Understanding young peoples online sexual behaviour
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding young people’s online sexual behaviour, nature, cases, context and consequences.
IRAS ID
355156
Contact name
Emma Jennie Hodgson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Durham University
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
The study aims to explore how Harmful Sexual Behaviour (HSB) manifests itself in the digital world, being the first of its kind to consider the living/lived experiences of young people who have displayed online HSB, enabling possible pathways and experiences which may have influenced the behaviour to be examined. This lack of research knowledge hinders the progress of development and resources for working directly with young people. Currently, those working with young people in HSB services are reliant on resources/assessment models which have predominantly been designed on research carried out with young people who have displayed HSB in offline contexts. Policy has been slow to keep pace as evidenced by the much anticipated and debated Online Safety Act.
The findings of this research will provide professionals with a greater understanding of the focus for intervention and prevention, enabling a more nuanced, appropriate and applicable response to address the increasing concerns about the prevalence and impact of the behaviour.REC name
HSC REC B
REC reference
25/NI/0078
Date of REC Opinion
18 Jun 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion