforcement motives. Gender, on the other hand, was found to be predictive of instrumental sexting motives in the Croatian sample and body image reinforcement sexting motives in the Bosnia and Herzegovina sample. This study illustrates the value of cross-cultural approaches combined with mixed methods as a design to study sexting behavior.

Perpetration of Image-Based Sexual Abuse: Extent, Nature and Correlates in a Multi-Country Sample

Article

Feb 2022

Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) is a form of technology-facilitated abuse in which intimate (nude or sexual) images of a person are taken, distributed, or threats are made to distribute the images, without a person’s consent. It is an increasingly criminalized form of sexual abuse, and yet little is known about the perpetrators of these harms, including the extent, relational nature and correlates of perpetration. This article reports on the first multi-country survey study to comprehensively investigate IBSA perpetration. An online panel survey of the general community (aged 16–64 years) in the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, and New Zealand (NZ) ( n = 6109) found that self-reported IBSA perpetration was relatively common, with one in six (17.5%, n = 1070) respondents engaging in at least one form of IBSA. Logistic regression analyses identified nine characteristics that significantly increased the odds of having engaged in IBSA perpetration during their lifetime, namely: residing in the NZ as opposed to the UK or Australia, being male, having disability/assistance needs, holding attitudes that minimize the harms and excuse the perpetrators of IBSA, engaging in online dating behaviors, engaging in sexual self-image behaviors, and experiencing IBSA victimization (images taken, images distributed, and images threatened). Policy and prevention implications of the findings, as well as directions for future research are discussed.

From myth to reality: sexual image abuse myth acceptance, the Dark Tetrad, and non-consensual intimate image dissemination proclivity

Article

Feb 2022

ABSTRACT Method Analyses Results Discussion Conclusion Disclosure statement References Appendixes Full Article Figures & data References Citations Metrics Reprints & Permissions PDF | EPUB ABSTRACT Despite media attention on non-consensual intimate image dissemination (NCII), the literature on the personality traits, attitudes, and beliefs that predict NCII approval, enjoyment, and perpetration is limited. With a sample of 810 undergraduate students, we examined the relationship between dark personality traits, acceptance of image-based sexual abuse-related myths, and NCII. We found that 48.2% of our participants did not oppose NCII perpetration, 71.4% did not oppose NCII enjoyment, and 97.8% did not oppose NCII approval. Moreover, we found that being a man, heterosexual, and scoring higher in dark personality traits predicted acceptance of Image-Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA)-related myths. In turn, accepting such myths predicted not opposing NCII proclivity. Our results underscore the importance of demystifying technology-facilitated sexual violence and promoting educational material that highlights lived experience and dispelling IBSA-related myths.

Sext Dissemination: Differences across Nations in Motivations and Associations

Article

Mar 2021

Sext dissemination presents policy and legislative challenges given its potential psychological, social, and legal harms. We report on a cross-national comparison of sext-image dissemination in a large sample of 1148 young adults aged 18–29 years (M = 22.54, SD = 2.50, 53.0% women, 47.0% men), either U.S. (53.8%) or Australian (46.2%) residents. The results indicate that 14% of young adults disseminated sexts, with no difference by gender or country. Over 50% of respondents indicated that the last time they received a disseminated sext, it was unexpected or unwelcome, with women twice as likely as men to receive unwelcome sexts. The most frequent motivations for sext dissemination were similar cross-nationally, relating to the attractiveness of the person depicted, as a joke, to gossip, because it was not a big deal, bragging, roasting or teasing, and to increase social status. Motivations of attractiveness, bragging, or social status were more commonly endorsed by men, while women endorsed reasons around gossip or roasting/teasing. Unique predictors of sext dissemination included U.S. residence, requesting sexts, receiving disseminated sexts, having one’s own images disseminated, and more positive subjective norms to dissemination, and there was a country–gender interaction, where Australian women and U.S. men were more likely to disseminate sexts than then U.S. women or Australian men. The findings have implications for prevention programs seeking to address harmful online sexual interactions, including addressing respect, consent, and subjective norms supporting non-consensual dissemination.

Il lato oscuro del revenge porn

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2021

In questo articolo viene presentato un lavoro di ricerca focalizzato sui fattori che favoriscono la diffusione non consensuale d'immagini intime: questo fenomeno è conosciuto con il nome di revenge porn. Le ricerche hanno messo in evidenza il ruolo giocato in questo contesto dalla Dark Triad, tuttavia, vista la compatibilità dei tratti psicopatici, machiavellici e narcisistici con gli atteggiamenti di deumanizzazione nelle relazioni romantiche abbiamo ritenuto che tali tratti giochino un ruolo importante nella propensione al revenge porn. Obiettivo: abbiamo ipotizzato che la deumanizzazione nelle relazioni romantiche possa essere correlata con i tratti della Dark Triad e con la propensione al revenge porn, e che la deumanizzazione possa essere un fattore di mediazione tra i tratti di personalità della Triade Oscura e la propensione al revenge porn. Metodo: è stato reclutato un campione sessualmente attivo di 213 soggetti, dai 18 ai 66 anni di età (M = 33.08, SD = 9.87). Risultati: I risultati evidenziano una correlazione tra il fattore deumanizzazione con i tratti di personalità della Dark Triad e con la scala del revenge porn proclivity. Il revenge porn proclivity mostra correlazioni con tutte le variabili precedenti tranne che con il tratto di personalità narcisistico. La deumanizzazione si conferma come mediatore tra i tratti della Dark Triad e la propensione al revenge porn.

Just Checking It Out? Motivations for and Behavioral Associations With Visiting “Slutpages” in the United States and Australia

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2021

“Slutpages” are a pernicious form of online image-based evaluative voyeurism (OIBEV), whereby (sexualized) images of women are posted on webpages for (predominantly) male groups to rate and comment. Despite media and public concern, OIBEV sites have garnered limited empirical study. This paper presents the first analysis of OIBEV site visitation motivations across United States and Australian samples. Participants comprised a convenience sample of 1148 young adults aged 18 to 29 years (M = 22.54, SD = 2.50); 53.0% women, 47.0% men; 54% residing in the U.S. and 46% in Australia. Respondents completed an online questionnaire. Overall, 23% of United States and 16% of Australian respondents had visited OIBEV sites. OIBEV site visitation was uniquely associated with gender and country (with men and United States being more likely to visit OIBEV sites), requesting and disseminating sexts and having one’s own image shared. Cyberbullying perpetration was associated with reduced odds of OIBEV site visitation. Motivations differed by gender, with men (80%) being most likely to visit sites to “check them out” while women were equally likely to check it out (41%) or to see if they were depicted (36%). For men, unique predictors of OIBEV site visitation were having requested, disseminated and received disseminated sexts, lower levels of anxiety and reduced likelihood of cyberbullying perpetration. For women, OIBEV site visitation was uniquely associated with being a United States resident, sext dissemination victimization, receipt of disseminated sexts, higher levels of anxiety but reduced stress. Our findings confirm that OIBEV sites represent a highly gendered form of online image-based sexual abuse, and may have important mental health implications, given the associations with increased anxiety. Our results support the need for “slutpage” education for adolescents and young adults to address social and peer norms that encourage and support non-consensual use of intimate images.

Psychopathological profile of sexting coercion perpetrators

Article

Mar 2021

Introduction In the past years, research regarding sexting behaviours and online sexual victimization has been rapidly growing, with literature examining the social, legal, psychological and psychopathological consequences of being coerced into sexting. However, up to date, there is little evidence exploring the psychopathological profile of sexting coercion perpetrators. The aim of this study was to examine differences in the psychopathological profile of sexting coercion perpetrators vs non-perpetrators, and, additionally, examining sex differences. Methods The original sample comprised 1370 college students (including 74% females, mean age = 21.40). The non-perpetrator subsample comprised 1247 participants (76% females, mean age 21.39) and the sexting coercion perpetration subsample comprised 75 participants (30% females, mean age = 21.38). Results Data indicated significant differences in the psychopathological profile between perpetrators and non-perpetrators, with the first group showing higher scores for different psychopathology scales. When examining sex differences intragroup, results showed significant differences between perpetrator males and non-perpetrator males for scales related with dysfunctional attachment, anger, frustration and social skills. Significant differences between female samples were only found for hostility. Finally, no differences were found between sexting coercion perpetrator males and females, with both groups showing similar psychopathological profiles. Conclusions People who engaged in sexting coercion perpetration show a different psychopathological profile than those who did not report coercing someone into sexting, however, males and females coercers show similar psychopathological profiles. Further results and implications regarding psychopathological differences between examined groups are discussed.

