Abstract:

Cyber culture with its related e-commerce, expanded since the 2000s through the advent of social network platforms, incites participants to engage in hyper-exposure and spectacularization of their private lives, with inherent consequences for personal image and privacy, publicizing private matters (especially those pertaining to sexuality and corporality) in the digital media. This raises the need to understand how the phenomenon of cyber dating abuse in affective and sexual relationships is conceptualized and characterized in scientific studies, which health problems are associated with it, and which social technologies are suggested for intervention. This form of abuse is a new expression of intimate partner violence that involves, among other practices, posting embarrassing photos and videos and intimate messages without prior consent, with the purpose of humiliating and defaming the person. The current study is an integrative systematic review, including 35 articles, with a predominance of studies in the United States (22). Types of cyber dating abuse range from direct aggression to stalking. Despite the high prevalence, especially among adolescents and youth, the literature highlights that this type of cyber abuse is often taken for granted. The suggested interventions are mostly for prevention and awareness-raising concerning relationship abuse, action by school counselors, and family orientation. The high reciprocity of cyber dating abuse between males and females indicates that future studies should attempt to elucidate how the dynamics of gender violence are reproduced or subverted by it.

Keywords:
Intimate Partner Violence; Social Networking; Internet; Adolescent

Introduction

Contemporary sociability has been radically transformed by the virtualization of relationships, mediated by communications cyber-technologies, allowing new spaces for commercial, informational, aesthetic, sexual, and affective-amorous exchanges and political activism ¹1. Castells M. A galáxia da internet: reflexões sobre a internet, os negócios e a sociedade. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar; 2003.. The social relationships achieved by the worldwide web (Internet or cyberspace) establish a peculiar culture. As defined by Lévy ²2. Lévy P. Cibercultura. São Paulo: Editora 34; 2010., cyber culture is the set of techniques (material and intellectual), practices, attitudes, mindsets, and values that develop together with the growth of cyberspace.

As in any techno-scientific process, the successively incorporated transformations produce qualitative leaps in the modes of operating and reproducing technologies. Popularization of the Internet began in 1980 and has expanded exponentially since the 2000s. This phase, called “web 3.0”, involves platforms focused on social networks, backed by a new category of devices (smartphones, tablets) allowing faster connection, wireless remote access (wi-fi and wi-max), home networks, and Bluetooth and self-updating technologies ³3. Bolesina I, Gervasoni TA. Internet, cibercultura e pós-modernidade: primeiros nós de uma nova rede contextual. In: Anais do 3º Congresso Internacional de Direito e Contemporaneidade: Mídias e Direitos da Sociedade em Rede. Santa Maria: Universidade Federal de Santa Maria; 2015. p. 1-15.^,44. Lemos A. Cibercultura e mobilidade: a era da conexão. In: Intercom. XXVIII Congresso Brasileiro de Ciência da Comunicação. Rio de Janeiro: Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro; 2005. p. 1-17.. They allow not only instant connection, but also personal mobility, so that anyone has the freedom to express, produce, distribute, and share data, photos, videos, and text messages anytime, anywhere.

In cyber culture, the ubiquity of information, interconnected interactive documents, and reciprocal and asynchronous telecommunications within and between groups make cyberspace the vector of an open universe ²2. Lévy P. Cibercultura. São Paulo: Editora 34; 2010..

Still, just as it allows the “free expression” of ideas and lifestyles that allow all manner of human association and democratic access to information, the development of technologies capable of tracking personal data, attitudes, and tastes provides a unique opportunity for insistent marketing by diverse companies; this function is the backbone of cyber culture, establishing a kind of unprecedented “market panoptic” ⁵5. Keen A. Vertigem digital: por que as redes sociais estão nos dividindo, diminuindo e desorientando. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar; 2012..

Cyber culture’s critics also contend that it uses its own logic and grammar to urge participants to engage in hyper-exposure of their identities and spectacularization of their private lives, with inherent consequences for personal image and privacy ³3. Bolesina I, Gervasoni TA. Internet, cibercultura e pós-modernidade: primeiros nós de uma nova rede contextual. In: Anais do 3º Congresso Internacional de Direito e Contemporaneidade: Mídias e Direitos da Sociedade em Rede. Santa Maria: Universidade Federal de Santa Maria; 2015. p. 1-15.^,66. Abreu CL. Hipervisibilidade e self-disclosure: novas texturas da experiência social nas redes digitais. Visualidades 2015; 13:194-219.. In this context, individuals routinely take for granted the practice of posting all kinds of information to a multitude of spectators, including accidents, demonstrations, trips, requited or unrequited affairs, falling into and out of amorous and sexual relationships, and intimate photos and videos.

It is thus possible to associate cyber culture with the concept of “society of the spectacle”, coined by Debord ⁷7. Debord G. A sociedade do espetáculo (1931-1994). http://www.cisc.org.br/portal/biblioteca/socespetaculo.pdf (acessado em 30/Jul/2016).
http://www.cisc.org.br/portal/biblioteca... . Still, it is no longer a matter of appropriation of the real through representation of the world via use of the mass media. In cyber culture, simulation is a path to the appropriation of the real (virtual reality). We change from mere observers marveling at the work (society of the spectacle) to agents of the work itself, as navigators, explorers, and actors (society of simulation) ⁴4. Lemos A. Cibercultura e mobilidade: a era da conexão. In: Intercom. XXVIII Congresso Brasileiro de Ciência da Comunicação. Rio de Janeiro: Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro; 2005. p. 1-17..

