A latent class analysis of technology-facilitated sexual violence: associations to other victimizations, psychiatric symptoms, and genderShow others and affiliations
2025 (English)In: International Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect, ISSN 0145-2134, E-ISSN 1873-7757, Vol. 161, article id 107309Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Background: Poly-victimization research has shown the cumulative detrimental effects of violence exposure on mental health. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) of victimization is a growing research field uncovering specific combinations of violence exposures particularly negative to mental health. Despite a growing concern of technology-facilitated violence (TFSV), it is scarcely included in LCA studies.
Objectives: Investigating victimization typologies that includes technology facilitated sexual violence.
Participants and setting: Cross-sectional survey data from a representative sample of Swedish young people in the age range of 16–23 (N = 3243, mean age = 18.20, SD = 0.61).
Methods: A Latent Class Analysis was conducted using the package PoLCA in R. A model with three classes was deemed to best fit the data.
Results: Class 1 (sexual polyvictimization, 10.1 %) had high probabilities of all forms of sexual violence including TFSV and the highest proportion of psychiatric diagnosis (45.2 %). This class consisted of mostly girls. Class 2 (child abuse polyvictimization,14.8 %) was characterized by high probabilities of physical and psychological child abuse and had an even gender distribution. 30.6 % of this class endorsed having a psychiatric diagnosis. Class 3 (75.1 %) was a low victimization/normative subgroup with an even gender distribution and a low (12.8 %) frequency of psychiatric diagnosis. Class 1 exhibited the highest levels of psychiatric symptoms.
Conclusions: Prevention efforts targeted against TFSV should consider the whole web of violence that some young people are situated in. Since TFSV seems to be connected to psychiatric symptoms and diagnosis, Child- and Adolescent Psychiatric services should pay more attention to this type of violence among their young patients.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2025. Vol. 161, article id 107309
Keywords [en]
Latent Class Analysis, Poly-victimization, Technology-facilitated sexual violence, Gender, Child- and adolescent psychiatry, Child abuse
National Category
Medical and Health Sciences
Research subject
Child and Youth Psychiatry
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-235762DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107309ISI: 001427275200001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85217405979OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-235762DiVA, id: diva2:1939275
Funder
Region VästerbottenPublic Health Agency of Sweden 2025-02-212025-02-212025-04-24Bibliographically approved