Sext Dissemination: Differences across Nations in Motivations and Associations

Preprint

Full-text available

Mar 2021

iPredator: Risk Factors and Motivators of Image-Based Sexual Abuse

Thesis

Full-text available

Aug 2020

Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) can be defined as the non-consensual sharing or threatening to share of nude or sexual images of another person. This is one of the first studies examining how demographic characteristics (gender, sexual orientation), personality traits (Dark Tetrad), and attitudes (aggrieved entitlement, sexual entitlement, sexual image abuse myth acceptance) predict the likelihood of engaging in IBSA perpetration and victimization. In a sample of 816 undergraduate students (72.7% female and 23.3% male), approximately 15% of them had at some point in their life, distributed and/or threatened to distribute nude or sexual pictures of someone else without their consent and 1 in 3 had experienced IBSA victimization. Higher psychopathy or narcissism scores were associated with an increased likelihood of having engaged in IBSA perpetration. Additionally, those with no history of victimization were 70% less likely to have engaged in IBSA perpetration compared to those who had experienced someone disseminating their intimate image without consent themselves. These results suggest that a cyclic relationship between IBSA victimization exists, where victims of IBSA may turn to perpetration, and IBSA perpetrators may leave themselves vulnerable to future victimization. The challenges surrounding IBSA policy and legislation highlight the importance of understanding the factors and motivators associated with IBSA perpetration.

Longitudinal Sexting Research: A Systematic Review

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2023

The exchange of intimate messages, images, and videos via digital means, also referred to as sexting, has drawn considerable academic attention in recent years. Specifically, cross-sectional research has indicated that sexting can be associated with harmful outcomes such as depression, anxiety, and cyberbullying. However, there is currently limited empirical research examining the causal relationship between these factors, and to date, there has been no systematic review of the longitudinal studies on sexting. Thus, the purpose of this review is to summarise and review the current research addressing long-term outcomes and predictors of sexting. A systematic search of databases was conducted. Eight databases were searched, with twenty-four longitudinal studies meeting the inclusion criteria and thus included in this review. The quality of individual studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tool. Overall, longitudinal research into sexting is scarce, and variability in definitions, measured variables, and sample demographics have created challenges in achieving consensus across variables. For example, findings were inconclusive regarding causal relationships between sexting, cyberbullying/bullying, and psychological health outcomes. Findings indicated that positive peer norms predicted sexting and that sexting was predictive of future offline sexual behaviours. Future longitudinal research would benefit from differentiating between consensual and non-consensual sexting behaviours in measurement. Future prevention efforts should focus on addressing peer norms that develop around sexting behaviours.

Psychological aspects of Revenge Porn phenomena: clinical perspective

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2022

Background: The Revenge Porn phenomena is non-consensual pornography related to the sexually explicit pictures dissemination without informed consent form involved individuals. Several studies focused on sociological aspects and related issues for judiciary; few researches were conducted investigating the related psychological and psychopathological characteristics. Objective: Our study aimed to review the recent scientific literature in order to propose analysis about relevant keypoints for reveng porn. Method: A rapid review was conducted on international dababases (MEDLINE, Embase) about literature published in the period 2016-2021 in order to analyze psychological issue of reveng porn phenomena. Results: 8 articles included in the present study. Descriptive analyses showed the phenomena is becoming part of the psychosexuality, intimacy expressions, sexual relationship by technologically and digitally interpersonal interaction. Anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms have been highlighted in revenge porn. Conclusions: Actually, predictive factors for revenge porn practice are individual aspects; our study suggested future research should be focused on the investigation of personality dimensions in order to draw more detailed psychological implications.

Personality, Attitudinal, and Demographic Predictors of Non-consensual Dissemination of Intimate Images

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2021

Non-consensual intimate image dissemination (NCII), or else better known as “revenge pornography” is a form of technology-facilitated sexual violence that can have devastating effects on the victim. This is one of the first studies examining how demographic characteristics (gender, sexual orientation), personality traits (Dark Tetrad), and attitudes (aggrieved entitlement, sexual entitlement, sexual image abuse myth acceptance) predict NCII perpetration and victimization. In a sample of 810 undergraduate students (72.7% female and 23.3% male), 13.7% of the participants had at some point in their life, distributed nude, or sexual pictures of someone else without consent and 28.5% had experienced such victimization. NCII perpetration was predictive of NCII victimization and vice versa. Using binomial logistic regression, we found that women, members of the LGBQ+ community, those scoring higher in sadism, and participants with a history of NCII perpetration were more likely to report that someone had distributed their nude or sexual image without consent. Further, we found that those scoring higher in narcissism and sadism, along with those with a history of NCII victimization were more likely to report they had distributed the nude or sexual image of someone else without consent. Finally, the findings suggest that the relationship between victims and perpetrators is quite a bit more varied than the term “revenge pornography” implies.

Sexting Among Australian Adolescents: Risk and Protective Factors

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2023
J YOUTH ADOLESCENCE

Although consensual sending of sexts between adolescents is considered developmentally appropriate, it may also entail a range of negative consequences. Current sexting research lacks a comprehensive theoretical framework identifying a range of risk and protective factors underpinning adolescent consensual sending of sexts across individual, interpersonal, and distal levels. Further, there is a lack of systematic evaluation of how the importance of these factors may vary across adolescent age. This study investigated the utility of the Social Development Model to predict a range of risk and protective factors across individual, family, peer, school, and community-level factors. The sample included 1302 teenagers from Victoria, Australia (Mage = 14.54, SD = 1.14, 50.8% girls). Results indicated that 146 (11.7%) participants sent a sext (76 boys and 70 girls). Logistic regression analyses revealed that the Social Development Model accounted for 45.8% of variance in sexting, with greater likelihood of sending sexts being associated with older age, prior sexual activity, school sector, physical activity, lifetime substance use, greater depressive symptoms, sensation seeking, and perceived substance availability in the community. Multigroup analyses revealed that lifetime substance use was associated with a greater likelihood of sending sexts among younger teens. Among older adolescents, adaptive coping was associated with reduced engagement in sexting, while higher parental overcontrol and family conflict increased the odds of sending sexts. Overall, sexting is associated with a range of modifiable factors potentially amenable to intervention.

Image-Based Sexual Abuse: Online Gender-Sexual Violations

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2023

Image-based sexual abuse describes the offline or online non-consensual sharing of real or fake images or videos with (un)known others of a person that are either sexually explicit or sexually suggestive. New information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide many open-ended and undefined possibilities for image-based sexual abuse (IBSA), such as ‘revenge pornography’, ‘upskirting’, deepfake pornography, sexual spycamming, and cyberflashing, to name just a few. These forms of abuse refer to the online, and also at times offline, non-consensual distribution or sharing of explicit images or videos of someone else by ex-partners, partners, others, or hackers seeking revenge, entertainment, or peer group status. The vast majority of these are committed by men against women. Given the many adverse impacts on physical and psychological health and well-being it has on its victim-survivors, exploring this form of online gender-sexual abuse and violation becomes an important endeavor. Situating the discussion within debates on gender and sexuality, the entry discusses the increasing use of new technologies for online gender-sexual abuse and violation, highlighting the motivations of those perpetrating IBSA, the negative physical and psychological impacts of IBSA on victim-survivors, and what has been, and could be, done to combat image-based sexual abuses and other misuses of new technologies, notably through legal, policy, and practice interventions within and between nations.