On-line virtual communities allow rallying around common interests, regardless of borders or fixed territorial demarcations, establishing a symbolic territory of belonging and sharing ⁸8. Lemos A, Lévy P. O futuro da internet: em direção a uma ciber democracia planetária. São Paulo: Paulus; 2010..

On-line social relationships are based on “hyper-visibility” of personal life on the media, posting private, intimate affairs in the digital media, especially related to sexuality and the body ⁵5. Keen A. Vertigem digital: por que as redes sociais estão nos dividindo, diminuindo e desorientando. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar; 2012.. If being left out of on-line social networks is tantamount to exclusion and viewed as antisocial behavior, participating in these same networks is hardly synonymous with the expansion of real ties of solidarity or face-to-face contact.

“...paradoxically, our experience of global connectedness is not turning us into more ‘social’ persons. There is little evidence that networks such as Facebook, Skype, Instagram, or Twitter is making us more compassionate or tolerant; on the contrary, such spaces are commonly used for disrespectful, violent, or discriminatory practices against certain social groups, showing that the discourses that feed prejudices are not static, but are updated and reproduced at the same speed with which we incorporate such technologies into our daily practices” ⁶6. Abreu CL. Hipervisibilidade e self-disclosure: novas texturas da experiência social nas redes digitais. Visualidades 2015; 13:194-219. (p. 198).

On-line interactions can also serves as conduits for practices of discrimination and violence, especially between close persons such as peers and intimate partners. The violence occurring in teenage affective and sexual relationships began to draw more attention from the scientific community in the United States and Europe in the late 1990s and is acknowledged to have serious repercussions on the lives and health of those that experience it ⁹9. Ball B, Holland KM, Marshall KJ, Lippy C, Jain S, Souders K, et al. Implementing a targeted teen dating abuse prevention program: challenges and successes experienced by expect respect facilitators. J Adolesc Health 2015, 56(2 Suppl 2):S40-6.^,1010. Foshee VA, Reyes HLM, Ennett ST, Cance JD, Bauman KE, Bowling JM. Assessing the effects of families for safe dates, a family-based teen dating abuse prevention program. J Adolesc Health 2012; 51:349-56.^,1111. Wykes M. Constructing crime: culture, stalking, celebrity and cyber. Crime Media Culture 2007; 3:158-74.^,1212. Botelho LLR, Cunha CCA, Macedo M. O método da revisão integrativa nos estudos organizacionais. Gestão e Sociedade 2011; 5:121-36.^,1313. Whittemore R, Knafl K. The integrative review: updated methodology. J Adv Nurs 2005; 52:546-53.. According to recent studies, 20% to 50% of American teenagers have already experienced some situation of violence during intimate relationships ¹⁴14. Powers J, Kerman E. Teen dating violence. Ithaca: Cornell University; 2006. (Research Facts and Findings)., thus attracting the scientific community’s attention to cyber dating abuse.

Such episodes range from threats to insults in on-line social media and even the posting of photos, videos, intimate messages without prior consent, with the aim of humiliating and defaming the person, as wells as controlling the person’s posts and communications ¹⁵15. Nascimento FS, Cordeiro RLM. Violência no namoro para jovens moradores de Recife. Psicol Soc 2011; 23:516-25.^,1616. Exner-Cortens D, Eckenrode J, Rotchman E. Longitudinal associations between teen dating violence victimization and adverse health outcomes. Pediatrics 2013; 131:71-8.^,1717. Manuel SCG. A violência no namoro entre jovens adultos [Dissertação de Mestrado]. Porto: Universidade do Porto; 2014..

We concur with Dick et al. ¹⁸18. Dick RN, McCauley HL, Jones KA, Tancredi DJ, Goldstein S, Blackburn S, et al. Cyber dating abuse among teens using school-based health centers. Pediatrics 2014; 134:e1560-7., Lucero et al. ¹⁹19. Lucero JL, Weisz AN, Smith-Darden J, Lucero SM. Exploring gender differences: socially interactive technology use/abuse among dating teens. Affilia 2014; 29:478-91., Zweig et al. ²⁰20. Zweig JM, Lachman P, Yahner J, Dank M. Correlates of cyber dating abuse among teens. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:1306-21., and Schnurr et al. ²¹21. Schnurr MP, Mahatmya D, Basche RA. The role of dominance, cyber aggression perpetration, and gender on emerging adults' perpetration of intimate partner violence. Psychol Violence 2013; 3:70-83. that cyber dating abuse is a new form of intimate partner violence and not merely a form of cyberbullying. However, as some studies have demonstrated, this does not rule out an association between these phenomena, i.e., persons that have suffered bullying or cyberbullying have higher odds of also suffering cyber dating abuse ²²22. Durán M, Martínez-Pecino R. Ciberacoso mediante telefono móvil e Internet en las relaciones de noviazgo entre jóvenes. Comunicar 2015; XXII:159-67..

