Block? Delete? All of the above? The self-protective behaviors of young adult cyberstalking victims
| Date | 02 August 2024 |
| Pages | 301-315 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-03-2024-0891 |
| Published date | 02 August 2024 |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Aggression,conflict & peace,Sociology,Gender studies,Gender violence,Political sociology,policy & social change,Social conflicts,War/peace |
| Author | Erica R. Fissel,Jin R. Lee |
Block? Delete? All of the above? The
self-protective behaviors of young adult
cyberstalking victims
Erica R. Fissel and Jin R. Lee
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to understand the self-protective behaviors of young adult
cyberstalkingvictims and the factors that impact adoptionof such behaviors.
Design/methodology/approach –This study used a sample of880 young adults (18–25 years of age)
who had experienced cyberstalking victimization within the previous 12months. Data were collected
throughan online self-report survey hostedon Qualtrics from Amazon’s MechanicalTurk workers.
Findings –Results revealedthat three-quarters of cyberstalking victims engagedin at least one form of
self-protective behavior.The most commonly adopted self-protective behavior was blocking unwanted
communicationsonly (29%), while 40% of cyberstalking victims notedengaging in multiple forms of self-
protective behaviors.While results varied across models, findings revealed thatincident characteristics
and respondent characteristics impacted the likelihood of engaging in self-protective behaviors after a
cyberstalkingvictimization experience.
Originality/value –This study contributes to the literature examining the self-protective behaviors
adopted by cyberstalkingvictims, which can shed light on other forms of cyber abuse and help explain
victims’low reporting rates to official sources (e.g. law enforcement).
Keywords Well-being, Prevention, Consequences, Victimization, Cyberstalking,
Self-protective behaviors
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Cyberstalking, which is commonly defined as repeated unwanted pursuit behaviors
conducted through communication technologies (e.g. Fissel et al.,2024;Nobles et al.,
2014;Reyns et al.,2012), is a concerning public health problem experienced by both youth
and adults around the world (e.g. Kaur et al., 2021;Morgan and Truman, 2022;Pereira
et al.,2016
;Statistics Canada, 2016;Vakhitovaet al.,2020). In fact, a Pew Research Center
study found that over 40% of US adults experienced some form of cyberstalking or online
harassment within their lifetime (Duggan, 2017), which is estimated to be more common
than offline stalking or harassment(Short et al.,2014;Vakhitovaet al.,2020).
Cyberstalking has generated considerable attention from both researchers and
practitioners due to its numerous health consequences, including depression, insecurity,
sleeplessness and social withdrawal(Dreßing et al., 2014;Fissel and Reyns, 2020;Sheridan
and Grant, 2007;Short et al.,2014,2015;Tokunaga and Aune, 2017;Worsley et al., 2017;
Vakhitova et al.,2020). Yet, results consistently reveal that only a small portionof those who
experience cyberstalking report their victimization incident(s) to law enforcement (e.g.
Brady et al.,2023;Fissel, 2021;Reyns and Englebrecht, 2010). Given the various harms
and lack of official reporting or formalhelp-seeking behavior, it is plausible that victims may
Erica R. Fissel is based at
the ICF, Tallahassee,
Florida, USA. Jin R. Lee is
based at the Department of
Criminology, Law and
Society, George Mason
University, Fairfax, Virginia,
USA.
Received 31 March 2024
Revised 21 May 2024
2 July 2024
Accepted 2 July 2024
This paper forms part of a
special section “Cyberviolence:
a plague of victimization and
exploitation online”, guest
edited by Catherine Marcum
and Kyung-Shick Choi.
DOI 10.1108/JACPR-03-2024-0891 VOL. 16 NO. 4 2024, pp. 301-315, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1759-6599 jJOURNAL OF AGGRESSION, CONFLICT AND PEACE RESEARCH jPAGE 301
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