When adolescents receive sexual messages on the internet: Explaining experiences of risk and harm ?
We examine the risk, and resulting harm, of receiving sexual messages online among adolescents. Increased psychological difficulties and sensation seeking increases the risk of receiving sexual messages. Increased psychological difficulties but decreased sensation seeking increases reported harm. Online and offline risk behaviors mediate the likelihood of risk but not harm. Identifying these risk factors will aid policy makers to target help on those who are more vulnerable.
adolescence sexual messages harm sensation seeking risk behavior online risk