This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Mitchell, K. J. Articles by Finkelhor, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mitchell, K. J. Articles by Finkelhor, D. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The Relative Importance of Online Victimization in Understanding Depression, Delinquency, and Substance Use

Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire, Kimberly.Mitchell{at}unh.edu

Michele Ybarra

Internet Solutions for Kids, Inc.

David Finkelhor

Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire

This article explores the relationship between online and offline forms of interpersonal victimization, with depressive symptomatology, delinquency, and substance use. In a national sample of 1,501 youth Internet users (ages 10-17 years), 57% reported some form of offline interpersonal victimization (e.g., bullying, sexual abuse), and 23% reported an online interpersonal victimization (i.e., sexual solicitation and harassment) in the past year. Nearly three fourths (73%) of youth reporting an online victimization also reported an offline victimization. Virtually all types of online and offline victimization were independently related to depressive symptomatology, delinquent behavior, and substance use. Even after adjusting for the total number of different offline victimizations, youth with online sexual solicitation were still almost 2 times more likely to report depressive symptomatology and high substance use. Findings reiterate the importance of screening for a variety of different types of victimization in mental health settings, including both online and offline forms.

Key Words: delinquency • depression • Internet • substance use • youth • victimization

References

• Aftab, P. (2000). The parent's guide to protecting your children in cyberspace. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed. rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
• Boney-McCoy, S., & Finkelhor, D. (1995). Prior victimization: A risk factor for child sexual abuse and for PTSD-related symptomatology among sexual abused youth. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19(12), 1401-1421.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Chang, J.J., Chen, J.J., & Brownson, R.C. (2003). The role of repeat victimization in adolescent delinquent behaviors and recidivism. Journal of Adolescent Health, 32(4), 272-280.
• Finkelhor, D., & Asdigian, N.L. (1996). Risk factors for youth victimization: Beyond a lifestyles/routine activities theory approach. Violence and Victims, 11(1), 3-20.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Finkelhor, D., Hamby, S.L., Ormrod, R., & Turner, H. (2005). The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire: Reliability, validity, and national norms. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 383-412.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Finkelhor, D., Mitchell, K.J., & Wolak, J. (2000). Online victimization: A report on the nation's youth (No. 6-00-020). Alexandria, VA: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
• Finkelhor, D., Ormrod, R.K., & Turner, H.A. (2007). Poly-victimization: A neglected component in child victimization Child Abuse & Neglect, 31(1), 7-26.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Finkelhor, D., Ormrod, R.K., Turner, H.A., & Hamby, S.L. (2005). Measuring poly-victimization using the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 1297-1312.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Hibbard, R.A., & Hartman, G.L. (1990). Emotional indicators in human figure drawings of sexually victimized and nonabused children. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 46(2), 211-219.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Holt, M.K., & Espelage, D.L. (2003). A cluster analytic investigation of victimization among high school students: Are profiles differentially associated with psychological symptoms and school belonging? Journal of Applied School Psychology, 19(2), 81-98.[CrossRef]
• Hughes, H.M., Parkinson, D., & Vargo, M. (1989). Witnessing spouse abuse and experiencing physical abuse: A "double whammy"? Journal of Family Violence, 4(2), 197-209.[CrossRef]
• Lebo, H. (2001). The UCLA Internet report 2001. Surveying the digital future. Year two. Available at http://www.digitalcenter.org/pdf/InternetReportYearTwo.pdf
• Lenhart, A., Madden, M., & Hitlin, P. (2005). Teens and technology. Youth are leading the transition to a fully wired and mobile nation. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project.
• Lenhart, A., Rainie, L., & Lewis, O. (2001). Teenage life online: The rise of the instant message generation and the internet's impact on friendships and family relations. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project.
• Mitchell, K.J., Finkelhor, D., & Becker-Blease, K.A. (2007). Linking youth Internet and conventional problems: Findings from a clinical perspective. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 15(2), 39-58.
• Mitchell, K.J., Finkelhor, D., & Wolak, J. (2001). Risk factors and impact of online solicitation of youth. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285(23), 3011-3014.[CrossRef]
• Mitchell, K.J., Finkelhor, D., & Wolak, J. (2007). Youth Internet users at risk for the most serious online sexual solicitations. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32(6), 532-537.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Naar-King, S., Silvern, L., Ryan, V., & Sebring, D. (2002). Type and severity of abuse as predictors of psychiatric symptoms in adolescence. Journal of Family Violence, 17(2), 133-149.[CrossRef]
• Saunders, B.E. (2003). Understanding children exposed to violence: Toward an integration of overlapping fields. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18(4), 356-376.[Abstract]
• Sedlak, A.J., Finkelhor, D., Hammer, H., & Schultz, D.J. (2002). National estimates of missing children: An overview (NCJ 196465). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention.
• Turner, H.A., Finkelhor, D., & Ormrod, R. (2006). The effect of lifetime victimization on the mental health of children and adolescents. Social Science & Medicine, 62, 13-27.[CrossRef]
• Turow, J., & Nir, L. (2000). The Internet and the family 2000: The view from parents, the view from kids. Available at http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/04_info_society/family/finalrepor_fam.pdf
• Wolak, J., Mitchell, K.J., & Finkelhor, D. (2003). Escaping or connecting? Characteristics of youth who form close online relationships. Journal of Adolescence, 26(1), 105-119.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Wolak, J., Mitchell, K.J., & Finkelhor, D. (2006). Online victimization: 5 years later (No. 07-05-025). Alexandria, VA: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
• Ybarra, M.L. (2004). Linkages between depressive symptomatology and Internet harassment among young regular Internet users. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7(2), 247-257.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Ybarra, M.L., & Mitchell, K.J. (2004a). Online aggressors, victims, and aggressor/victims: A comparison of associated youth characteristics. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 45(7), 1308-1316.
• Ybarra, M.L., & Mitchell, K.J. (2004b). Youth engaging in online harassment: Associations with caregiver-child relationships, Internet use, and personal characteristics. Journal of Adolescence, 27(3), 319-336.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Ybarra, M.L., Mitchell, K.J., Wolak, J., & Finkelhor, D. (2007). Internet prevention messages. Targeting the right online behaviors. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 161, 138-145.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• Zhang, J., & Yu, K.F. (1998). What's the relative risk? A method of correcting the odds ratio in cohort studies of common outcomes. Journal of the American Medical Association, 280(19), 1690-1691.[CrossRef]

Child Maltreatment, Vol. 12, No. 4, 314-324 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1077559507305996


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. A. Moreno, A. VanderStoep, M. R. Parks, F. J. Zimmerman, A. Kurth, and D. A. Christakis Reducing At-Risk Adolescents' Display of Risk Behavior on a Social Networking Web Site: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Intervention Trial Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, January 1, 2009; 163(1): 35 - 41. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Wells and K. J. Mitchell How Do High-Risk Youth Use the Internet? Characteristics and Implications for Prevention Child Maltreat, August 1, 2008; 13(3): 227 - 234. [Abstract] [PDF]

This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Mitchell, K. J. Articles by Finkelhor, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mitchell, K. J. Articles by Finkelhor, D. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?