Cyberbullying is a form of bullying that is limited to peer relationships ²³23. Shariff S. Ciberbullying: questões e soluções para a escola, a sala de aula e a família. Porto Alegre: Editora Artmed; 2011.^,2424. Smith PK. Cyberbullying: the European perspective. In: Mora-Merchan J, Jaeger T, editors. Cyberbullying: a cross-national comparison. Landau: Verlag Emprische Padagogik; 2010. p. 7-19. and also constitutes a recent phenomenon, whose studies and first publications date back only about five years, especially in Europe and the United States ²⁵25. Wendt GW, Lisboa CSM. Compreendendo o fenômeno do cyberbullying. Trends Psychol 2014; 22:39-54.^,2626. Ybarra ML, Boyd D, Korchmaros JD, Oppenheim J. Defining and measuring cyberbullying within the larger context of bullying victimization. J Adolesc Health 2012; 51:53-8.^,2727. Garaigordobil M. Prevalencia y consecuencias del cyberbullying: una revisión. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy 2011; 11:233-54.^,2828. Sourander A, Brunstein Klomek A, Ikonen M, Lindroos J, Luntamo T, Koskelainen M, et al. Psychosocial risk factors associated with cyberbullying among adolescents: a population-based study. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2010; 67:720-8.. There is thus no consensus on it definition, even among the authors that have attempted to define the phenomenon ²⁴24. Smith PK. Cyberbullying: the European perspective. In: Mora-Merchan J, Jaeger T, editors. Cyberbullying: a cross-national comparison. Landau: Verlag Emprische Padagogik; 2010. p. 7-19.^,2929. Mishna F, Khroury-Kassabri M, Gadalla T, Daciuk J. Risk factors for involvement in cyber bullying: victims, bullies and bully-victims. Child Youth Serv Rev 2012; 34:63-70.^,3030. Hinduja S, Patchin JW. Bullying beyond the schoolyard: preventing and responding to cyberbullying. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press; 2009..

Cyber dating abuse also uses digital media to communicate, but it is not limited to peer relationships (for example, there are lovers with wide age differences), besides also appearing in adult relationships (which rarely occurs in cyberbullying). Audience (exposure to witnesses) plays an important role in the power dynamics and humiliation in cyberbullying, which does not necessarily occur in cyber dating abuse. This form of cyber abuse occurs specifically between amorous and sexual partners or ex-partners (which does not apply to bullying) - which implies relationships of intimacy and trust of a different order than those involving peers, classmates, or friends. As emphasized by Zweig et al. ²⁰20. Zweig JM, Lachman P, Yahner J, Dank M. Correlates of cyber dating abuse among teens. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:1306-21., the capacity to readily share private information and intimate sexual matters concerning the partner can intensify a qualitatively different experience for the person that lives it.

The way the contents of cyber dating abuse are posted on the Internet makes it difficult to identify authorship, hold the perpetrators accountable, or prevent on-going reproduction of the same material in other digital media, accessed around the globe, even months or years later.

As reported in previous studies, teenagers are extremely vulnerable to these modalities of violence. On-line sociability is particularly appealing to teenagers, whose identity-building incorporates the Internet into their daily routine, where they use it to express and expose themselves ³¹31. Bonomi AE, Anderson ML, Nemeth J, Bartle-Haring S, Buettner C, Schipper D. Dating violence victimization across the teen years: abuse frequency, number of abusive partners, and age at first occurrence. BMC Public Health 2012; 12:637.. On-line technologies incite teenagers into engaging in hyper-exposure of their image, voluntarily and without any critical or protective filters. Thus, postings with intimate contents can be replicated successively to others ³²32. Barros SC, Ribeiro PRC, Quadrado RP. Sexting: entendendo sua condição de emergência. EXEDRA Revista Científica ESEC 2014; (Supl):192-213..

Knowing the state of the art on cyber dating abuse can foster a better understanding of this rather opaque phenomenon, supporting measures to empower young people to reflect critically on the hyper-visibility of intimacy in on-line relationships, as well to reflect on new forms of intimate partner violence, now also mediated by the Internet.

This study aims to elucidate how the scientific literature on cyber dating abuse has defined the phenomenon, the terms used for it, the implications for health, and proposed social intervention technologies.

Methodology

The current article is based on an integrative literature review. This form of systematic review includes studies performed with widely differing methodologies, aiming to analyze the accumulated knowledge from previous research on a given topic and allowing the generation of new knowledge ³³33. Wanzinack C, Scremin SF. Sexting: comportamento e imagem do corpo. Divers@! Revista Eletrônica Interdisciplinar 2014; 7:22-9.. An integrative review thus shows the state of the art on a theme and contributes to the development of new theories ³⁴34. Freitas KKN. A pornografia de vingança e a culpabilização das vítimas pela mídia. In: Intercom. XVII Congresso de Ciências da Comunicação na Região Nordeste. Natal: Universidade Potiguar; 2015. p. 1-12..

We adopted the six phases described by Botelho et al. ¹²12. Botelho LLR, Cunha CCA, Macedo M. O método da revisão integrativa nos estudos organizacionais. Gestão e Sociedade 2011; 5:121-36.. The first was the elaboration of the research question, which orients the article search and description of the sources. This study’s research questions were the following: “Which concepts and terms are attributed to cyber dating abuse?”; “How do the studies characterize cyber dating abuse (types, experiences, and consequences)?”; “What health implications are cited for those involved?” and; “What types of social intervention technologies are proposed?”.