Nonconsensual Distribution of Intimate Images: Exploring the Role of Legal Attitudes in Victimization and Perpetration

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2022

In the last 10 years, following widespread outcry among legal scholars and activists, 48 states passed legislation explicitly criminalizing the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images (NCDII) or what is colloquially known as “revenge porn.” This increased authority granted to criminal justice agencies, coupled with greater media attention to NCDII incidents, may have influenced patterns of victimization and perpetration. Using a survey recently distributed to a sample of young adults ( N = 713), we find that NCDII perpetration is strongly related to previous victimization, risky online behaviors, and receipt of unsolicited images. Perceptions of police efficacy in addressing NCDII issues is the strongest predictor of attitudes toward both reporting victimization and the belief that perpetrators will experience some punitive consequence. We also conducted an experiment using vignettes with gender varying victim-offender dyads to explore how gender bias influences attitudes toward punishment for NCDII perpetrators as well as perceptions of “revenge porn” in incidents involving same-sex and mixed-sex couples; we find that respondents are less likely to attribute “revenge porn” or to suggest punitive responses when the perpetrator is female regardless of the gender of the victim. Importantly, we find initial evidence of a new typology of NCDII perpetrator that counters existing research on victim–perpetrator gender dyads: women who nonconsensually disseminate unsolicited intimate images sent by men. Collectively, our findings challenge the efficacy of existing criminal statutes, identify new challenges in effectively legislating against NCDII, and contribute to the body of work on gender-based violence, perceptions of police efficacy, and punitive attitudes.

Assessing Image-Based Sexual Abuse: Measurement, Prevalence, and Temporal Stability of Sextortion and Nonconsensual Sexting (“Revenge Porn”) Among Adolescents

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2022
J ADOLESCENCE

Introduction. The aim of this study was to develop a new measure of victimization and perpetration of two frequent forms of image-based sexual abuse, namely, sextortion (i.e., threat of distributing sexual images to pressure the victim into doing something) and nonconsensual sexting (i.e., distributing sexual images of someone without consent of the victim). Additional aims were to analyze the prevalence of these forms of victimization and perpetration, and to examine their temporal stability over a one-year period. Methods. The sample was made up of 1,820 Spanish adolescents (mean age = 13.38, SD = 1.42; 929 girls, 878 boys, 3 nonbinary, and 10 did not indicate gender) who completed self-report instruments on image-based sexual abuse and related variables (e.g. cyberbullying victimization). Results. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a structure composed of the four hypothesized factors: sextortion victimization and perpetration, and nonconsensual sexting victimization and perpetration. Higher sexting, cyberbullying victimization, and symptoms of depression and anxiety had stronger associations with image-based sexual victimization than with perpetration, which showed evidence of concurrent validity. Prevalence was 2.6% and 0.7% for sextortion victimization and perpetration, respectively, and 3.4% and 4.9% for nonconsensual sexting victimization and perpetration, respectively. Temporal stability over 1 year was .26 for sextortion victimization, .19 for nonconsensual sexting victimization, .33 for nonconsensual sexting perpetration (all ps < .001), and nonsignificant for sextortion perpetration. The stability of nonconsensual sexting victimization was significantly higher for girls compared to boys, whereas nonconsensual sexting perpetration was more stable over one year for boys. Conclusions. Future studies must advance the analysis of the predictors and consequences of image-based sexual abuse among adolescents to better prevent this problem. Prevalence of sextortion and nonconsensual sexting is not negligible, and these problems should be particularly addressed in prevention programs.

Differences Between Gender and Relationship Status in Motivations and Consequences of Consensual Sexting Among Emerging Adults

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2022
Sex Cult

As sexting continues to develop as a facet of sexual behavior among emerging adults, it is important to examine precursors and outcomes of such behavior. Current research is beginning to examine potential positive outcomes of consensual sex- ting in addition to negative consequences, as well as the motivations and contexts in which these consequences manifest. The purpose of the present study was to examine motivations for consensual sexting across gender and relationship status, as well as a range of perceived consequences of sexting in undergraduate emerging adults (N=536; 77.2% women). With regards to motivations for sexting, men and those in committed romantic relationships more frequently reported that their sexting was incited by relational motives compared to women and those in casual sexual relationships. In examining consequences of sexting, women reported higher levels of punishment compared to men. A significant interaction was present between gender and relationship status, revealing that women in casual sexual relationships reported the highest amounts of negative consequences. These findings highlight the complexity of sexting behaviors and suggest the need for more nuanced research to accurately conceptualize and contextualize the motivations for and the consequences of sexting as a function of relationship status and gender.

A Snapshot of Image Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA): Narrating a Way Forward

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2022
Sex Res Soc Pol

Brandon Sparks

Introduction The rise of technology has ushered in a new means of sexual expression, commonly referred to as sexting, which involves the sending of sexual messages or images of oneself to another person. Growing in popularity particularly among youth and young adults, the sending of images to current or potential romantic or sexual partners is increasingly becoming part of courting and relationship maintenance rituals. Yet this new domain of sexual agency has been met with a rise in the non-consensual dissemination of intimate or nude photographs to third parties, in some cases to humiliate or shame the creator of the image. Methods This paper uses a socio-narratological approach to understand the complex consequences that (largely female) victims of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) experience. Results Individuals who experience IBSA may undergo perpetuated suffering due to an interwoven constellation of internal and external forces, much of which is rooted in the sexual regulation (if not subjugation) of women. Suffering is presented as originating from three domains: the self, the perpetrator, and society, which interact as a "Dark Triad." Conclusions The use of socio-narratology to disentangle the suffering may provide victims and mental health professionals with experiential clarity. Further, it offers a way forward for individuals who have experienced this unique form of sexual violence.

Comps. PERSPECTIVA MULTIDISCIPLINAR E d i t a : A S U N I V E P

Book

Full-text available

Feb 2021

Acoso escolar y adolescencia

El uso de monitores de actividad física para prevenir la inactividad física y la conducta sedentaria desde el contexto escolar

Chapter

Feb 2021

Estrategias para combatir la inactividad física de los escolares desde la Educación Física escolar

Chapter

Feb 2021

Estrategias para combatir la conducta sedentaria desde el contexto escolar

Chapter

Feb 2021

Image-based sexual abuse: Victim-perpetrator overlap and risk-related correlates of coerced sexting, non-consensual dissemination of intimate images, and cyberflashing

Article

Jul 2023
COMPUT HUM BEHAV

The Role of Sexting on the Perception of Image-Based Sexual Abuse

Article

Jul 2023
J INTERPERS VIOLENCE

Gender-based violence is a widespread phenomenon that significantly impacts many women around the world. Among the different forms that it might take, image-based sexual abuse represents one of the most common forms nowadays. According to the literature, sexting-the sharing of sexually explicit messages or images-is one of the most important risk factors for image-based sexual abuse because sexts can be forwarded or published without the authorization of the originator. Nevertheless, sexting can play a role in sexual and relational development and serve as a first step in experimenting with sexual contact in real life. In this study (N = 603 from the general population), we examined the relations between people's beliefs about sexting, attitudes toward it, and sexting behavior on the one hand, and reactions to a situation of nonconsensual dissemination of sexts on the other hand. Results showed that social pressure exerted by peers and partners to sext was associated with both positive attitudes toward sexting and sexting behaviors. Attitudes toward sexting, then, have a spillover effect on the reactions toward a victim of nonconsensual dissemination of sexts, in terms of empathy, victim blaming, and affective reactions. Implications for both research and policymaking regarding this form of gender-based violence are discussed.

Non-consensual dissemination of sexual images: The victim-offender overlap

Article

Jan 2023

Sexting with benefits? Exploration of sexting behaviours through the lens of protection motivation theory

Article

Dec 2022

Sexting is a common form of sexual communication that is often considered normative and beneficial despite some research highlighting its negative social, psychological, and legal repercussions. Using protection motivation theory (PMT), this study examines how young adults weigh the pros and cons of sending consensual sexts, sexting under pressure, and deciding against sending sexts, and whether body image dissatisfaction interacts with any of the decision-making processes. In total, 906 participants (554, 61.14% women), aged 18–25 years (M = 21.65, SD = 2.01), completed an online measure of sexting behaviours, body image, and protection motivation. Overall, 71.41% of respondents ever sent a sext. Of those, 45.07% and 36.32% felt pressure to sext or sent a sext because of pressure. Further, 63.90% participants ever considered and decided not to send a sext. All models predicting various sexting behaviours were significant and provided a partial support for the PMT. Body image was a unique predictor of ‘pressured’ sexting but its interactions with the PMT subscales for pressured sexting and decisions against sexting were non-significant. Our study illustrates the need for increasing young people’s self-efficacy and body image to improve their sexting agency and experience.

