ORCID Profile
0000-0002-7874-2616
Current Organisation
Deakin University
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Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 25-06-2021
DOI: 10.3389/FPSYG.2021.671986
Abstract: “Slutpages” are a pernicious form of online image-based evaluative voyeurism (OIBEV), whereby (sexualized) images of women are posted on webpages for (predominantly) male groups to rate and comment. Despite media and public concern, OIBEV sites have garnered limited empirical study. This paper presents the first analysis of OIBEV site visitation motivations across United States and Australian s les. Participants comprised a convenience s le of 1148 young adults aged 18 to 29 years ( M = 22.54, SD = 2.50) 53.0% women, 47.0% men 54% residing in the U.S. and 46% in Australia. Respondents completed an online questionnaire. Overall, 23% of United States and 16% of Australian respondents had visited OIBEV sites. OIBEV site visitation was uniquely associated with gender and country (with men and United States being more likely to visit OIBEV sites), requesting and disseminating sexts and having one’s own image shared. Cyberbullying perpetration was associated with reduced odds of OIBEV site visitation. Motivations differed by gender, with men (80%) being most likely to visit sites to “check them out” while women were equally likely to check it out (41%) or to see if they were depicted (36%). For men, unique predictors of OIBEV site visitation were having requested, disseminated and received disseminated sexts, lower levels of anxiety and reduced likelihood of cyberbullying perpetration. For women, OIBEV site visitation was uniquely associated with being a United States resident, sext dissemination victimization, receipt of disseminated sexts, higher levels of anxiety but reduced stress. Our findings confirm that OIBEV sites represent a highly gendered form of online image-based sexual abuse, and may have important mental health implications, given the associations with increased anxiety. Our results support the need for “slutpage” education for adolescents and young adults to address social and peer norms that encourage and support non-consensual use of intimate images.
Publisher: No publisher found
Date: 2020
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 02-03-2021
Abstract: Sext dissemination presents policy and legislative challenges given its potential psychological, social, and legal harms. We report on a cross-national comparison of sext-image dissemination in a large s le of 1148 young adults aged 18–29 years (M = 22.54, SD = 2.50, 53.0% women, 47.0% men), either U.S. (53.8%) or Australian (46.2%) residents. The results indicate that 14% of young adults disseminated sexts, with no difference by gender or country. Over 50% of respondents indicated that the last time they received a disseminated sext, it was unexpected or unwelcome, with women twice as likely as men to receive unwelcome sexts. The most frequent motivations for sext dissemination were similar cross-nationally, relating to the attractiveness of the person depicted, as a joke, to gossip, because it was not a big deal, bragging, roasting or teasing, and to increase social status. Motivations of attractiveness, bragging, or social status were more commonly endorsed by men, while women endorsed reasons around gossip or roasting/teasing. Unique predictors of sext dissemination included U.S. residence, requesting sexts, receiving disseminated sexts, having one’s own images disseminated, and more positive subjective norms to dissemination, and there was a country–gender interaction, where Australian women and U.S. men were more likely to disseminate sexts than then U.S. women or Australian men. The findings have implications for prevention programs seeking to address harmful online sexual interactions, including addressing respect, consent, and subjective norms supporting non-consensual dissemination.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.BODYIM.2019.07.006
Abstract: The present study evaluated whether in iduals with varying levels of trait body image flexibility differ in the severity, variability, and correlates of state body dissatisfaction experienced in their daily lives. One hundred and forty-seven women completed a baseline measure of trait body image flexibility, followed by a 7-day ecological momentary assessment phase in which participants self-reported state body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behavior, drive for thinness, and appearance comparisons at 10 semi-random intervals daily. Higher trait body image flexibility predicted lower average scores, less frequent reporting of high state body dissatisfaction, and less variability in their state body dissatisfaction ratings. In iduals with higher trait body image flexibility were also less likely to engage in a range of behaviors and cognitions previously shown to produce body dissatisfaction, including upward appearance comparisons, drive for thinness, binge eating, and dieting. However, few of these state-based relationships involving body dissatisfaction and these related behaviors and cognitions were moderated by trait body image flexibility. Overall, this pattern of findings suggests that body image flexible in iduals may have less negative body image because they are less inclined to engage in behaviors and cognitions in their daily lives that encourage negative body image.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 16-10-2021
DOI: 10.3390/SEXES2040034
Abstract: While sexting behaviours have attracted increasing research focus over the last decade as both normative and deviant forms of sexual activity, little attention has been paid to their potential associations with sexual preoccupation and heightened interest in sex. The current study sought to identify whether sexual preoccupation significantly predicts sending, receiving, and disseminating sexts, after controlling for pornography use and risky sexual behaviours. Young Australian adult participants (N = 654, 78.8% women) aged 18 to 34 (M = 19.78, SD = 1.66) completed an anonymous online self-report questionnaire regarding their engagement in sexting behaviours (sending, receiving, and dissemination), pornography use, risky sexual behaviours, and sexual preoccupation. Results showed that in iduals with higher sexual preoccupation were more likely to engage in pornography use and risky sexual behaviours. Binary hierarchical logistic regressions revealed that sexual preoccupation predicted higher rates of sending and receiving sexts. However, sexual preoccupation did not significantly contribute to increased rates of sext dissemination. Our study illustrates the need to incorporate pornography viewing and sexting into the promotion of safe sexual behaviours in online and offline contexts, and the potential to utilise modern technology to negotiate safer sex practices.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-03-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2019
