Online sexual violence. A child and adolescent psychiatric perspective
Barn och unga med olika former av psykiatriska diagnoser är i högre grad utsatta för sexuellt våld på nätet. Det visar Frida Carlberg Rindestig i sin avhandling.
Frida Carlberg Rindestig
Docent Inga Dennhag, Umeå universitet. Professor Katja Gillander Gådin, Mittuniversitetet
Professor Theresa Skoog, Göteborgs universitet
Umeå universitet
2025-09-26
Institutionen för klinisk vetenskap
Abstract in English
Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence (TFSV) is an emerging societal issue with mental health associations. Young people’s lives are deeply enmeshed in online communication technologies, and all types of interpersonal violence can now take place in the online milieu. This has implications for the already violence-burdened young people in psychiatric care. Young people in psychiatric care are scarcely researched regarding their most visited social arenas, in the online environment.
Taking departure from a poly-victimization framework, this thesis investigates technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) among young people in psychiatric care through two different research approaches. Two quantitative survey studies mapped the prevalence of TFSV and its associations with psychiatric symptoms among young people with and without psychiatric diagnosis, applying a gender theoretical perspective when interpreting the findings. Results revealed higher rates of TFSV among youths with psychiatric diagnoses, with both girls and boys exposed to TFSV exhibiting elevated anxiety and depressive symptoms compared to non-exposed peers. Co-occurrences with other forms of violence were also evident, highlighting the need to view also TFSV from a polyvictimization perspective. Further, the results emphasized the gendered nature of TFSV showing a much higher prevalence among girls.
To complement the quantitative studies, two qualitative interview studies investigated how TFSV was conceptualized by both patients and child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) professionals. Patients tended to frame the exposure to TFSV in individualized explanations, emphasizing loneliness and unmet needs. Further, they tended to normalize their experiences, framing them as a kind of common girl experience. Professionals predominantly framed TFSV as an individual concern, conceptualizing the explanations, harms and solutions from an individual perspective emphasizing a trauma model.
The thesis highlights the significant impact of TFSV on psychiatric populations and critically examines the limitations of current institutional responses, emphasizing the need for broader conceptualizations within psychiatric care.