Effects of Adolescents' Autonomous Control and Exposure to Adult Contents on the Online Sexual Victimization Experiences: Focusing on the Moderated Mediation Effect of Education Experiences

Abstract

This study examined the effect of adolescents' autonomous control and exposure to adult contents on their online sexual victimization experiences via the moderated mediation effect of education experience. The authors purported to investigate if adolescents’ experience of online sexual victimization can be prevented by their willingness to control their exposure to adult contents and by education. Specifically, independent variable autonomous control and exposure to adult contents based on lifestyle-related theory were employed in the analysis models. For the study, we analyzed the "2020 Youth Media Use and Hazardous Environment Survey", which collected by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and the data included the responses from 14,536 teenagers with regard to their online sexual victimization experiences. As a result, first, it was verified that the autonomous control of adolescents had a significant effect on the online sexual victimization by mediating the exposure level. In other words, the higher the autonomous control of adolescents, the lower the exposure level, and the lower the exposure level, the lower the online sexual victimization. Second, as a result of analyzing the moderating effect of education in the relationship between autonomous control and exposure level, both uneducated and educated groups had a negative effect, but the negative relationship between autonomous control and exposure level was stronger when educated. Third, it was verified that the mediating effect of exposure level in the relationship between autonomous control and online sexual victimiation has a significant moderating effect depending on the presence or absence of education. Finally, based on the results, suggestions were made for the intervention and development of various educational programs such as media use education, violence prevention education, and sex education to increase youth's autonomous control and lower exposure levels.