Kristian Daneback

Prevalence, Severity, and Correlates of Problematic Sexual Internet Use in Swedish Men and Women

The content and prevalence of problematic Internet sexual use was investigated in a sample of 1,913 Internet-recruited younger Swedish men and women. Five items as part of a larger Internet sexual use study addressed problems associated with it, control, dysphoria, feeling “addicted,” and feeling the need for treatment. The resulting scale of Internet sexual problems indicated that 5% of women and 13% of men reported some problems, with 2% of women and 5% of men indicating serious problems across the five items. Of five predictors of problematic use, three were significant: religiosity, having negative experiences with Internet sexual use, and frequency of pornography viewing. The viewing and sharing of pornography was most closely associated with reported problems. Data also suggested that having some very specific pornographic content interests were associated with an increase in reported problems. While these data were limited by the non-random nature of the sample, they suggest that Internet sexual problems are measurable, are a subset of Internet addiction with sexual content, and affect a small but significant proportion of the Internet-using population.

Characteristics of men and women who complete or exit from an on‐line internet sexuality questionnaire: A study of instrument dropout biases

This study compared respondents who completed an Internet sexuality questionnaire and those who dropped out before completion. The study was in Swedish and comprised 3,614 respondents over a 2‐week period (53% males, 47% females). There were significant differences between males, of whom 51% dropped out before completion of the 175‐item questionnaire, and females, of whom 43% dropped out. Dropout in both genders followed a curve of negative acceleration. The data suggest that dropout is likely to be significant and gender and demographically biased, and to occur significantly earlier for men than for women. Geography, education, sexual orientation, age, relationship status, living arrangements, and Internet connection speed were related to dropout for men, while only relationship status and living arrangements, which were in the opposite direction from men, were related to dropout in women.

Adolescents’ Use of the Internet for Sex Education: A Thematic and Critical Review of the Literature

ABSTRACT. A thematic and critical literature review was conducted to determine what is known about adolescents’ experiences with online sex education. Four major themes could be discerned from the literature, revealing that: (a) adolescents report engaging with sex information online; (b) adolescents are interested in a number of topics, including sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy; (c) the quality of adolescent-targeted sex information online can be lacking, but adolescents can evaluate these sources; and (d) Internet-based interventions can increase adolescents’ sexual health knowledge. Inconsistencies in the literature are discussed and suggestions are made for future research.

The internet as a source of information about sexuality

To use the Internet for sex educational purposes and for sex information has been recognised by prior research as benefits of the technological development and important areas to investigate, but few empirical studies have so far been conducted. The purpose of this study was to identify those who use the Internet to seek information about sexual issues and to examine the reasons for using the Internet for this purpose. A total of 1913 respondents completed an online Swedish questionnaire about Internet sexuality and the 1614 who reported using the Internet for sexual purposes were selected for analysis in the current study. More than one-half of these respondents claimed to use the Internet to seek information about sexual issues. The results showed that men and women of all ages used the Internet for this purpose, suggesting that the need for sexual education persists even in the adult years. The reasons for seeking information were primarily to get knowledge about the body, about how to have sex, and out of curiosity. Knowing who seeks information about sexuality on the Internet and the reasons why may be helpful in identifying the needs of different groups of individuals as well as tailoring the information provided, both online and offline.

Online pornography use in adolescence: Age and gender differences

The aim of this study was to investigate age and gender patterns in how adolescents use online pornography and with whom, their reason for using online pornography and how and to whom they communicate their experiences. The sample comprised 2950 adolescents aged 11–17 (Mage = 14.08, 53.3% girls). Data were collected in primary and secondary schools in the Czech Republic. For girls, the results showed that the likelihood of using and discussing online pornography in mixed-gender peer settings increased with age. Romantic relationships were an important setting for these activities, especially among older girls. For boys, using online pornography to become sexually aroused was the only reason that increased with age. One-third of the respondents accessed online pornography in order to learn something about sex. The results suggest that adolescents use online pornography in line with their psychosexual development, and this finding needs to be taken into consideration when providing sex education in schools. This suggestion might be challenging, since this study also showed that adolescents were reluctant to talk about online pornography use with adults.