Acute Effects of Blood Sugar Regulation on Endothelial Functions in Patients with Diabetes

Article

Sep 2022

A multi-country study of image-based sexual abuse: extent, relational nature and correlates of victimisation experiences

Article

Sep 2022

This study examined image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) victimisation in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand (n = 6,109). Findings showed that 37.7% (n = 2,306) of respondents had at least one IBSA victimisation experience since 16 years of age. Logistic regression analyses further identified that demographic characteristics (age, sexuality, disability/assistance), attitudes towards IBSA, and experiential variables (online dating and sexual self-image behaviours, IBSA perpetration) were each predictors of IBSA victimisation. Though gender did not predict the overall extent of IBSA victimisation, the relational contexts and impacts of IBSA remained gendered in particular ways. Implications of the study are discussed with respect to conceptualising gendered violence and future research.

Social Network Information Dissemination and Prediction Algorithm based on Computer Pattern Modelling and Node Estimation

Conference Paper

Jul 2022

Karanlık Üçlü’nün İnsan Cinselliği Üzerine Etkileri

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2021

The dark triad in psychology includes personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. These personality traits are called “dark” because of their bad qualities. Psychopathic, narcissistic, Machiavellian, and sadistic traits make up the dark tetrad of personality traits. Health Organization, while making statements covering issues such as sexuality, gender identity/ roles, sexual pleasure, establishing close relationships and reproduction, also includes some factors that affect these concepts. These elements include environmental, social, cultural, economic, religious, historical and legal factors as well as biological and psychological factors. This study, which has been conducted with a systematic review method, aims to determine what effects the dark triad and the dark tetrad have on sexuality by bringing together the studies of the dark triad and the dark tetrad on sexuality and sexuality related topics. As a result, it was found that the dark triad and the dark tetrad are reflected in people’s professional, social, educational, even romantic relationships, sexual behaviors, as shown in many previous studies, and are associated with rape myths, short-term relationships, partner selection and romantic relationships utilitarianism.

Assessing the role of self-control and technology access on adolescent sexting and sext dissemination

Article

Jul 2021
COMPUT HUM BEHAV

Concern over juvenile sexting behaviors has increased substantially over the last decade, leading to criminological inquiries of the correlates of sexting. Evidence suggests that sexting behavior is associated with one's level of self-control, such that individuals with low self-control are unable to constrain themselves from acting on opportunities to offend. Though self-control is correlated with sexting, few have considered the ways that situational opportunities associated with technology access and self-control influence one another. This study attempted to address this gap in the literature through an analysis of 1328 adolescents enrolled in secondary schools located in a large metropolitan region of South Australia. The findings from three binary logistic regression models illustrated that low self-control, and online opportunity factors were associated with sexting behaviors, though self-control was mediated by the inclusion of opportunity measures. The implications of this analysis for our understanding of criminological theory is discussed in detail.

The Role of Individual Differences in Cyber Dating Abuse Perpetration

Article

Jul 2021

There is a growing research interest in cyber dating abuse (CDA). CDA includes abusive online behavior toward a current or former intimate partner, such as aggression, control, harassment, and humiliation. Despite the potential overlap and reciprocal relationship of CDA and intimate partner violence, there remains considerable paucity in research exploring predictors of this abusive online behavior. In the current study, we adopt the General Aggression Model framework and explore the role of gender, hegemonic masculinity, vulnerable narcissism, and sexual aggression myths to predict perpetration of CDA. Participants (N = 415, 51 percent women; Mage = 32.68 years) were recruited via social media advertisements and completed an anonymous, confidential online questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised the Conformity to Masculine Roles Norms Inventory, the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale, the Acceptance of Modern Myths About Sexual Aggression Scale, and a modified Cyber Aggression in Relationships Scale. A hierarchical regression analysis indicated that hegemonic masculinity, vulnerable narcissism, and sexual aggression myths were all significant positive predictors of perpetrating CDA. As gender was a significant predictor until the inclusion of these variables, a multiple mediation analysis was performed, indicating that both hegemonic masculinity and sexual aggression myths fully mediated the relationship between gender and perpetrating CDA. These results add to the growing body of research exploring how CDA emerges as a behavior and highlight possible implications for management and intervention.

What are you looking at? Body image esteem and sexting behaviors among emerging Australian adults

Article

Jun 2021
COMPUT HUM BEHAV

Image-based sexting constitutes a visual form of sexual communication. Yet, the degree to which satisfaction with one's physical appearance emboldens or inhibits young adults from engaging in sexting behaviors is poorly understood. This study investigated whether body esteem related to specific body parts and functions can uniquely predict sending sexts, sending consensual but unwanted sexts, and decisions against sending sexts. Six hundred and fourteen Australians aged 18–21 years (M = 19.57, SD = 1.15) took part in the study. Binomial regressions revealed that negative body esteem in relation to lips made a unique contribution to the higher likelihood of sending sexts for women. No further individual body parts or functions made a unique contribution to the models for sending sexts, sending consensual but unwanted sexts, or decisions against sexting across genders. However, body image esteem in relation 35 body parts and functions collectively explained 23% and 35% of variance in sending sexts for women and men. It also explained 14% and 28% of variance in decisions against sending sexts for women and men, but made no significant contribution to the prediction of consensual but unwanted sexts across genders. Methodological implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Prevalence, age of initiation, and patterns of co-occurrence of digital dating abuse behaviors nationwide

Article

Jan 2021
CHILD YOUTH SERV REV

Introduction Little is known about the patterns of adolescent and young adult digital dating abuse (DDA) nationwide. This study characterizes (1) the lifetime prevalence, (2) the age of initiation, and (3) the patterns of co-occurrence of both using and experiencing DDA behaviors in dating relationships. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among a sample of 696 U.S. young adults recruited from Prolific, an online research platform. The sample was 50.7% female, 43.7% male, and 5.6% gender non-binary or transgender. The average age was 18.7 years (SD = 0.63, range: 16-22). Results & Conclusions Among those with dating experience, 76.1% (n = 530) reported either using or experiencing at least one DDA behavior in their lifetime. Overall, 42.9% of respondents reported using and 58.3% experiencing digital monitoring and control behaviors, 25.0% reported using and 49.2% experiencing digital direct aggression, and 12.4% reported using and 36.4% experiencing digital sexual coercion. The average age of initiation for most DDA behaviors was 16 years with respondents reporting experiencing these behaviors at 11 years of age at the earliest. Of those with any involvement with DDA, 59.2% report both using at least one DDA behavior and experiencing at least one DDA behavior (n = 314), 32.5% report experiencing at least one DDA behavior but not using any (n = 172), and 8.3% report using at least one DDA behavior but not experiencing any (n = 44). DDA behaviors are common, can occur at young ages. Our findings highlight crossover between those who use and those who experience DDA behaviors and suggest prevention should focus on underlying issues that drive both the use and experience of these behaviors.

Nonconsensual Sharing of Private Sexually Explicit Media Among University Students

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2019

This research was the first in the United Kingdom to examine the prevalence and nature of nonconsensual sharing of sexually explicit messages, pictures, and videos and to examine whether this varies according to gender and by role (i.e., perpetrator, victim, or as dual role of perpetrator/victim). In a sample of 391 young adults (aged 18-25 years), questionnaire data on subjective norms, consensual and nonconsensual sharing, and their motivations for these behaviors were collected. Perpetration of and victimization through nonconsensual sharing was experienced by a substantial number of individuals. There was an association between reporting perpetration of nonconsensual sharing and experiencing victimization. An association was also found between reporting being pressured (i.e., coerced) to send sexually explicit material and experiencing victimization of nonconsensual sharing, which suggests that these behaviors may form part of a continuum of violence and abuse, potentially within intimate relationships. No association was found between gender and (a) perpetration or (b) victimization. However, from a gendered perspective, females perceived there was greater social pressure to post messages, pictures, and videos, compared with males. Motivations for nonconsensual sharing were commonly explained as for fun/a joke, and generally not thought of as problematic, although some victims perceived motivations to be more negative and/or related to revenge/causing distress. Given that this research examined nonconsensual sharing across messages, pictures, and videos for both victimization and perpetration and found it was both perpetrated and experienced by females and males, this does not support the common perception that this is a male perpetrated behavior against women. This has implications for education, policy, intervention, and prevention, with approaches needing to be inclusive of both males and females when addressing perpetration and victimization.

