Original article
Online Requests for Sexual Pictures from Youth: Risk Factors and Incident Characteristics

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.03.013Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence and characteristics of youth who receive requests to make and send sexual pictures of themselves over the Internet.

Methods

Data were collected as part of the Second Youth Internet Safety Survey, a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,500 youth Internet users, ages 10–17 years, in the United States.

Results

Among Internet-using youth 4% reported an online request to send a sexual picture of themselves during the previous year. Only one youth of 65 sample case subjects actually complied. Being female, being of Black ethnicity, having a close online relationship, engaging in sexual behavior online, and experiencing physical or sexual abuse offline were risk factors for receiving a request for a sexual picture. Incidents that involved requests for sexual pictures were more likely to occur when youth were in the presence of friends, communicating with an adult, someone they met online, who had sent a sexual picture to the youth, and who attempted or made some form of offline contact with the youth.

Conclusions

The findings from this study provide support for including requests for sexual pictures in the spectrum of online experiences about which pediatric and adolescent health professionals need to be knowledgeable. These findings also provide information about populations that need targeted prevention education about online dangers, namely vulnerable (e.g., abused boys and girls) and female Black youth.

Section snippets

Sampling method

The Second Youth Internet Safety Survey (YISS-2) was a national telephone survey of 1,500 youth Internet users conducted between March and June 2005. Households were randomly identified via random digit dialing. A final sample size of 1,500 was pre-determined based upon a maximum expected sampling error of ± 2.5% at the 5% significance level. The response rate was .45 [10]. More details about the YISS-2 methodology can be found elsewhere [9].

Sample and procedures

One caregiver and one youth were surveyed in each

How many youth receive requests for sexual pictures?

Of the 20% (n = 300) of Internet-using youth who reported online victimization, 45% (n = 136) received requests for pictures from the perpetrator. Of these, 48% (n = 65) received requests for sexual pictures; only one youth actually complied. The number receiving requests for sexual pictures in the last year translates into 4% of all Internet-using youth (1 in 25).

How do victimized youth who receive requests for sexual pictures differ from those who do not?

Compared with youth who reported online victimizations that did not involve requests for sexual pictures, youth who received such

Discussion

This study contains important findings about the potential for digital photography to combine with the Internet to greatly expand the creation of child pornography. A substantial number of young Internet users (1 in 25 in a national representative sample) received an online request for sexual pictures in a 1-year period. This involves people asking youth to self-produce child pornography, a significant child welfare problem. In this study, only one youth complied. Many youth are “net-savvy,”

Acknowledgments

For the purposes of compliance with Section 507 of PL 104-208 (the “Stevens Amendment”), readers are advised that 100% of the funds for this program are derived from federal sources. This project was supported by Grant No. 2005-MC-CX-K024 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, and Grant No. HSCEOP-05-P-00346 awarded by the U.S. Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security. The total amount of federal

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