Technology-Facilitated Sexual Exploitation Module of the SES-V: Prevalence and Differential Vulnerability Across Two U.S. National Samples.

Abstract

Sexual exploitation represents a significant public health problem. One form of sexual exploitation that warrants urgent attention is technology-facilitated sexual exploitation (TFSE), especially given rapid increases in digital technology and social media usage, particularly among young people. The newly updated Sexual Experiences Survey (SES-V), a measure of sexual exploitation, now includes a module to measure TFSE. Using data from an online sample of US college students (n = 460, M_age = 24.17) and an online sample of U.S. adults (n = 347, M_age = 45.42), we examined the prevalence of TFSE, determined risk for TFSE among different demographic groups, and evaluated its overlap with other forms of sexual exploitation. Results indicated high rates of TFSE; the college student sample had a higher prevalence than the community adult sample on eight of the 10 TFSE items. In the online sample of adults, younger and LGBQ+ participants were more likely to experience TFSE, and, in the online sample of college students, those who were female, white, identified as LGBQ+, and were older were more likely than their respective counterparts to experience TFSE. In both samples, those who experienced TFSE were more likely to have experienced other forms of sexual exploitation. Findings support the inclusion of a TFSE module when assessing sexual exploitation that will enable researchers to make comparisons across different samples, assess the co-occurrence of in-person and online sexual exploitation, and determine differential vulnerability factors and consequences of online and offline sexual exploitation.