Victimization by Nonconsensual Distribution of Intimate Images Is Related to Lower Holistic Well-Being in a Diverse Sample of U.S. Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed many aspects of American life online, including sexual intimacy. Increases in sexting and other forms of virtual intimacy may also have increased the nonconsensual distribution of intimate images (NDII), a form of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA). This study is among the first to quantitatively examine the holistic downstream consequences of NDII victimization among U.S. adults (N = 3,150) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that (a) emerging adults would be more likely to experience NDII during the pandemic than other age groups, (b) that victims would experience more negative downstream consequences than nonvictims across nine health and well-being outcomes, and (c) that victims of marginalized identity groups would experience more severe negative outcomes than their nonvictim peers, as compared to those in more privileged identity groups. Multivariate analyses of variance were used to examine the effects of victimization, gender, race, and sexual orientation on all outcomes. Results supported hypothesis 2 but did not fully support hypotheses 1 and 3. During the pandemic, victims experienced worse well-being on all nine outcomes than nonvictims, and, unexpectedly, some of these outcomes (e.g., alcohol consumption) were further exacerbated in men (vs. women) victims.