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

TLDR

This article explores the relationship between online and offline interpersonal victimization and depressive symptomatology, delinquency, and substance use among youth. In a national sample of 1,501 youth, 57% experienced offline victimization and 23% online, with 73% of online victims also offline; both online and offline victimization independently predicted depression, delinquency, and substance use, and online sexual solicitation nearly doubled the odds of depression and high substance use even after accounting for offline victimizations, underscoring the need to screen for all victimization types.

Abstract

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.