Clinical and Psychological Features of Minor Victims of Cybergrooming

In order to identify the risk factors of victimization and determine the clinical and psychological consequences of cybergrooming for underage victims, a pilot study was conducted. 40 underage girls aged from 8 to 18 years, victims of sexual abuse on the Internet, were examined. The state of various spheres of mental activity and the state of victims were retrospectively assessed at the time before they entered into communication with the offender, features of the criminal situation were studied, the consequences of violence and suffered abuse were identified and analyzed. The diagnostic complex included methods and techniques aimed at studying cognitive functions, individual characteristic and behavior. The method of studying documents (medical documentation, criminal case materials, including Internet correspondence of victims and offenders) was also used in the work. Statistical processing of the results was carried out by methods of descriptive statistics. Risk factors for girls to become a victim of cybergrooming were identified, and the immediate clinical and psychological consequences of abuse were described. Prospects for further research are described.

1. Alieva E.A. Set’ Internet kak sredstvo soversheniya razvratnykh deistvii [Internet as a means of performance sexual abuse]. Probely v Rossiiskom zakonodatel’stve = Gaps in Russian Legislation, 2017, no. 4, pp. 180–182 (In Russ.).
2. Antonov O.Yu. Kriminalisticheskie osnovy protivodeistviya rasprostraneniyu pornograficheskikh materialov v informatsionno-telekommunikatsionnykh setyakh [Criminalistics Fundamentals of Counteracting Circulation of Pornography in Information Telecommunication Networks]. Nauchnyi vestnik Omskoi akademii MVD Rossii = Scientific Bulletin of the Omsk Academy of the MIA of Russia, 2018, no. 1 (68), pp. 30–36 (In Russ.).
3. Belskaya N.S. Rechevoi zhanr sekstinga v sudebnoi lingvisticheskoi ekspertize internet-kommunikatsii pri rassledovanii prestuplenii protiv polovoi neprikosnovennosti i polovoi svobody lichnosti [Speech genre of sexting in forensic linguistics analysis applicable to sex crimes investigation]. Vestnik Kemerovskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta = Bulletin of Kemerovo State University, 2015, no. 1-2 (61), pp. 170–176 (In Russ.).
4. Vlasova N.V., Buslaeva E.L. Psikhologicheskie osobennosti lits, sklonnykh k kiberviktimnomu povedeniyu [Psychological Features of Individuals Prone to Cyber Victimization] [Elektronnyi resurs].Psikhologiya i pravo = Psychology and Law, 2022. Vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 207–223. doi:10.17759/psylaw.2022120214 (In Russ.).
5. Volokhova L.A. Opyt psikhologicheskogo issledovaniya po delam, svyazannym s soversheni-em razvratnykh deistvii posredstvom seti Internet (perepiska na seksual’nuyu temu) [Psychological research experience in criminal cases on debauchery committed via Internet (correspondence on sexual topics)]. Sbornik tezisov uchastnikov Vserossiiskogo nauchno-prakticheskogo seminara s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem “Aktual’nye problemy i tekhnologii yuridicheskoi psikhologii detstva: ot deviantnogo razvitiya k normativnomu povedeniyu”. Moscow: MGPPU Publ., 2017, pp. 80–82 (In Russ.).
6. Medvedeva A.S. Reaktsii detei i podrostkov na seksual’nyi onlain-gruming [Reactions of Children and Adolescents to Sexual Online Grooming] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Psikhologiya i pravo = Psychology and Law, 2020. Vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 123–132. doi:10.17759/psylaw.2020100111 (In Russ.).
7. Medvedeva A.S., Dozortseva E.G. Kharakteristiki onlain-gruminga kak vida seksual’noi ekspluatatsii nesovershennoletnikh (po rezul’tatam analiza perepisok vzroslykh i detei v seti Internet) [Features of online grooming as a form of sexual exploitation of minors (based on the analysis of communication between adults and children in the Internet)] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Psikhologiya i pravo = Psychology and Law, 2019. Vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 161–173. doi:10.17759/psylaw.2019090412 (In Russ.).