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-05-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.BODYIM.2022.09.003
Abstract: Sexting is a common form of sexual communication that is often considered normative and beneficial despite some research highlighting its negative social, psychological, and legal repercussions. Using protection motivation theory (PMT), this study examines how young adults weigh the pros and cons of sending consensual sexts, sexting under pressure, and deciding against sending sexts, and whether body image dissatisfaction interacts with any of the decision-making processes. In total, 906 participants (554, 61.14% women), aged 18-25 years (M = 21.65, SD = 2.01), completed an online measure of sexting behaviours, body image, and protection motivation. Overall, 71.41% of respondents ever sent a sext. Of those, 45.07% and 36.32% felt pressure to sext or sent a sext because of pressure. Further, 63.90% participants ever considered and decided not to send a sext. All models predicting various sexting behaviours were significant and provided a partial support for the PMT. Body image was a unique predictor of 'pressured' sexting but its interactions with the PMT subscales for pressured sexting and decisions against sexting were non-significant. Our study illustrates the need for increasing young people's self-efficacy and body image to improve their sexting agency and experience.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 04-10-2022
DOI: 10.3390/PSYCH4040054
Abstract: Cyberbullying behaviours can result in serious adverse mental health outcomes. We report evaluation findings from the Geelong Cyber Cats, a one-day community-based cyberbullying prevention intervention targeting Year 7 adolescents. The longitudinal, mixed-methods evaluation involved students completing surveys at baseline (N = 309), intervention completion (N = 316), and 3-month follow-up (N = 154). Controls (N = 58) who had not attended the intervention completed follow-up surveys. We measured behaviours, attitudes, and intentions regarding cyberbullying, and mental health. Positive attitudes towards cyberbullying significantly reduced from baseline to post intervention, with some rebound at follow-up. There was a significant reduction in experiences of cyberbullying victimisation, perpetration, and witnessing for participants at follow-up. Mental health improved from baseline to follow-up although not significantly. Confidence in responding to cyberbullying significantly improved post-intervention, with a loss of some gains at follow-up but remaining improvement compared to baseline. There were significant increases in post- intervention intentions, including being kind, careful and safe, and disengagement from problematic applications or social media platforms. Participants were positive about the intervention impact on understanding cyberbullying, and increased motivation and confidence to respond. Content about responding to cyberbullying, and helping others, was perceived the most helpful. The intervention demonstrates benefits to cyberbullying attitudes, behaviours and mental health.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-07-2023
DOI: 10.1007/S10964-023-01827-1
Abstract: Although consensual sending of sexts between adolescents is considered developmentally appropriate, it may also entail a range of negative consequences. Current sexting research lacks a comprehensive theoretical framework identifying a range of risk and protective factors underpinning adolescent consensual sending of sexts across in idual, interpersonal, and distal levels. Further, there is a lack of systematic evaluation of how the importance of these factors may vary across adolescent age. This study investigated the utility of the Social Development Model to predict a range of risk and protective factors across in idual, family, peer, school, and community-level factors. The s le included 1302 teenagers from Victoria, Australia ( M age = 14.54, SD = 1.14, 50.8% girls). Results indicated that 146 (11.7%) participants sent a sext (76 boys and 70 girls). Logistic regression analyses revealed that the Social Development Model accounted for 45.8% of variance in sexting, with greater likelihood of sending sexts being associated with older age, prior sexual activity, school sector, physical activity, lifetime substance use, greater depressive symptoms, sensation seeking, and perceived substance availability in the community. Multigroup analyses revealed that lifetime substance use was associated with a greater likelihood of sending sexts among younger teens. Among older adolescents, adaptive coping was associated with reduced engagement in sexting, while higher parental overcontrol and family conflict increased the odds of sending sexts. Overall, sexting is associated with a range of modifiable factors potentially amenable to intervention.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2023
Publisher: Centre of Sociological Research, NGO
Date: 22-05-2023
DOI: 10.14254/1795-6889.2023.19-1.7
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to compare attitudes toward sexting using vignettes. Participants were 49 university students (ages 19-26) who participated in five online focus group discussions and responded to five written vignettes describing sexting. The five vignettes about sexting were composed of five types of sexting experiences: 1) sexting under intimate partner pressure, 2) revenge sexting, 3) consensual sexting with intimate partner, 4) sexting under peer pressure, and 5) sexting to flirt with others. Students gave their opinions on the vignettes presented. Revenge sexting was perceived as a behaviour more negative than any other type of sexting experience. The vignette that depicted sexting with an intimate partner in a long-distance relationship was perceived as the least negative of all types of sexting. The results of this study aim to inspire future studies to use vignettes as a methodological tool to determine youths' attitudes, beliefs, and opinions about sexting.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
No related grants have been discovered for Dr Dominika Howard.