Effectiveness of coping strategies for victims of cyberbullying

Although cyberbullying is a well-studied online risk, little is known about the effectiveness of various coping strategies for its victims. Therefore, this study on 2,092 Czech children aged 12-18 examined which coping strategies were applied most often and to what extent victims of cyber aggression judged them to be effective. Effectiveness was measured in two ways: the extent to which the coping strategy buffered negative emotions, and the extent to which it stopped the cyber aggression. The subsample of 422 respondents (68% girls) who experienced online attacks was divided into two groups: victims of cyberbullying, who experienced long-term and severe victimization, and victims of less severe online harassment. The selection of strategies was compared between these groups and the most prevalent and effective strategies were identified. Overall, respondents in both groups used more than one strategy at once, but for victims of cyberbullying, most of the strategies proved less effective. Both groups showed similar patterns in their use of technical solutions, and both quite frequently sought social support. Also, both groups showed a low tendency for retaliation. Large differences were found in how respondents employed cognitive responses, such as trying to detach mentally from bullying incidents; these strategies were less frequent among victims of cyberbullying. In terms of effectiveness, victims of harassment considered technical solutions such as blocking contacts on social websites, seeking support, or ignoring the bully on purpose the most effective in stopping victimization, as opposed to victims of cyberbullying, who found them less effective, even though they used them as frequently as victims of online harassment. Differences in the effectiveness of coping strategies are discussed with regard to the intervention and prevention of cyberbullying.

Fluid Versus Fixed: A New Perspective on Bisexuality as a Fluid Sexual Orientation Beyond Gender

Sexual orientation has been conceptualized by Ross and Paul (1992) as fixed in terms of sex object (exclusively heterosexual or homosexual) versus fluid (bisexuals, for whom sex of partner may be unimportant). The authors of the present article investigated characteristics of 1,913 young men and women with fixed and fluid sexual orientation recruited in an Internet-based study of sexual behavior in Sweden. One half of the respondents were students at a major Swedish university. Data indicated that women were twice as likely as men to report a fluid orientation. There were major differences between men and women, with maximal fluidity in the 25 to 34 age range, fluid women being more likely to be urban and not religious, and fluid men reporting higher education levels. Higher sexual partner numbers were associated with fluidity in women but fixedness in men. For both, living away from the family was associated with fluidity. These data suggest that fluidity is more prevalent in women, and that it may be associated not with an unformed sexual preference but with an expanding one in the midtwenties. Conceptualizing sexual orientation as fixed or fluid may be a useful alternative approach to conceptualization of sexual orientation as homosexual, heterosexual, or bisexual.

Outcomes of using the internet for sexual purposes: fulfilment of sexual desires

BACKGROUND The purpose of the current study was to examine the characteristics of those who report fulfillment of sexual desires as a result of internet use for sexual purposes and which sexually related online activities contribute to the fulfillment of sexual desires. METHODS Data were collected through a questionnaire posted on Swedish-language websites in 2009. The sample comprised 1614 respondents who reported using the internet for sexual purposes, 62% women and 38% men. RESULTS The results showed that the majority of the respondents had their sexual desires fulfilled as a result of their sexually related activities on the internet; 21% to a great extent and 59% to a small extent, but 20% did not have their sexual desires fulfilled. Using a multinomial logistic regression analysis, respondents who had their sexual desires fulfilled to a small or great extent were each compared with those who did not have their sexual desires fulfilled at all. At the level of individual characteristics and sexual behaviours, those with no fulfillment of their sexual desires did not differ from those who had their sexual desires fulfilled, with the exceptions of age and masturbation. In comparison to fulfillment to a small extent, fulfillment of sexual desires to a great extent was predicted by a larger number of sexually related online activities that were based on interaction. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that the internet may contribute to fulfillment of sexual desires among a large internet population, irrespective of sex or sexual identity.

Bothersome Exposure to Online Sexual Content Among Adolescent Girls

Prior research suggests that adolescent girls may react more negatively to online sexual content than boys. This study explored the qualitative experiences of adolescent girls who encountered bothersome or disturbing sexual content online. Fourteen girls (aged 15-17 years) were interviewed online about the context in which they saw bothersome sexual material and the reasons for their negative reactions. Results showed that participants felt bothered while using the Internet at home and in public, while engaging in online exploration, information seeking, or chatting with new acquaintances. Participants were also bothered when the sexual content portrayed sex of an extreme nature, seemed inappropriate for their age, broke norms for establishing romantic relationships, or threatened their home life. The impact of these experiences is discussed, especially in light of the participants’ statements that they did not tell their parents or guardians about their experiences with bothersome online content.

The complexity of internet sexuality.

Research has shown men and women of all ages and sexual orientations to use the Internet for sexual purposes. For example, the Internet is used to access pornography, to find sex-related information, to purchase sexual merchandise, and to find partners for romance and sex. The specific characteristics of the medium have made it attractive for engaging in sexual behaviors that are regulated by societal and cultural norms offline. Thus, the Internet has made it easier to explore and express ones sexuality at less risk of negative personal sanctions. In this regard, the technological innovation has meant a sexual revolution, particularly for disenfranchised groups. While generally being perceived as positive, concerns have been raised about potential risks associated with the Internet. The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with an empirical and theoretical overview of the first 15 years of research in the field of Internet sexuality.