consistently the high risk group regarding grooming online than they do for offline abuse. Similar to offline sexual abuse, interpersonal features, such as low self and mental health problems, are reported to increase a young person’s vulnerability toward online grooming. Personality vulnerabilities have been explored by research to a very limited extent. The literature focuses on physical abuse and personality disorders of victims of sexual abuse, rather than their personality traits. The research in this area is currently inconclusive and there is a need for further study. Parent and family vulnerabilities towards online victimization have begun to be recognized, and findings appear consistent with vulnerabilities towards sexual abuse offline. Research has identified several protective factors against online grooming within the parent and family dimension which include parental monitoring of the young person’s internet use, the young person’s awareness of this, and supportive parent relationships. While tentative links have been made between low socioeconomic status and offline child sexual abuse, research surrounding socioeconomic status and online grooming is inconclusive. However, there is some evidence to suggest that those from higher socioeconomic groups are more likely to be approached by groomers, due to higher levels of access; but they are also more like to be resilient and resist the grooming. However, findings should be interpreted with caution due to the limited volume of research and further investigation is required to ascertain more conclusive results. Community vulnerabilities to online grooming appear reasonably consistent with community vulnerabilities towards offline sexual abuse, such as social isolation and weak or limited peer support. Additionally, the impact of living environment in relation to offline abuse is well researched, but is considerably under researched regarding online grooming.
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