The second phase was the definition of inclusion criteria for the articles: presence in the databases of the Virtual Health Library (BVS), MEDLINE, PubMed, and Capes Periodicals; any publication year up to and including 2016; any nationality; any language; and availability for printout. The descriptors were: Cyber Dating Abuse (CDA); Cyber Dating Abuse (AND) Revenge Porn (CDARP); Cyber Dating Abuse (AND) Sexting (CDAS); Cyber Dating Aggression (CDAgg); and Teen Dating (AND) Cyber Abuse (TDCA). Articles that did not meet the respective study objectives were excluded.

The third phase involved a careful reading of the titles, abstracts, and key words for all the selected articles. After reading each article and eliminating the duplicates, 35 articles were selected (Table 1).

The fourth phase was the elaboration of a summary matrix of the selected studies based on the following variables: source/year, reference, country, key words, and database and source, objectives, and methodology of the study.

In the fifth phase, the articles were classified according to the established categories: conceptualization/terminology, characterization, and social intervention technologies. The sixth phase was the synthesis of all the knowledge according to the categorization.

Results and discussion

Characterization of the collection of articles

As shown in Tables 2 and 3, studies on cyber dating abuse are very recent, the oldest dating to 2010, and were mostly conducted by institutions from the United States (22), followed by Spain (6), Belgium (4), United Kingdom (1), Italy (1), and Czech Republic (1).

The largest share of the articles were cross-sectional studies (12), followed by literature reviews (5), surveys (5), longitudinal studies (3), case-control studies (2), quantitative studies (2), an essay (1), and an analysis of a quantitative and qualitative database (1), and only 4 articles adopting an exclusively qualitative methodology.

Importantly, the literature search focused intentionally on the phenomenon of cyber dating abuse and excluded the usual forms of cyberbullying, thus highlighting cyber dating abuse as a new expression of intimate partner violence. Table 4 shows the wide variety of terms in the scientific analysis of the phenomenon, where cyber dating abuse is described as follows: cyber dating violence/abuse (the most frequent term); on-line dating abuse; cyber aggression; cyber harassment/cyber stalking, intimate partner cyber harassment, technology-based abuse, electronic dating aggression/cyber-stalking, technology, and dating conflict, technology-assisted adolescent dating violence and abuse (TAADVA), digital forms of dating abuse, socially interactive technologies (SITS) abuse/violence, and partner cyber abuse, showing that the phenomenon has still not been sufficiently acknowledged and explored scientifically, and that researchers are still identifying its characteristics.

Since the phenomenon has still not been sufficiently defined in the scientific literature, as shown in Table 4, cyber dating abuse - based on the reviewed literature - can be described as follows: a new expression of intimate partner violence; an emerging phenomenon with specific characteristics and elements that are different from the violence that takes place in face-a-face amorous exchange and cyberbullying, perpetrated through Internet and digital technologies with no geographic or temporal barriers to its expression, intended to harm the partner, and with relevant consequences for the victims’ mental health.

As further shown in Table 4, the following types of cyber abuse are identified: (1) direct aggression and control; (2) association with other traditional types of intimate partner violence; and (3) interaction between cyber abuse and sexting.

Direct aggression involves deliberate behaviors through the use of technologies that allow access to the social media, intended to harm the partner through threats, insults, dissemination of private information, including personal photos and videos, and identity theft through the creation of a false profile for the current or former partner on a social network, and control/monitoring or stalking or invasion of the current partner or former partner’s privacy in order to track the last connection or use the partner’s password without their consent to check their e-mail, messages, phone contacts, social network, or even to monitor their location with a global positioning system (GPS), through insistent phone contacts, or posting photos and videos intended to humiliate and embarrass the partner or ex-partner ¹⁹19. Lucero JL, Weisz AN, Smith-Darden J, Lucero SM. Exploring gender differences: socially interactive technology use/abuse among dating teens. Affilia 2014; 29:478-91.^,2222. Durán M, Martínez-Pecino R. Ciberacoso mediante telefono móvil e Internet en las relaciones de noviazgo entre jóvenes. Comunicar 2015; XXII:159-67.^,3535. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Justification beliefs of violence, myths about love and cyber dating abuse. Psicothema 2015; 27:327-33.^,3636. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Cyber dating abuse: prevalence, context, and relationship with off-line dating aggression. Psychological Reports: Relationships & Communications 2015; 116:565-85.^,3737. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Pereda N, Calvete E. The development and validation of the cyber dating abuse questionnaire among young couples. Comput Human Behav 2015; 48:358-65.^,4141. Miller E, Goldstein S, McCauley HL, Jones KA, Dick RN, Jetton J, et al. A school health center intervention for abusive adolescent relationships: a cluster RCT. Pediatrics 2015; 135:76-85.^,4242. Van Ouytsel J, Ponnet K, Walrave M. Cyber dating abuse victimization among secondary school students from a lifestyle-routine activities theory perspective. J Interpers Violence 2016; pii:0886260516629390. [Epub ahead of print].^,4343. Van Ouytsel J, Walrave M, Ponnet K, Temple JR. Digital forms of dating violence: what school nurses need to know. NASN Sch Nurse 2016; pii:1942602X16659907. [Epub ahead of print].^,4646. Jackson J, Randell KA, Miller MK. Adolescent relationship abuse: how to identify and assist at-risk youth in the emergency department. Clin Pediatr Emerg Med 2016; 16:113-8.^,4747. Marganski A, Melander L. Intimate partner violence victimization in the cyber and real world: examining the extent of cyber aggression experiences and in-person dating violence. J Interpers Violence 2015; pii:0886260515614283. [Epub ahead of print].^,4848. Martínez-Pecino R, Dúran M. I love you but I cyberbully you: the role of hostile sexism. J Interpers Violence 2016; pii:0886260516645817. [Epub ahead of print].^,4949. Melander LA. College students' perceptions of intimate pertner cyber harassment. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 2010; 13:263-9.^,5050. Miller E, McCauley HL. Adolescent relationship abuse and reproductive and sexual coercion among teen. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol 2013; 25:364-9.^,5151. Murray CE, King K, Crowe A. Understanding and addressing teen dating violence: implications for family counselors. Fam J Alex Va 2016; 24:52-9.^,5252. Reed LA, Tolman RM, Ward LM. Snooping and sexting: digital media as a context for dating aggression and abuse among college students. Violence Against Women 2016; 22:1556-76.^,5353. Rueda HA, Lindsay M, Williams LR. "She posted it on facebook": Mexican American adolescents' experiences with technology and romantic relationship conflict. J Adolesc Res 2015; 30:419-45.^,5454. Stonard KE, Bowen E, Lawrence TR, Price SA. The relevance of technology to the nature, prevalence and impact of adolescent dating violence and abuse: a research synthesis. Aggress Violent Behav 2014; 19:390-417.^,5555. Taylor KA, Sullivan TN, Farrell AD. Longitudinal relationships between individual and class norms supporting dating violence and perpetration of dating violence. J Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:745-60.^,5656. Temple JR, Choi HJ, Brem M, Wolford-Clevenger C, Stuart GL, Peskin MF, et al. The temporal association between traditional and cyber dating abuse among adolescents. J Youth Adolesc 2016; 45:340-9..

