Sextortion and suicide: Implications for adolescent image-based abuse

Sextortion - the threatened dissemination of explicit, intimate, or embarrassing images of a sexual nature without consent for the purpose of acquiring money, more images, or something else - has emerged as a critical public safety and public health concern for youth in recent years.

The current study explores the extent of sextortion among youth, as well as its relationship to suicidality.

Respondents were from a national US sample of 3416 English- or Spanish-speaking middle and high school students aged 13 to 17 (Mage = 15.0 years; 50.7% female; 63.5% White/Caucasian).

A cross-sectional design was utilized. Adolescents completed an anonymous online survey with questions about their experience with sextortion and suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

Approximately 15% of youth in the sample had been the target of sextortion. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed a statistically significant relationship between experience with sextortion and suicidality. Results also indicated that the relationship between the victim and the offender (whether the offender was known offline or not) did not have an impact on suicidality.

More research is necessary to better understand the underlying causes of sextortion, as well as effective ways to prevent and respond to it. One possible avenue for prevention could involve educating youth and their caregivers about the risks associated with sexting (such as sextortion), including the potential deleterious mental health outcomes when the experience turns negative.