The development of adolescents’ online sexual risk behavior and its relationship to negative online experiences

The aim of this study was to investigate developmental pathways of online sexual risk behavior from early to late adolescence. Moreover, this study examined how these trajectories are related to negative online experiences, such as online sexual solicitation, online harassment, and online rumination. A four-wave longitudinal study with a representative sample of 1,762 Dutch adolescents aged 12 to 17 was conducted. Group-based modeling revealed three distinct developmental pathways. One group of adolescents showed no online sexual risk behavior during adolescence, a second group showed low levels and the third group high levels of online sexual risk behavior. The high online risk group followed the typical adolescence-limited developmental pathway with a peak in risk engagement in mid-adolescence. Further analyses suggested that engagement in online sexual risk behaviors is related to three types of negative online experiences: online sexual solicitation, online harassment, and online rumination.