According to Borrajo et al. ³⁶36. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Cyber dating abuse: prevalence, context, and relationship with off-line dating aggression. Psychological Reports: Relationships & Communications 2015; 116:565-85. on the dynamics of such dissemination, more than 50% of the reported cases of cyber dating abuse were practiced via message services or message apps like Whatsapp, 40% via social networks like Facebook, and 7% via e-mail. This distribution also shows young people’s preference for certain social media ⁵5. Keen A. Vertigem digital: por que as redes sociais estão nos dividindo, diminuindo e desorientando. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar; 2012..

Concerning cyber dating abuse and the association with traditional forms of intimate partner violence (“off-line violence”), the scientific findings suggest that victims of violence in the context of face-to-face amorous exchanges are also more prone to victimization by their partners in the on-line setting ³⁷37. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Pereda N, Calvete E. The development and validation of the cyber dating abuse questionnaire among young couples. Comput Human Behav 2015; 48:358-65.^,4040. Zweig JM, Dank M, Yahner J, Lachman P. The rate of cyber dating abuse among teens and how it relates to other forms of teen dating violence. J Youth Adolesc 2013; 42:1063-77.^,4242. Van Ouytsel J, Ponnet K, Walrave M. Cyber dating abuse victimization among secondary school students from a lifestyle-routine activities theory perspective. J Interpers Violence 2016; pii:0886260516629390. [Epub ahead of print].^,4343. Van Ouytsel J, Walrave M, Ponnet K, Temple JR. Digital forms of dating violence: what school nurses need to know. NASN Sch Nurse 2016; pii:1942602X16659907. [Epub ahead of print].^,4444. Van Ouytsel J, Walrave M, Ponnet K, Temple JR. Adolescent cyber dating abuse victimization and its association with substance use, and sexual behaviors. Public Health 2016; 135:147-51.^,4747. Marganski A, Melander L. Intimate partner violence victimization in the cyber and real world: examining the extent of cyber aggression experiences and in-person dating violence. J Interpers Violence 2015; pii:0886260515614283. [Epub ahead of print].^,4848. Martínez-Pecino R, Dúran M. I love you but I cyberbully you: the role of hostile sexism. J Interpers Violence 2016; pii:0886260516645817. [Epub ahead of print].^,4949. Melander LA. College students' perceptions of intimate pertner cyber harassment. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 2010; 13:263-9.^,5252. Reed LA, Tolman RM, Ward LM. Snooping and sexting: digital media as a context for dating aggression and abuse among college students. Violence Against Women 2016; 22:1556-76.^,5454. Stonard KE, Bowen E, Lawrence TR, Price SA. The relevance of technology to the nature, prevalence and impact of adolescent dating violence and abuse: a research synthesis. Aggress Violent Behav 2014; 19:390-417.^,5555. Taylor KA, Sullivan TN, Farrell AD. Longitudinal relationships between individual and class norms supporting dating violence and perpetration of dating violence. J Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:745-60.^,5656. Temple JR, Choi HJ, Brem M, Wolford-Clevenger C, Stuart GL, Peskin MF, et al. The temporal association between traditional and cyber dating abuse among adolescents. J Youth Adolesc 2016; 45:340-9.^,5757. Foshee VA, Benefield T, Dixon KS, Chang L, Senkomago V, Ennet ST, et al. The effects of moms and teens for safe dates (MTSD): a dating abuse prevention program for adolescents exposed to domestic violence. Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:995-1010.^,5858. Sánchez V, Muñoz-Fernández N, Vega E. Cyberdating in adolescence: the risks and the emotional harm of sexual cyberbehavior. Psychology, Society & Education 2015; 7:227-40.^,5959. McDonald R, Merrick MT. "Above all things, be glad and young": advancing research on violence in adolescence. Psychol Violence 2013; 3:289-96.^,6060. Patton DU, Hong JS, Ranney M, Patel S, Kelley C, Eschmann R, et al. Social media as a vector for youth violence: a review of the literature. Comput Human Behav 2014; 35:548-53.^,6161. Wolford-Clevenger C, Zapor H, Brasfield H, Febres J, Elmquist J, Brem M, et al. An examination of the partner cyber abuse questionnaire in a college student sample. Psychol Violence 2016; 6:156-62.^,6262. Wright MF. Cyber aggression within adolescents' romantic relationships: linkages to parental and partner attachment. J Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:37-47.. However, there is no consensus on which forms of face-to-face violence are determinant for cyber dating abuse in the relationship. The authors define “traditional forms of dating violence” as face-to-face relationships involving a range of violent and coercive behaviors, including verbal, physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, harassment, and stalking in the context of a past or current relationship ³⁷37. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Pereda N, Calvete E. The development and validation of the cyber dating abuse questionnaire among young couples. Comput Human Behav 2015; 48:358-65.^,4040. Zweig JM, Dank M, Yahner J, Lachman P. The rate of cyber dating abuse among teens and how it relates to other forms of teen dating violence. J Youth Adolesc 2013; 42:1063-77.^,4242. Van Ouytsel J, Ponnet K, Walrave M. Cyber dating abuse victimization among secondary school students from a lifestyle-routine activities theory perspective. J Interpers Violence 2016; pii:0886260516629390. [Epub ahead of print].^,4343. Van Ouytsel J, Walrave M, Ponnet K, Temple JR. Digital forms of dating violence: what school nurses need to know. NASN Sch Nurse 2016; pii:1942602X16659907. [Epub ahead of print].^,4444. Van Ouytsel J, Walrave M, Ponnet K, Temple JR. Adolescent cyber dating abuse victimization and its association with substance use, and sexual behaviors. Public Health 2016; 135:147-51.^,4747. Marganski A, Melander L. Intimate partner violence victimization in the cyber and real world: examining the extent of cyber aggression experiences and in-person dating violence. J Interpers Violence 2015; pii:0886260515614283. [Epub ahead of print].^,4848. Martínez-Pecino R, Dúran M. I love you but I cyberbully you: the role of hostile sexism. J Interpers Violence 2016; pii:0886260516645817. [Epub ahead of print].^,4949. Melander LA. College students' perceptions of intimate pertner cyber harassment. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 2010; 13:263-9.^,5252. Reed LA, Tolman RM, Ward LM. Snooping and sexting: digital media as a context for dating aggression and abuse among college students. Violence Against Women 2016; 22:1556-76.^,5454. Stonard KE, Bowen E, Lawrence TR, Price SA. The relevance of technology to the nature, prevalence and impact of adolescent dating violence and abuse: a research synthesis. Aggress Violent Behav 2014; 19:390-417.^,5555. Taylor KA, Sullivan TN, Farrell AD. Longitudinal relationships between individual and class norms supporting dating violence and perpetration of dating violence. J Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:745-60.^,5656. Temple JR, Choi HJ, Brem M, Wolford-Clevenger C, Stuart GL, Peskin MF, et al. The temporal association between traditional and cyber dating abuse among adolescents. J Youth Adolesc 2016; 45:340-9.^,5757. Foshee VA, Benefield T, Dixon KS, Chang L, Senkomago V, Ennet ST, et al. The effects of moms and teens for safe dates (MTSD): a dating abuse prevention program for adolescents exposed to domestic violence. Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:995-1010.^,5858. Sánchez V, Muñoz-Fernández N, Vega E. Cyberdating in adolescence: the risks and the emotional harm of sexual cyberbehavior. Psychology, Society & Education 2015; 7:227-40.^,5959. McDonald R, Merrick MT. "Above all things, be glad and young": advancing research on violence in adolescence. Psychol Violence 2013; 3:289-96.^,6060. Patton DU, Hong JS, Ranney M, Patel S, Kelley C, Eschmann R, et al. Social media as a vector for youth violence: a review of the literature. Comput Human Behav 2014; 35:548-53.^,6161. Wolford-Clevenger C, Zapor H, Brasfield H, Febres J, Elmquist J, Brem M, et al. An examination of the partner cyber abuse questionnaire in a college student sample. Psychol Violence 2016; 6:156-62.^,6262. Wright MF. Cyber aggression within adolescents' romantic relationships: linkages to parental and partner attachment. J Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:37-47..

