Assessment of cyber abuse in sexually abused children and adolescents

Abstract

Objectives: Child sexual abuse is associated with adverse outcomes, including increased vulnerability, thatmay explain the risk of revictimization via cyber media and cyber abuse may be a risk factor for sexual abuse.The aims of the study were to explore cyber abuse prevalence in sexual abuse cases, the direct and indirectlinks between child sexual abuse and cyber abuse and to study the differences in internet use between childrenand adolescents who were sexually abused and the control group.Methods: We assessed 75 children and adolescents aged 7-18 who had experienced sexual abuse and werereferred to us between 01.01.2014-01.01.2015. Additionally, 45 typical developing subjects who did not haveany abuse history were recruited from pediatrics clinic of or hospital as the control group. We used our semistructured questionnaire to assess cyber abuse.Results: The rates of internet use were high in the control group (97.8%) compared to those of sexually abusedteens (82.7%). However, the rates of cyber abuse were similar between the groups. The most used website/application was different between the groups. Facebook was the most used web site/application in thesexually abused group (69.4%). This ratio was only 20.5% in the control group.Conclusions: We assessed cyber abuse in a population exposed to sexual abuse. As several authors havepreviously emphasized, the implementation of preventative steps is essential. There is a great need to developand evaluate interventions with those children and young people, particularly in sexually abused children andadolescents who are thought to be more vulnerable to cyber abuse.