4/1/2013
More than one in four teens in a romantic relationship (26%) say their partners have digitally abused them during the previous year using social media, email, or text messages, according to research published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence. Girls are more likely than boys to be victims of digital abuse (29% versus 23%) and sexual digital abuse (15% versus 7%).
Some 7% of teens say their partner sent them texts or emails asking them to engage in unwanted sexual acts, and an additional 7% say their partner pressured them to send a sexually explicit photo of themselves. A similar percentage (9%) say their partner has used their social network account without their permission.
More than eight in 10 teens who report digital abuse (84%) are also psychologically abused by their partners, 52% are also physically abused, and 33% are sexually coerced into doing things they did not want to do. Slightly fewer than one in 10 teens (8%) are both perpetrators and victims of digital abuse.
Most of this abuse happens before and after school; only 17% of those who report digital harassment say it happened during school hours.
Source: Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center, Janine Zweig, Senior Fellow/lead author, 2100 M St., NW, Washington, DC 20037; 202-833-7200; jzweig@urban.org.
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