Emotional reaction before involuntary exposure to cibersex in adolescents: modulator factors

The advances in information and communication technologies during the last years have facilitated a widespread use of the Internet. Adolescents use the Internet as a natural and regular way to communicate, entertain and perform school tasks. Although many benefits may derive from the use of the Internet, it is necessary to consider that it is not exempt from risks such as involuntary exposure (IE) to sexual material. Given the consequences that such exposure can have (especially at early ages), our objective has been to analyze the main emotional reactions during the IE to sexual material, exploring possible differences according to gender, the age of the first IE and the previous use of pornography. Method: 284 adolescents (47.9% boys; 52.1% girls) aged 13-17 years (mean=14.8; SD=0.98), completed an ad hoc questionnaire for the evaluation of different dimensions involved in IE to sexual contents. Results: 85.9% affirmed to have been exposed involuntarily to sexual material on the Internet, being the mean age of the first exhibition of 12.1 years (SD = 1.66). Among the main emotional reactions, surprise (53.3%), disgust (37.6%), shock (21.9%) and confusion (21.9%) stand out. Likewise, 20.2% experienced interest or distraction, 19.1% embarrassed and 19% became sexually aroused. Gender analysis shows significant differences in feeling disgust (Chi2=39.37; p=0.000), interest or distraction (Chi2=21.59; p=0.000), sexual arousal (Chi2=38.62; p=0.000), shame (Chi2=15.86; p=0.000), shock (Chi2=12.59; p=0.000) and confusion (Chi2=4.21; p=0.040). Depending on the age, significant negative correlations are obtained between the age of the first IE and experiencing interest or distraction (Rho=-0.202; p=0.006) or feeling sexual arousal (Rho=-0.273; p=0.000). Based on having used pornographic material previously, there are differences in feelings of disgust (Chi2=25.14; p=0.000), interest or distraction (Chi2=26.19; p=0.000), sexual arousal (Chi2=39.93; p=0.000), shame (Chi2=13.60; p=0.000) and shock (Chi2=4.74; p=0.029). Conclusions: The emotional reactions of adolescents to online sexual content involuntarily are different depending on variables such as gender, the age of the first IE and the previous use of pornographic material. Knowing those variables that modulate these reactions is fundamental to implement sex education programs in keeping with the reality of our adolescents, which may minimize the negative impact caused by the IE on their psychosexual developmen