Considering the ease and immediacy afforded by new on-line technologies for the dissemination of abusive content, young people can experience up to 23 different incidents of cyber dating abuse in less than 6 months ³⁶36. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Cyber dating abuse: prevalence, context, and relationship with off-line dating aggression. Psychological Reports: Relationships & Communications 2015; 116:565-85., with a predicted increase in the occurrence of such abuse given its indirect nature, the lack of geographic-temporal boundaries, and the frequent reciprocity of these acts ¹⁹19. Lucero JL, Weisz AN, Smith-Darden J, Lucero SM. Exploring gender differences: socially interactive technology use/abuse among dating teens. Affilia 2014; 29:478-91.^,3535. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Justification beliefs of violence, myths about love and cyber dating abuse. Psicothema 2015; 27:327-33.^,3636. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Cyber dating abuse: prevalence, context, and relationship with off-line dating aggression. Psychological Reports: Relationships & Communications 2015; 116:565-85.^,3737. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Pereda N, Calvete E. The development and validation of the cyber dating abuse questionnaire among young couples. Comput Human Behav 2015; 48:358-65.^,3939. Yahner J, Dank M, Zweig JM, Lachman P. The co-occurrence of physical and cyber dating violence and bullying among teens. J Interpers Violence 2015; 30:1079-89.^,4141. Miller E, Goldstein S, McCauley HL, Jones KA, Dick RN, Jetton J, et al. A school health center intervention for abusive adolescent relationships: a cluster RCT. Pediatrics 2015; 135:76-85.^,4545. Walrave M, Ponnet K, Van Ouytsel J, Gool EV, Heirman W, Verbeek A. Whether or not to engage in sexting: explaining adolescent sexting behavior by applying the prototype willingness model. Telematics and Informatics 2015; (32):796-808.^,5454. Stonard KE, Bowen E, Lawrence TR, Price SA. The relevance of technology to the nature, prevalence and impact of adolescent dating violence and abuse: a research synthesis. Aggress Violent Behav 2014; 19:390-417.^,5555. Taylor KA, Sullivan TN, Farrell AD. Longitudinal relationships between individual and class norms supporting dating violence and perpetration of dating violence. J Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:745-60.^,5656. Temple JR, Choi HJ, Brem M, Wolford-Clevenger C, Stuart GL, Peskin MF, et al. The temporal association between traditional and cyber dating abuse among adolescents. J Youth Adolesc 2016; 45:340-9.^,6161. Wolford-Clevenger C, Zapor H, Brasfield H, Febres J, Elmquist J, Brem M, et al. An examination of the partner cyber abuse questionnaire in a college student sample. Psychol Violence 2016; 6:156-62..

Although acknowledging this high prevalence, the literature has emphasized that cyber dating abuse among adolescents is often taken for granted and confused with “proof of love” and caring, where abusive behaviors involving control and intimidation are justified by a romanticized view of love ³⁵35. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Justification beliefs of violence, myths about love and cyber dating abuse. Psicothema 2015; 27:327-33.^,3636. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Cyber dating abuse: prevalence, context, and relationship with off-line dating aggression. Psychological Reports: Relationships & Communications 2015; 116:565-85.^,3737. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Pereda N, Calvete E. The development and validation of the cyber dating abuse questionnaire among young couples. Comput Human Behav 2015; 48:358-65. or as “just a joke” ³⁶36. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Cyber dating abuse: prevalence, context, and relationship with off-line dating aggression. Psychological Reports: Relationships & Communications 2015; 116:565-85.. Adolescents generally do not view the various forms of on-line emotional abuse and cyber control as violence, but as “annoying” behaviors by partners ¹⁹19. Lucero JL, Weisz AN, Smith-Darden J, Lucero SM. Exploring gender differences: socially interactive technology use/abuse among dating teens. Affilia 2014; 29:478-91..

Other studies also show high prevalence of cyber dating abuse victimization and perpetration in both males and females, but with distinct gender characteristics ³⁷37. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Pereda N, Calvete E. The development and validation of the cyber dating abuse questionnaire among young couples. Comput Human Behav 2015; 48:358-65., since women tend to practice “control and monitoring” ¹⁹19. Lucero JL, Weisz AN, Smith-Darden J, Lucero SM. Exploring gender differences: socially interactive technology use/abuse among dating teens. Affilia 2014; 29:478-91.^,3636. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Cyber dating abuse: prevalence, context, and relationship with off-line dating aggression. Psychological Reports: Relationships & Communications 2015; 116:565-85.^,5555. Taylor KA, Sullivan TN, Farrell AD. Longitudinal relationships between individual and class norms supporting dating violence and perpetration of dating violence. J Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:745-60.^,6161. Wolford-Clevenger C, Zapor H, Brasfield H, Febres J, Elmquist J, Brem M, et al. An examination of the partner cyber abuse questionnaire in a college student sample. Psychol Violence 2016; 6:156-62. while men tend to practice “direct aggression” by sharing the partner’s images and sexting messages ¹⁹19. Lucero JL, Weisz AN, Smith-Darden J, Lucero SM. Exploring gender differences: socially interactive technology use/abuse among dating teens. Affilia 2014; 29:478-91.^,2222. Durán M, Martínez-Pecino R. Ciberacoso mediante telefono móvil e Internet en las relaciones de noviazgo entre jóvenes. Comunicar 2015; XXII:159-67.^,4545. Walrave M, Ponnet K, Van Ouytsel J, Gool EV, Heirman W, Verbeek A. Whether or not to engage in sexting: explaining adolescent sexting behavior by applying the prototype willingness model. Telematics and Informatics 2015; (32):796-808.^,5252. Reed LA, Tolman RM, Ward LM. Snooping and sexting: digital media as a context for dating aggression and abuse among college students. Violence Against Women 2016; 22:1556-76.^,5353. Rueda HA, Lindsay M, Williams LR. "She posted it on facebook": Mexican American adolescents' experiences with technology and romantic relationship conflict. J Adolesc Res 2015; 30:419-45.^,5555. Taylor KA, Sullivan TN, Farrell AD. Longitudinal relationships between individual and class norms supporting dating violence and perpetration of dating violence. J Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:745-60.^,5656. Temple JR, Choi HJ, Brem M, Wolford-Clevenger C, Stuart GL, Peskin MF, et al. The temporal association between traditional and cyber dating abuse among adolescents. J Youth Adolesc 2016; 45:340-9.^,5858. Sánchez V, Muñoz-Fernández N, Vega E. Cyberdating in adolescence: the risks and the emotional harm of sexual cyberbehavior. Psychology, Society & Education 2015; 7:227-40.^,6262. Wright MF. Cyber aggression within adolescents' romantic relationships: linkages to parental and partner attachment. J Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:37-47.^,6363. Marganski A, Fauth K. Socially interactive technology and contemporary dating: a cross-cultural exploration of deviant behaviors among young adults in the modern, evolving technological world. Int Crim Justice Rev 2013; 23:357-77.^,6464. Morelli M, Bianchi D, Baiocco R, Pezzuti L, Chiumbolo A. Sexting, psychological distress and dating violence among adolescents and young adults. Psicothema 2016; 28:137-42. after the relationship ends, making revenge porn “viral” ¹⁹19. Lucero JL, Weisz AN, Smith-Darden J, Lucero SM. Exploring gender differences: socially interactive technology use/abuse among dating teens. Affilia 2014; 29:478-91.^,3535. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Justification beliefs of violence, myths about love and cyber dating abuse. Psicothema 2015; 27:327-33..