(Don’t) Look at Me! How the Assumed Consensual or Non-Consensual Distribution Affects Perception and Evaluation of Sexting Images

Article

Full-text available

May 2019

The non-consensual sharing of an intimate image is a serious breach of a person’s right to privacy and can lead to severe psychosocial consequences. However, little research has been conducted on the reasons for consuming intimate pictures that have been shared non-consensually. This study aims to investigate how the supposed consensual or non-consensual distribution of sexting images affects the perception and evaluation of these images. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The same intimate images were shown to all participants. However, one group assumed that the photos were shared voluntarily, whereas the other group were told that the photos were distributed non-consensually. While the participants completed several tasks such as rating the sexual attractiveness of the depicted person, their eye-movements were being tracked. The results from this study show that viewing behavior and the evaluation of sexting images are influenced by the supposed way of distribution. In line with objectification theory men who assumed that the pictures were distributed non-consensually spent more time looking at the body of the depicted person. This so-called ‘objectifying gaze’ was also more pronounced in participants with higher tendencies to accept myths about sexual aggression or general tendencies to objectify others. In conclusion, these results suggest that prevention campaigns promoting ‘sexting abstinence’ and thus attributing responsibility for non-consensual distribution of such images to the depicted persons are insufficient. Rather, it is necessary to emphasize the illegitimacy of the non-consensual distribution of sexting images, especially among male consumers of the material.

Image-based sexual abuse: The extent, nature, and predictors of perpetration in a community sample of Australian residents

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2018
COMPUT HUM BEHAV

Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) involves three key behaviors: the non-consensual taking or creation of nude or sexual images; the non-consensual sharing or distribution of nude or sexual images; and threats made to distribute nude or sexual images. IBSA is becoming increasingly criminalized internationally, representing an important and rapidly developing cybercrime issue. This paper presents findings of the first national online survey of self-reported lifetime IBSA perpetration in Australia (n = 4053), with a focus on the extent, nature, and predictors of perpetration. Overall, 11.1% (n = 411) of participants self-reported having engaged in some form of IBSA perpetration during their lifetime, with men significantly more likely to report IBSA perpetration than women. With regard to the nature of perpetration, participants reported targeting men and women at similar rates, and were more likely to report perpetrating against intimate partners or ex-partners, family members and friends than strangers or acquaintances. Logistic regression analyses identified that males, lesbian, gay or bisexual participants, participants with a self-reported disability, participants who accepted sexual image-based abuse myths, participants who engaged in or experienced sexual self-image behaviors, and participants who had a nude or sexual image of themselves taken, distributed, and/or threatened to be distributed without their consent were more likely to have engaged in some form of IBSA perpetration during their lifetime.

FactCheck Q&A: are there laws to protect against 'revenge porn' in Australia?

Presentation

Full-text available

Mar 2017

n the lead-up to International Women’s Day, an all-female panel of guests on ABC TV’s Q&A program discussed issues ranging from sexual assault and domestic violence to “revenge porn”, where a nude or explicit image is shared without consent. Actor and presenter Faustina Agolley questioned what the law says on this issue, asking: “I thought there were laws to kind of protect [against] revenge porn? There aren’t?” Let’s check the facts.

A systematic review of the current knowledge regarding revenge pornography and non-consensual sharing of sexually explicit media

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2017
AGGRESS VIOLENT BEH

The aim of this review was to synthesize the current literature regarding revenge pornography and the non-consensual sharing of sexually explicit media. A systematic search was made of five databases using relevant search terms. From these searches, 82 articles were retained for inclusion within the systematic review. The literature spanned areas of research including legal, theory, as well as psychology related empirical papers. The findings show that particularly in the U.S., but in other countries as well, there are significant concerns regarding the implementation of revenge pornography legislation, despite this being recognized as an important endeavor. Non-consensual sharing perpetration and victimization rates can vary considerably according to how the behavior is defined and measured, however, these behaviors were evident for a considerable number of individuals across both genders.

Beyond ‘Revenge Porn’: The Continuum of Image-Based Sexual Abuse

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2017
Fem Leg Stud

In the last few years, many countries have introduced laws combating the phenomenon colloquially known as ‘revenge porn’. While new laws criminalising this practice represent a positive step forwards, the legislative response has been piecemeal and typically focuses only on the practices of vengeful ex-partners. Drawing on Liz Kelly’s (1988) pioneering work, we suggest that ‘revenge porn’ should be understood as just one form of a range of gendered, sexualised forms of abuse which have common characteristics, forming what we are conceptualising as the ‘continuum of image-based sexual abuse’. Further, we argue that image-based sexual abuse is on a continuum with other forms of sexual violence. We suggest that this twin approach may enable a more comprehensive legislative and policy response that, in turn, will better reflect the harms to victim-survivors and leads to more appropriate and effective educative and preventative strategies.

Responding to revenge porn: Challenges to online legal impunity

Chapter

Full-text available

Jan 2015

Michael Salter

Boobs, back-off, six packs and bits: Mediated body parts, gendered reward, and sexual shame in teens' sexting images

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2015

In this paper, we explore a contemporary panic around teen sexting considering why it focuses mostly on girls' bodies and ‘breasts’. Drawing on empirical findings from research with 13- and 15-year olds in two London schools, we ask: How are girls' and boys' mediated bodies and body parts constructed, negotiated and made sense of in the teen peer group? How are images of girls' breasts surveilled and owned by others? In what ways can images of girls' bodies be used to sexually shame them? How do images of ‘boobs’ work differently than those of ‘six-packs’ and ‘pecs’? When and how is digital proof of sexual activity shamed or rewarded? Our analysis explores the affective dimensions of digital affordances and how relative gendered value is generated through social media images and practices. We demonstrate how our qualitative research approach facilitates exploration of the online and offline relational, material embodied performance of negotiating gender and sexuality in teen's digitally mediated peer cultures.

Teen girls, sexual double standards and ‘sexting’: Gendered value in digital image exchange

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2013
Fem Theor

This article explores gender inequities and sexual double standards in teens' digital image exchange, drawing on a UK qualitative research project on youth 'sexting'. We develop a critique of 'postfeminist' media cultures, suggesting teen 'sexting' presents specific age and gender related contradictions: teen girls are called upon to produce particular forms of 'sexy' self display, yet face legal repercussions, moral condemnation and 'slut shaming' when they do so. We examine the production/circulation of gendered value and sexual morality via teens' discussions of activities on Facebook and Blackberry. For instance, some boys accumulated 'ratings' by possessing and exchanging images of girls' breasts, which operated as a form of currency and value. Girls, in contrast, largely discussed the taking, sharing or posting of such images as risky, potentially inciting blame and shame around sexual reputation (e.g. being called 'slut', 'slag' or 'sket'). The daily negotiations of these new digitally mediated, heterosexualised, classed and raced norms of performing teen feminine and masculine desirability are considered. © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions:sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Bringing sexy back: Reclaiming the body aesthetic via self-shooting

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2014

Katrin Tiidenberg

This paper is based on visual narrative analysis of cyber-ethnographic material from a 2.5 year field-research with 'not safe for work' [NSFW] bloggers and self-shooters on tumblr.com. I use Koskela's concept of 'empowering exhibitionism', Waskul's 'erotic looking glass', and Foucault's 'technologies of the self' to analyze self-shooting (taking photos of one-self). Constricting societal norms of sexuality, body shape and body practices influence how my participants (N=20, 10 female, 9 male, 1 transgender, ages 21 - 51, average age 34) live their embodied and sexual lives. Through self-shooting and by negotiating the community specific issues of control, power and the gaze, they are able to construct a new, empowered, embodied identity for themselves. I look at self-shooting and selfie-blogging as a practice of reclaiming control over one's embodied self AND over the body-aesthetic, thus appropriating what is and is not 'sexy'. The NSFW self-shooting community offers a safe space otherwise so hard to find within the body/sexuality-normative mainstream culture. This makes self-shooting a collective therapeutic activity. In their self-images participants construct themselves as 'beautiful', 'sexy', 'devious', 'more than just a mother and an employee' and as someone who 'likes their body instead of trying to not hate it'. The technologies of the self activated through diaristic blogging and selfie sharing, along with the empowerment from interactions with peers take bloggers on a path of sexual awakening and reintroduce them to their own bodies. © 2008 Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace.