8. Medvedeva A.S., Dozortseva E.G. Rol’ i uchastie roditelei v protsesse kibergruminga [Role and Involvement of Parents in the Cybergrooming Process] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Psikhologiya i pravo = Psychology and Law, 2021. Vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 146–159. doi:10.17759/psylaw.2021110211 (In Russ.).
9. Mikhaleva G.V. Onlain-riski i problemy zashchity detei v sovremennom britanskom mediaobrazovanii [Online risks and problems of child protection in modern British media education]. Nauchnyi dialog = Scientific Dialogue, 2014, no. 6 (30), pp. 66–74. (In Russ.).
10. Mosharova A.S., Karabatova D.A. Problemy zashchity detei ot nasiliya v kiberprostranstve [Problems of children protecting from violence in the cyberspace]. Sotsial’no-pravovaya zashchita detstva kak prioritetnoe napravlenie sovremennoi gosudarstvennoi politiki: Sbornik materialov Mezhdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii (Cheboksary, 13–14 aprelya 2018 g.). Cheboksary: Izd-vo Chuvashskogo universiteta, 2018, pp. 406–409 (In Russ.).
11. Soldatova G., Rasskazova E., Zotova E., Lebesheva M., Roggendorf P. Deti Rossii onlain. Rezul’taty mezhdunarodnogo proekta EU Kids Online II v Rossii. Moscow: Fond razvitiya Internet Publ., 2012. 213 p. (In Russ.).
12. Soldatova G.U., Rtishcheva M.A., Seregina V.V. Onlain-riski i problema psikhologicheskogo zdorov’ya detei i podrostkov [Online risks and psychological health problems of children and teenagers]. Akademicheskii vestnik = Academic Bulletin, 2017, no. 3 (25), pp. 29–37 (In Russ.).
13. Sheremet O.A., Shipshin S.S. Kompleksnoe issledovanie internet-perepiski pri rassledovanii ugolovnykh del o seksual’nykh prestupleniyakh v otnoshenii nesovershennoletnikh [Elektronnyi resurs]. Forum Yuridicheskaya psikhologiya MGPPU. URL: http://jp.mgppu.ru/forum/index.php?topic=224. (Accessed 09.01.2021). (In Russ.).
14. Black P.J., Wollis M., Woodworth M., Hancock J.T. A linguistic analysis of grooming strategies of online child sex offenders: implications for understanding of predatory sexual behavior in an increasingly computer-mediated world. Child Abuse & Neglect, 2015. Vol. 44, pp. 140–149. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.12.004
15. Calvete E., Orue I., Gamez-Guadix M. A Preventive Intervention to Reduce Risk of Online Grooming Among Adolescents. Psychosocial Intervention, 2022. Vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 177–184. doi:10.5093/pi2022a14
16. Craven S., Brown S., Gilchrist E. Sexual grooming of children: Review of literature and theoretical considerations. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 2006. Vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 287–299. doi:10.1080/13552600601069414
17. Ioannou M., Synnott J., Reynolds A., Pearson J. A comparison of online and offline Grooming characteristics: An application of the victim roles model. Computers in Human Behavior, 2018. Vol. 85, pp. 291–297. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.04.011
18. Kloess J.A., Seymour-Smith S., Hamilton-Giachritsis C.E., Long M.L., Shipley D., Beech A.R. A Qualitative Analysis of Offenders’ Modus Operandi in Sexually Exploitative Interactions with Children Online. Sexual Abuse, 2017. Vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 563–591. doi:10.1177/1079063215612442
19. Kucheria V.N., Gaur A. Cyberbullying and Cyber Victimization among Adolescents. Journal of Well-Being, 2022. Vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 5–12.
20. Landberg A., Jonsson L. A part of reality on children, sexual abuse and the Internet. Sweden: Stiftelsen Allmänna Barnhuset & Barnafrid, Linköpings universitet, 2018. 32 р.
21. Pranoto H., Gunawan F.E., Soewito B. Logistic Models for Classifying Online Grooming Conversation. Procedia Computer Science, 2015. Vol. 59, pp. 357–365. doi:10.1016/J.PROCS.2015.07.536