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Behavioral Sciences
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Online Behavioral Dynamics of Psychological Harm: Technology-Facilitated Abuse
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Online Behavioral Dynamics of Psychological Harm: Technology-Facilitated Abuse

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1062

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Michal Dolev-Cohen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Oranim Academic College of Education, Kiryat Tiv’on 36006, Israel
Interests: sexting; sextortion; image-based sexual abuse; online sexual abuse; technology facilitated abuse
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Gaia Cuccì

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milano, Italy
Interests: adolescents; romantic relationships; romantic competence; dating violence, sexting; parenting style; youth
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

While digital technologies have significantly enhanced connectivity and access to information, they have also ushered in a troubling era of abuse perpetrated through these very platforms. This Special Issue, entitled “Online Behavioral Dynamics of Psychological Harm: Technology-Facilitated Abuse”, seeks to explore the complex dimensions of abuse that are mediated by technology. As we delve deeper into the digital age, incidents of online harassment, cyberstalking, digital impersonation, sextortion, and doxxing continue to escalate, affecting individuals across various demographics and geographies.

The digital arena has become a double-edged sword; on the one hand, it offers unprecedented opportunities for communication and social interaction, while on the other, it serves as a new platform for perpetrating various forms of abuse. These abuses range from image-based sexual abuse to sophisticated cyberbullying and manipulation tactics that exploit the anonymity and reach of the internet. Importantly, technology-facilitated abuse can transcend physical boundaries and have lasting psychological, social, and economic impacts on victims.

This Special Issue aims to gather empirical research, theoretical contributions, and methodological advancements that address the prevention and identification of, and response to, technology-facilitated abuse. Contributions may explore, but are not limited to, the psychological profiles of perpetrators, the social and legal ramifications of digital abuse, and the effectiveness of current interventions and policies aimed at mitigating such abuse. We encourage submissions that employ diverse methodologies including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches.

The goal of this Special Issue is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research on technology-facilitated abuse, propose innovative solutions, and foster a dialog among scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to enhance understanding and develop more effective countermeasures. We welcome submissions from a variety of disciplines including psychology, sociology, law, information technology, and criminology, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of this pressing issue.

Your insights and contributions to this critical field can help pave the way for safer digital environments and social structures more resilient to technology-facilitated abuse.

Dr. Michal Dolev-Cohen
Dr. Gaia Cuccì
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sextortion
  • image-based sexual abuse
  • online sexual abuse
  • technology-facilitated abuse
  • cyberbullying
  • cybercrime
  • cyberstalking
  • online exploitation
  • doxxing
  • online grooming