Putting the “IRT” in “Dirty”: Item response theory analyses of the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen—An efficient measure of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2013
PERS INDIV DIFFER

The Dark Triad Dirty Dozen is a new, concise personality inventory designed to measure individual differences in narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism in sub-clinical populations. To date, the psychometric work on this measure has used classical test theory to assess its validity, reliability, and structure. In two independent samples (N = 1014), we provide the first analyses of this measure using item response theory. In both samples, the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen efficiently recovered information and showed some evidence of differential scale functioning by sex, with a lower endorsement threshold for men compared to women. Results shed new light on the measurement of these “dark” personality traits.

Sexting: A Terrifying Health Risk … or the New Normal for Young Adults?

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2013

Deb Levine

Belief, attitude, intention and behaviour: An introduction to theory and research

Book

Full-text available

May 1975

Buss, David M. 1989. “Sex Differences in Human Mate Preferences: Evolutionary Hypotheses Tested in 37 Cultures.” Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Article

Full-text available

Mar 1989
BEHAV BRAIN SCI

David M Buss

Contemporary mate preferences can provide important clues to human reproductive history. Little is known about which characteristics people value in potential mates. Five predictions were made about sex differences in human mate preferences based on evolutionary conceptions of parental investment, sexual selection, human reproductive capacity, and sexual asymmetries regarding certainty of paternity versus maternity. The predictions centered on how each sex valued earning capacity, ambition— industriousness, youth, physical attractiveness, and chastity. Predictions were tested in data from 37 samples drawn from 33 countries located on six continents and five islands (total N = 10,047). For 27 countries, demographic data on actual age at marriage provided a validity check on questionnaire data. Females were found to value cues to resource acquisition in potential mates more highly than males. Characteristics signaling reproductive capacity were valued more by males than by females. These sex differences may reflect different evolutionary selection pressures on human males and females; they provide powerful cross-cultural evidence of current sex differences in reproductive strategies. Discussion focuses on proximate mechanisms underlying mate preferences, consequences for human intrasexual competition, and the limitations of this study.

The Dark Triad of Personality: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2002

Of the offensive yet non-pathological personalities in the literature, three are especially prominent: Machiavellianism, subclinical narcissism, and subclinical psychopathy. We evaluated the recent contention that, in normal samples, this ‘Dark Triad’ of constructs are one and the same. In a sample of 245 students, we measured the three constructs with standard measures and examined a variety of laboratory and self-report correlates. The measures were moderately inter-correlated, but certainly were not equivalent. Their only common Big Five correlate was disagreeableness. Subclinical psychopaths were distinguished by low neuroticism; Machiavellians, and psychopaths were low in conscientiousness; narcissism showed small positive associations with cognitive ability. Narcissists and, to a lesser extent, psychopaths exhibited self-enhancement on two objectively scored indexes. We conclude that the Dark Triad of personalities, as currently measured, are overlapping but distinct constructs.

The Dirty Dozen: A Concise Measure of the Dark Triad

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2010
PSYCHOL ASSESSMENT

There has been an exponential increase of interest in the dark side of human nature during the last decade. To better understand this dark side, the authors developed and validated a concise, 12-item measure of the Dark Triad: narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism. In 4 studies involving 1,085 participants, they examined its structural reliability, convergent and discriminant validity (Studies 1, 2, and 4), and test-retest reliability (Study 3). Their measure retained the flexibility needed to measure these 3 independent-yet-related constructs while improving its efficiency by reducing its item count by 87% (from 91 to 12 items). The measure retained its core of disagreeableness, short-term mating, and aggressiveness. They call this measure the Dirty Dozen, but it cleanly measures the Dark Triad.

School Climate 2.0: Preventing Cyberbullying and Sexting One Classroom at a Time

Book

Jan 2012

“Why Take the Photo if You Didn’t Want It Online?”: Agency, Transformation, and Nonconsensual Pornography

Article

Oct 2019

Meghan Velez

This article analyzes nonconsensual pornography, the form of image-based sexual abuse colloquially known as “revenge porn,” through a consideration of agency and circulation in visual rhetoric as well as in the broader context of discourse on sexual assault and harassment. It argues that responses to nonconsensual pornography continue to blame women whose photographs are circulated online without their consent and, in doing so, reinforce a double bind of victimhood and agency. Because these victim-blaming responses fail to account for the difference between consenting to a photograph’s production and its appearance online, I argue for an understanding of nonconsensual pornography as an issue of circulation, wherein agency is produced as people, images, texts, and technologies interact.

Beyond the big five as predictors of dispositions toward ridicule and being laughed at: The HEXACO model and the dark triad

Article

Jun 2019
SCAND J PSYCHOL

We aimed to extend research on dispositions toward ridicule and being laughed at by testing the localization of the fear of (gelotophobia) and the joy in (gelotophilia) being laughed at, and the joy in laughing at others (katagelasticism) in the HEXACO model and the Dark Triad traits (both have not been examined so far). Study 1 (HEXACO model: N = 216) showed that gelotophobia was related to low extraversion, high emotionality, and low honesty-humility; gelotophilia to high extraversion and high openness to experience; and katagelasticism to low agreeableness and low honesty-humility. These results were similar to prior findings based on the Five-Factor model, and supported the notion that the honesty-humility trait contributes to the prediction of individual differences in gelotophobia and katagelasticism. Study 2 (Dark Triad: N = 204) showed that gelotophobia was related to high Machiavellianism and low narcissism; gelotophilia to high narcissism; and katagelasticism to high psychopathy and high Machiavellianism. These data helped to clarify our findings on the honesty-humility trait, showing that gelotophobes and katagelasticists differ in their socially aversive characteristics. Overall, this research provides empirical evidence that dark (but subclinical) traits can be seen as relevant personality predictors of how people deal with laughter and ridicule.

Teenagers, Sexting, and the Law

Article

Apr 2019

The phenomenon of teen sexting emerged as a result of the proliferation of digital technology. More than 40 studies have established that teen sexting occurs relatively frequently and is a rising trend, commensurate with the ubiquity of smartphone ownership in teens. Studies have shown that sexting is associated with incidences of increased sexual behavior. US state laws on sexting vary widely, from decriminalization to misdemeanor charges or prosecution for child pornography with harsh sentences. Teen behavior and digital invention have outpaced the development of new laws, and this has the potential to have dire legal ramifications for teens. Separating consensual sexting from nonconsensual sexting and actual child pornography is a critical next step for law enforcement agencies and policy makers to catch up to technology. In this article, we argue that consensual teen-to-teen sexting does not warrant law enforcement involvement but rather is a health and education issue that is better addressed at home, in schools, and in primary care.

Sexting and Psychological Distress: The Role of Unwanted and Coerced Sexts

Article

Mar 2019

Sexting (e.g., conveying nude electronic images) is now common among young adults. Despite leading to negative consequences for some (e.g., harassment and unwanted dissemination), findings regarding sexting behaviors and mental health variables have been mixed. We recruited a convenience sample of young adults (N = 444, M age = 20, SD = 1) to test the hypothesis that sexting might be associated with poorer mental health. Our results showed no association between receiving or sending sexts overall. However, receiving unwanted sexts, or sexting under coercion, was associated with higher depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, and lower self-esteem, and these two sexting experiences were independent predictors of psychological distress. The relationship between these sexting behaviors with poor mental health was moderated by gender, with poorer outcomes for males receiving unwanted sexts. These findings indicate a possible moderating factor in sexting and mental health.

A systematic literature review of the relationship between dark personality traits and antisocial online behaviours ☆

Article

Mar 2019
PERS INDIV DIFFER

The sub-clinical personality traits of narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and everyday sadism (i.e., the dark triad/tetrad) are known to predict subversive behaviours. Given increases in the prevalence of social media and internet use, and the growing knowledge about the negative consequences of their use, it is important to understand how these traits relate to online behaviours. We conducted a systematic review of the evidence for these relationships and found 26 studies which reveal these traits are related to trolling, cyber-aggression, cyber-loafing, sending unsolicited explicit images, the non-consensual dissemination of 'sexts', cyberbullying, problematic social media usage, problematic online gaming, problematic internet use, internet-use disorder, social media addiction, intimate partner cyberstalking, technology facilitated sexual violence, and technology facilitated infidelity. The review revealed evidence that psychopathy is the trait most strongly associated with these behaviours - Machiavellianism and everyday sadism were also consistently related to these behaviours, albeit to a lesser degree. Narcissism is the trait least consistently related to antisocial online behaviours.

