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. 2017 May-Aug;17(2):171-179.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2017.04.001. Epub 2017 May 11.

Peer sexual cybervictimization in adolescents: Development and validation of a scale

Virginia Sánchez  1 , Noelia Muñoz-Fernández  1 , Esther Vega-Gea  2
Affiliations

Peer sexual cybervictimization in adolescents: Development and validation of a scale

Virginia Sánchez et al. Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2017 May-Aug.

Abstract
in English, Spanish

Background/Objective: The study of sexual cyberbehaviour in adolescence has received much attention in recent years, because of the risks associated with exposure to pornography, unwanted sexual solicitations, and gender-based sexual harassment. The prevalence of this phenomenon varies from study to study due to a lack of consensus around how to define and measure peer sexual cybervictimization. This study aims to contribute to this research topic by developing and validating a measure of peer sexual cybervictimization among adolescents. Method: 601 adolescents (mean age 14.06) from two Spanish cities participated in this study. Cross-validation was performed using EFA and CFA. In a second step, a multi-group analysis was conducted to compare the equivalence of the measure by gender. Results: The results confirmed a second-order model comprising two first-order factors: Ambiguous sexual Cybervictimization and Personal sexual Cybervictimization. The model was invariant by gender. Descriptive analyses showed significant differences in Ambiguous sexual aybervictimization, this being more frequent in boys than in girls. Prevalence rates varied from 17 to 26%, with less involvement observed in the Personal dimension. Conclusions: This work proposes a valid and gender invariant measure to analyze peer sexual cybervictimization in adolescence.

Antecedentes/Objetivo: El estudio de la ciberconducta sexual en la adolescencia ha recibido mucha atención en los últimos años, especialmente la referida a los riesgos que suponen la exposición a la pornografía, las solicitudes sexuales indeseadas y el hostigamiento sexual basado en el género. La prevalencia del fenómeno varía entre los diferentes estudios debido a una falta de consenso en la definición y medida del constructo cibervictimización sexual. Este trabajo pretende contribuir en esta área, desarrollando y validando una escala para medir victimización sexual online. Método: Una muestra de 601 adolescentes de dos ciudades españolas (edad media 14,06) participaron en el estudio. Se realizó una validación cruzada empleando AFE y AFC, así como un análisis multigrupo para comparar la equivalencia de la medida por sexo. Resultados: se confirmó un modelo de segundo orden compuesto por dos factores (Cibervictimización sexual ambigua y Cibervictimización sexual personal) invariante por sexo. Los análisis indicaron diferencias significativas en la dimensión ambigua, siendo más frecuente en ellos. Los datos revelaron una prevalencia entre el 17 y 26%, siendo menor la implicación en la forma personal. Conclusiones: Se propone una medida válida e invariante en ambos sexos de la cibervictimización sexual por parte de los iguales en la adolescencia.

Keywords: Adolescence; Ex post facto study; Internet; Invariance; Peer sexual cybervictimization.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diagram of the second-order model for sexual cybervictimization. Note. SCV = Sexual cybervictimization (α=.84); ASCV = Ambiguous sexual Cybervictimization; PSCV = Personal sexual Cybervictimization; all values shown in the diagram are standardized; the standardized errors appear in brackets. n = 292.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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