Adolescents’ Electronic Victimization in Spanish during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This exploratory study analyzes the prevalence of electronic victimization during COVID-19, evaluating possible risk factors, in 163 participants between 14-and-17 years old living in Spain. Electronic victimization experiences were assessed using an adapted version of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (Finkelhor, Ormrod, et al., 2005), drawn from an online survey. The prevalence of cyberbullying was 1.9%, while that of online sexual harassment was 20%. More than half of the experiences of electronic victimization during the pandemic (54.3%) already occurred previously, although 2.5% of adolescents experienced online sexual harassment for the first time during the pandemic. Confinement and de-escalation have not led to an increase in this type of experiences. Similarly, no relationship was found between the family environment risk factors and the experiences of electronic victimization. Education about the proper use of new technologies and the possible risks associated with them is necessary for adolescents, their families and society in general.