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This research has been conducted as part of the project "Sexting victimization during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Towards an evidence-based educational paradigm" financed by the Fundacion MAPFRE as part of the Ignacio Hernando de Larramendi Grants (2020). Grant number 6515.

Analysis of institutional authors

Agustina, JrAuthor

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July 5, 2021
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Exploring Sexting and Online Sexual Victimization during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown

Publicated to:International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health. 18 (12): 6662- - 2021-06-02 18(12), DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126662

Authors: Gasso, Aina M; Mueller-Johnson, Katrin; Agustina, Jose R; Gomez-Duran, Esperanza L

Affiliations

Univ Abat Oliba CEU, Sch Law, Barcelona 08017, Spain - Author
Univ Int Catalunya, Sch Law, Barcelona 08017, Spain - Author
Univ Int Catalunya, Sch Med, Barcelona 08017, Spain - Author
Univ Oxford, Ctr Criminol, Oxford OX1 2JD, England - Author

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has impacted daily routines, forcing people to stop socializing in person and changing the way people express their feelings and their romantic or sexual interactions. Social distancing has changed the way people behave online, and we expect that engagement in sexting and online sexual victimization behaviors have increased during lockdown. The aim of this paper is to study the prevalence of sexting and online sexual victimization behaviors during the COVID-19 lockdown in Spanish adults in order to explore how social distancing has affected these behaviors. The sample comprised 293 Spanish adults (mean age = 30.3; 66.2% female) who took part in an online survey about their engagement in sexting behaviors and online sexual victimization experiences. Overall results were apparently not supportive of our main hypothesis, showing that both sexting engagement and online sexual victimization decreased during lockdown despite the increase in internet use. Apart from differences in time period of reference, some alternative hypotheses relate to the increased presence of capable guardians according to the routine activities theory and to forced distance as a demotivation to sext. Possible explanations and hypotheses for these results are discussed further in the paper.

Keywords

covid-19image-based sexual abuselockdownonline sexual victimizationAdultBehaviorsCommunicable disease controlCovid-19Crime victimsFemaleHumansImage-based sexual abuseLockdownMaleOnline sexual victimizationPandemicsPrevalenceSars-cov-2SextingSexual behaviorText messaging

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2021, it was in position 45/182, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Public, Environmental & Occupational Health.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.25. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-08-17, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 15
  • Scopus: 14
  • Europe PMC: 7

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-08-17:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 75 (PlumX).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: United Kingdom.