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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22 pages, 3327 KB  
Article
Disproportionate Cybersexual Victimization of Women from Adolescence into Midlife in Spain: Implications for Targeted Protection and Prevention
by Carlos J. Mármol, Aurelio Luna and Isabel Legaz
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(11), 1571; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15111571 - 17 Nov 2025
Viewed by 190
Abstract
Cybersexual victimization is a growing public health concern with severe psychosocial consequences, particularly for younger populations. Despite growing awareness of its prevalence, understanding how cybersexual victimization evolves across different demographic and regional contexts remains limited. The aim was to analyze sex- and age-specific [...] Read more.
Cybersexual victimization is a growing public health concern with severe psychosocial consequences, particularly for younger populations. Despite growing awareness of its prevalence, understanding how cybersexual victimization evolves across different demographic and regional contexts remains limited. The aim was to analyze sex- and age-specific temporal trends and projections of cybersexual victimization in Spain (2011–2022), disaggregated by sex, age group, autonomous community, and offense type, to identify where disparities emerge and persist (particularly from adolescence (<18) into midlife) while also examining gender and regional inequalities to provide evidence for prevention strategies that are both gender-sensitive and tailored to different developmental stages and territorial contexts. Spanish national police-reported data on seven cybersexual offenses (sexual abuse, sexual harassment, corruption of minors, grooming, exhibitionism, child sexual abuse images, and sexual provocation) from 2011 to 2022 were analyzed. Data were disaggregated by sex, age group, and regions. Mean rates per 100,000 inhabitants were calculated, independent-sample t-tests assessed sex differences, and linear regression models projected trends to 2035 for each age-sex group. Between 2011 and 2022, cybersexual crimes in Spain increased across most offense types, with grooming, child sexual abuse images, and contact offenses showing the steepest upward trends (all p < 0.001). Women consistently presented higher mean victimization rates than men in most offense types and age groups. Among those under 18, mean grooming rates were 2.55 for females versus 0.95 per 100,000 for males (p < 0.001), with significant differences also in corruption of minors (p < 0.01). In young adulthood (18–25 years), women showed higher rates in sexual harassment (p < 0.001) and sexual abuse (p < 0.01), while, in midlife (26–40 and 41–50 years), female predominance persisted for sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and sexual provocation (all p < 0.05). Projections to 2035 indicate that sex gaps will remain or widen, particularly among females under 18 and in the 26–40 age group. The Balearic, Canary Islands, and Andalusia regions recorded the highest mean rates, whereas Galicia and Castilla-La Mancha reported the lowest. Cybersexual victimization in Spain disproportionately affects females from adolescence into midlife, with the most considerable disparities emerging before age 18 and persisting into adulthood. The combination of rapid offense growth, persistent sex-based disparities, and marked regional inequalities underscores the urgent need for gender-sensitive, developmentally targeted prevention strategies that address both early vulnerability and the reinforcement of risk in adult digital environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Online Behavioral Dynamics of Psychological Harm: Technology-Facilitated Abuse)
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18 pages, 2496 KB  
Article
Cyber-Sexual Crime and Social Inequality: Exploring Socioeconomic and Technological Determinants
by Carlos J. Mármol, Aurelio Luna and Isabel Legaz
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(11), 1547; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15111547 - 13 Nov 2025
Viewed by 370
Abstract
Cyber-sexual crimes have become a growing concern in the digital age, as rapid technological progress continues to create new forms of violence and victimization. These offenses affect society unevenly, striking more intensely among minors, women, and other vulnerable groups. Their prevalence is shaped [...] Read more.
Cyber-sexual crimes have become a growing concern in the digital age, as rapid technological progress continues to create new forms of violence and victimization. These offenses affect society unevenly, striking more intensely among minors, women, and other vulnerable groups. Their prevalence is shaped by structural inequalities, educational, economic, and technological, that condition both exposure to digital risks and the capacity for protection. Although international research has connected these disparities with digital victimization, evidence from Spain remains limited. The aim was to analyze the regional distribution of cyber-sexual crimes in Spain between 2011 and 2022 and to explore how education, income, and digital access relate to their incidence. To this end, official data from the Spanish Statistical Crime Portal (PEC) were combined with structural indicators provided by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics. The analysis encompassed reported cases of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, corruption of minors, online grooming, exhibitionism, pornography, and sexual provocation, using standardized incidence rates per 100,000 inhabitants. Statistical methods included ANOVA with post hoc comparisons, correlation analyses, and K-means clustering to identify territorial patterns. Results revealed a sustained national increase in cyber-sexual crimes, with grooming and sexual harassment showing the most pronounced growth. The Balearic Islands (mean 4.9), Canary Islands (4.0), and Andalusia (3.9) registered the highest incidence rates, well above the national average (3.0). Educational disadvantages and low income were linked to sexual abuse and corruption of minors, whereas greater digital connectivity, expressed through higher mobile phone use, broadband access, and computer ownership, was strongly associated with grooming and other technology-facilitated offenses. Cluster analysis identified three distinct territorial profiles: high-incidence regions (Balearic and Canary Islands, Andalusia), intermediate (Murcia, Madrid, Navarre, Valencian Community), and low-incidence (Galicia, Catalonia, Castile and León, among others). In conclusion, the findings demonstrate that cyber-sexual crimes in Spain are unevenly distributed and closely linked to persistent structural vulnerabilities that shape digital exposure. These results underscore the need for territorially sensitive prevention strategies that reduce educational and economic inequalities, foster sexual and digital literacy, and promote safer online environments. Without addressing these underlying structural dimensions, public policies risk overlooking the conditions that sustain regional disparities and limit adequate protection against technology-driven sexual crimes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Online Behavioral Dynamics of Psychological Harm: Technology-Facilitated Abuse)
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