‘If a girl’s photo gets sent around, that’s a way bigger deal than if a guy’s photo gets sent around’: gender, sexting, and the teenage years

Article

Dec 2018

Youth, particularly female teens, are encouraged to self-monitor and be responsible for their actions online in order to avoid harm from cyberbullying, ‘sexting,’ and other forms of cyber-risk. Highlighting findings from 35 focus groups with Canadian teens regarding sexting, we show the continued saliency of a gendered double standard applied to the online distribution of nudes. Our sample of male and female teens (n = 115) from urban and rural regions, aged 13–19, underscores the relatively lower ‘stakes’ involved with sexting for male teens. We explore this trend with specific reference to the salience of hegemonic masculinities and the gendered aspects of public and private spaces, both online and offline. Public exposure of nudes has potentially serious stigmatizing consequences for youth. We highlight teen experiences sending and receiving images of male penises (‘dick pics’), which is an under-researched aspect of sexting. We show the relative ubiquity of receiving ‘dick pics’ among female teens, exploring various reactions, and male motivations for doing so from male and female standpoints. Policy implications are discussed with specific reference to school-based cyber-safety programs, which our participants indicate remain highly gendered, neglecting epistemological questions around male experiences and responsibility.

The dark side of sexting – Factors predicting the dissemination of sexts

Article

Nov 2018
COMPUT HUM BEHAV

Sexting (i.e. the sending and receiving of sexually explicit images via apps or phones) is increasingly common among young adults. However, specific concerns relate to the potential social and legal implications of non-consensual sext dissemination. Whilst previous research has investigated the prevalence of non-consensual dissemination, motivations for engaging in non-consensual dissemination are not well understood. In a large convenience sample of young Australian adults, (N = 505, M age = 21, SD = 5, 67% female), we tested the hypothesis that sext dissemination is associated with positive subjective norms and personal attitudes towards sext dissemination, and dark triad personality traits of Machiavellianism, psychopathy and narcissism. We found four unique predictors of increased likelihood of non-consensual dissemination: being sexually active, having received a disseminated sext, more strongly normalising that sexts are usually disseminated or seen by others, and stronger positive attitudes towards disseminating sexts as being funny; and one unique predictor of decreased likelihood: having personally-experienced negative consequences from sending sexts. No independent relationship with dark triad traits was found, although these predictors may be proxies for dark triad-related dissemination motivations. These findings suggest possible explanatory mechanisms for non-consensual dissemination and directions for future research including image context and dissemination circumstances.

Sexting legislation in the United States and Abroad: A call for uniformity

Article

Dec 2017

In this study, we analyzed the sexting laws of 50 states in the United States (U.S.) and the District of Columbia, as well as five English-speaking international countries (Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, and South Africa). We also examined laws related to aggravated circumstances, such as in cases of revenge porn. Our analyses revealed considerable variation, both in U.S. and international law, with some jurisdictions relying on archaic child pornography statutes to prosecute teenage sexting cases and others, developing new, extensive legislation that addresses various types of online interactions (e.g., sexting, revenge porn, and cyber bullying). Additionally, in jurisdictions where specific teenage sexting legislation has not been adopted, there is often a disconnect between these child pornography statutes, laws related to age of sexual consent, and typical teenage sexting behavior. This incongruity creates an abstruse landscape for teenagers to determine the legality of their sexting behaviors. Using the psychological research on the topic of sexting as a basis for our discussion, we highlight the state-level and national legislation that attempts to address these issues comprehensively. Moreover, we make legislative recommendations and advocate for more uniformity across jurisdictions and lesser penalties in teenage sexting cases.

The Malevolent Side of Revenge Porn Proclivity:: Dark Personality Traits and Sexist Ideology

Article

Jan 2017

This paper presents a novel study, exploring a form of technology facilitated sexual aggression (TFSV) known as revenge porn. Despite its emerging prevalence, little is known about the characteristics of revenge porn perpetrators. In the current study, a revenge porn proclivity scale was devised to examine participants’ behavioural propensity to engage in revenge porn. One hundred adults, aged 18-54, were recruited online from a community sample. The correlational relationship between revenge porn proclivity and the self-reported endorsement of the Dark Triad, sadism and ambivalent sexism was examined. Additional proclivity subscales of revenge porn enjoyment and revenge porn approval were also created. The study’s main findings revealed a positive correlation between a greater behavioural propensity to engage in revenge porn and higher levels of the Dark Triad and ambivalent sexism. Moreover, endorsement of psychopathy was found to be the only Dark Triad trait that independently predicted revenge porn proclivity. The results suggest that perpetrators of revenge porn may have distinct personality profiles. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Unpacking "Sexting": A Systematic Review of Nonconsensual Sexting in Legal, Educational, and Psychological Literatures

Article

Jul 2016

Michelle A. Krieger

Concerns about sexting are increasingly prevalent in mainstream and academic media despite limited and inconsistent research findings about the practice. Much of this discourse centers around harm and sexting is commonly considered to be a risky behavior. A driving factor in these discussions is the apparent conflation of consensual and nonconsensual acts or sexting behaviors. A systematic review was conducted to determine the extent to which consensual and nonconsensual acts were conflated in the legal, educational, and psychological literatures on sexting, and how nonconsensual sexting was conceptualized within these disciplines. Definitions of sexting varied widely with regard to the inclusion or exclusion of nonconsensual acts. Nonconsensual acts were conceptualized in the following ways: as a risk of sexing, as being the fault of the victim, as bullying, or as a form of violence against women. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Dick pics on blast: A womans resistance to online sexual harassment using humour, art and Instagram

Article

Jun 2016

This article brings to attention and explores women’s use of non-traditional forms of resistance to online sexual harassment. In this piece we use Anna Gensler’s Instagram art project Instagranniepants to examine how women are appropriating the language and practices of the cyber realm to expose online sexual harassment and to engender a creative resistance which is critical, comedic and entertaining. Drawing from interdisciplinary literature on witnessing, satire and shaming, we explore the techniques Gensler uses to not only document harassment but also resist, engage and punish those who seek to perpetrate it. This article problematises the stereotype of women as passive victims of online public spaces, and is critical of popular discourses that portray online spaces as exclusively risky and that position women as the natural victims of online violence. It concludes that a more nuanced account of women’s negotiation of online spaces is necessary, particularly as an overarching narrative of risk and victimisation undermines the liberatory potential of the online realm.

Revenge Porn and Mental Health: A Qualitative Analysis of the Mental Health Effects of Revenge Porn on Female Survivors

Article

Jun 2016

Samantha Bates

This study examines the emotional and mental health effects revenge porn has on female survivors. To date, no other academic studies have exclusively focused on mental health effects in revenge porn cases. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted between February 2014 and January 2015 with 18 female revenge porn survivors, and inductive analysis revealed participants’ experiences of trust issues, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and several other mental health effects. These findings reveal the seriousness of revenge porn, the devastating impacts it has on survivors’ mental health, and similarities between revenge porn and sexual assault.

The Dark Triad and sexual harassment proclivity

Article

Jan 2016
PERS INDIV DIFFER

Recent research concerning sexual harassment has highlighted important individual differences in the tendency to engage in these behaviors. The present studies extend these findings by examining the connections between the Dark Triad of personality traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) and sexual harassment proclivity. Study 1 (N=642 Israeli community members) revealed that the Dark Triad traits had unique positive associations with sexual harassment tendencies. Similar results emerged for Study 2 (N =1909 Israeli community members) such that each of the Dark Triad traits had a unique positive association with the proclivity to engage in sexual harassment. In addition, Study 2 revealed differences in the connections that the Dark Triad traits had with perceived likelihood estimates concerning whether targets would be victims or perpetrators of sexual harassment. Discussion focuses on the implications of these results for understanding the links between Dark Triad personality traits and sexual harassment.

Criminalizing Revenge Porn: A Quick Guide

Article

Jan 2013

Mary Anne Franks

Nonconsensual pornography is the distribution of sexually graphic images of individuals without their consent. This includes images that were originally obtained without consent (e.g. hidden recordings or recordings of sexual assaults) as well as images originally obtained with consent within the context of a private or confidential relationship (e.g. images consensually given to an intimate partner who later distributes them without consent, popularly referred to as “revenge porn”). Nonconsensual pornography does not include images taken of individuals in public or of people engaged in unsolicited and unlawful sexual activity, such as flashing. This short document provides answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about criminalizing revenge porn and other forms of nonconsensual pornography.

Beyond the 'sext': Technology-facilitated sexual violence and harassment against adult women

Article

Feb 2014

Young people's use of technology as a tool for the negotiation of their sexual identities and encounters has increasingly become a focal point in popular and scholarly discussion. Much of this debate centres on the sending of explicit sexual images and/or video (‘selfies’ or ‘sexting’) by mobile phone, email or social media. In Australia and elsewhere, legislative frameworks have arguably over-regulated or criminalised young people's consensual, digital, sexual communications. Equally, the law has failed to respond to the harm that is experienced by victims of non-consensual making and/or distribution of such sexual images. In this paper, we examine the non-consensual creation and distribution of sexual images in the context of harassment, stalking and family or intimate violence. We argue that harmful digital communications are often framed as a problem of user naiveté rather than gender-based violence. Moreover, we argue that current legal and policy approaches fail to adequately capture the social and psychological harm that results from the use of sexual imagery to harass, coerce or blackmail women. We draw on preliminary data from a larger project investigating adult women's experiences of technology-mediated sexual violence and harassment.

Longitudinal Association Between Teen Sexting and Sexual Behavior

Article

Oct 2014

Background: This study examines the temporal sequencing of sexting and sexual intercourse and the role of active sexting (sending a nude picture) in mediating the relationship between passive sexting (asking or being asked for a nude picture) and sexual behaviors. Methods: Data are from Wave 2 (spring 2011) and Wave 3 (spring 2012) of an ongoing 6-year longitudinal study of high school students in southeast Texas. Participants included 964 ethnically diverse adolescents with a mean age of 16.09 years (56% female; 31% African American, 29% Caucasian, 28% Hispanic, 12% other). Retention rate for 1-year follow-up was 93%. Participants self-reported history of sexual activity (intercourse, risky sex) and sexting (sent, asked, been asked). Using path analysis, we examined whether teen sexting at baseline predicted sexual behavior at 1-year follow-up and whether active sexting mediated the relationship between passive sexting and sexual behavior. Results: The odds of being sexually active at Wave 3 were 1.32 times larger for youth who sent a sext at Wave 2, relative to counterparts. However, sexting was not temporally associated with risky sexual behaviors. Consistent with our hypothesis, active sexting at Wave 2 mediated the relationship between asking or being asked for a sext and having sex over the next year. Conclusions: This study extends cross-sectional literature and supports the notion that sexting fits within the context of adolescent sexual development and may be a viable indicator of adolescent sexual activity.

Teasing in School Locker Rooms Regarding Penile Appearance

Article

Oct 2014

Purpose Parents of young boys seeking circumcision or circumcision revision commonly cite concern that their sons may be teased in middle or high school because of their penile appearance. There is no current data to substantiate or refute the presence of such teasing. We explored the validity of this concern by investigating the extent and frequency of teasing regarding penile appearance. Materials and Methods An IRB-approved, anonymous questionnaire was administered to undergraduate men at the University of Iowa. Participants answered questions regarding middle and high school demographics, school sports and gym class participation, and any teasing experienced or witnessed due to penile appearance in locker rooms. Results Two-hundred ninety men completed the questionnaire. The mean study participant age was 19.2 years (17-24 years). Ninety-eight percent of individuals were required to participate in high school gym class and 96% participated in a school sport. Ten percent were personally teased about their penile appearance, while 47% reported witnessing someone else being teased. The most common characteristic that was witnessed or personally teased was penile size. Having an uncircumcised penis or a “strange” penile appearance, however, accounted for 33% of the witnessed penile teasing. Only 3% of the cohort wished that they had a different penile appearance. Conclusions Teasing in the locker room about penile appearance occurs frequently. While our study is limited to one Midwest university population, it appears that parental concerns regarding teasing related to penile appearance are valid, although most causes for teasing may not be alleviated with surgical therapy.

Bare necessities: The argument for a 'revenge porn' exception in Section 230 immunity

Article

Jun 2014

Allison Tungate

‘Revenge porn’ is the online posting of nude or sexually explicit photographs or videos of a former lover without his or her consent. Despite the malicious intent behind revenge porn, victims are provided with little to no relief due to Section 230 of the Federal Communications Decency Act, also known as the ‘Good Samaritan’ provisions. Section 230 unambiguously provides blanket immunity for website operators and Internet service providers that feature user-generated content, including revenge porn.In Section 1, I discuss the purpose of Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act. In Section 2, I analyze the legal impact of the blanket immunity established in Section 230. In Section 3, I examine the potential remedies already in existence for revenge porn victims and highlight their inadequacies. In Section 4, I argue Congress should create a narrow exception to Section 230 immunity specifically geared toward revenge porn. The exception would establish a definition of revenge porn, which would prevent over-deterrence. Additionally, the exception would institute a takedown procedure similar to the process found in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In creating a narrow exception, the spirit of Section 230 will remain while also providing adequate legal relief for victims of revenge porn.

Sexting prevalence and correlates: A systematic literature review

Article

Nov 2013

Relationships between the Dark Triad and humor styles: A replication and extension

Article

Apr 2012
PERS INDIV DIFFER

Two hundred undergraduate students completed paper-and-pencil measures of the Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) and the Humor Styles Questionnaire, which taps two adaptive (affiliative and self-enhancing) and two maladaptive (aggressive and self-defeating) styles of humor. The first purpose of the study was to replicate relationships between these variables reported by Veselka et al. (2010). The second purpose was to expand on their results by investigating relationships between several sub-factors of the Dark Triad (in addition to global scores) and the humor styles. Results provided substantial replication of Veselka et al. at the global level and, at the sub-factor level, provided additional insights into the potential role of adaptive and maladaptive humor styles in the personality dynamics of individuals characterized by the various facets of the Dark Triad.

The Relationship Between the judged Desirability of a Trait and the Probability That the Trait Will Be Endorsed

Article

Apr 1953

Allen L. Edwards

The study was designed to measure the relationship between probability of endorsement of personality items and the scaled social desirability of the items. Scale values were determined by applying the method of successive intervals to 140 personality trait items which had been administered to 152 subjects with pertinent instructions. The items were then administered to a different group of 140 students as a personality inventory. The proportion of "yes" answers was taken as a measure of the probability of endorsement and correlated against the social desirability scale value for the items. The high degree of relationship ( r = .871) is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Relations between humor style and the Dark Triad traits of personality

Article

Apr 2010
PERS INDIV DIFFER

The present study investigated correlations between four humor styles and the Dark Triad traits of personality. Participants were 114 pairs of adult twins from North America who completed the Humor Styles Questionnaire, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale, and the MACH-IV. Results revealed that participants who scored higher on sub-clinical psychopathy and Machiavellianism exhibited a greater tendency to employ negative humor styles (aggressive, self-defeating), whereas individuals who obtained higher scores on narcissism were more prone to employing a positive affiliative humor style. These results help to clarify the nature of the Dark Triad traits and shed light on the interpersonal styles employed by individuals who exhibit these traits.

Indecent communications: Revenge porn and congressional intent of Section 230 (c)

Jan 2015
471-488

L Cannon

Cannon, L. (2015). Indecent communications: Revenge porn and congressional intent of Section 230 (c). Tulane Law Review, 90, 471-488.

A dish served cold: The case for criminalising revenge pornography

Jan 2015
395-447

J T Dawkins

Dawkins, J. T. (2015). A dish served cold: The case for criminalising revenge pornography. Cumberland Law Review, 45, 395-447.

Adults post the darndest things

Jan 2014
73-94

J Ronay

Ronay, J. (2014). Adults post the darndest things: [ctrl þ shift] freedom of speech to [esc] our past. The University of Toledo Law Review, 46, 73-94.

Sharing is not always caring: Understanding motivations and behavioural associations with sext dissemination.

Abstract

No full-text available

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