Another issue that apparently affects girls and boys differently is the intensity ³⁵35. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Justification beliefs of violence, myths about love and cyber dating abuse. Psicothema 2015; 27:327-33. with which girls experience the emotional consequences of cyber dating abuse, although there are no significant gender differences in the justifications offered for it (jealousy, “joking”, payback, or anger and the desire to cause harm) ³⁶36. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Cyber dating abuse: prevalence, context, and relationship with off-line dating aggression. Psychological Reports: Relationships & Communications 2015; 116:565-85..

In a study of teenagers by Lucero et al. ¹⁹19. Lucero JL, Weisz AN, Smith-Darden J, Lucero SM. Exploring gender differences: socially interactive technology use/abuse among dating teens. Affilia 2014; 29:478-91., for girls, “monitoring” is a crucial component of the amorous relationship, and they often create false profiles in social networks in order to monitor photos, e-mail, messages, and whatever they can find out about what their boyfriends have been doing in cyberspace. Just as they believe that sharing passwords is a sign of trust, love, and commitment to the relationship, in this context, erasing other girls’ messages from the boyfriend’s cellphone is quite common ¹⁹19. Lucero JL, Weisz AN, Smith-Darden J, Lucero SM. Exploring gender differences: socially interactive technology use/abuse among dating teens. Affilia 2014; 29:478-91.. Meanwhile, boys reported that they were aware of their girlfriends’ monitoring them constantly in the social networks and that they do not like to reveal their passwords, which they only do when the couple has already established mutual trust ¹⁹19. Lucero JL, Weisz AN, Smith-Darden J, Lucero SM. Exploring gender differences: socially interactive technology use/abuse among dating teens. Affilia 2014; 29:478-91..

Thus, control and jealousy by girls is not viewed as abusive behavior, but as a positive and normal way of protecting the relationship, as a demonstration of love ¹⁹19. Lucero JL, Weisz AN, Smith-Darden J, Lucero SM. Exploring gender differences: socially interactive technology use/abuse among dating teens. Affilia 2014; 29:478-91..

Considering the interactions between different forms of cyber dating abuse and sexting, it is important to note that the latter term first appeared in the United States as the combination of two words, “sex” and “texting”. Sexting consists of sending text messages, photographs, and videos with sexual connotations and nudity to a given person or crowd ³²32. Barros SC, Ribeiro PRC, Quadrado RP. Sexting: entendendo sua condição de emergência. EXEDRA Revista Científica ESEC 2014; (Supl):192-213.^,6565. Ventura MCAA. Violência no namoro: crenças e autoconceito nas relações sociais de gênero. Modelo de intervenção em enfermagem [Tese de Doutorado]. Porto: Universidade do Porto; 2014.. While sexting as a consensual practice is not considered a form of violence, unconsented posting of it as a form of revenge porn is a kind of cyber dating abuse.

Revenge porn is most common following the termination of an amorous and sexual relationship - as the literature shows - when one or both ex-partners use the Internet to share intimate photos and videos recorded during the relationship without the other partner’s consent, intended to defame, humiliate, blackmail, and/or take revenge ⁶⁶66. Martsolf D, Colbert C, Draucker C. Adolescent dating violence prevention and intervention in a community setting: perspectives of young adults and professionals. Qual Rep 2012; 99:1-23..

s regards associations between cyber dating abuse and the mental health of the teenage victims, the literature reports high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder ³⁶36. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Cyber dating abuse: prevalence, context, and relationship with off-line dating aggression. Psychological Reports: Relationships & Communications 2015; 116:565-85.^,5454. Stonard KE, Bowen E, Lawrence TR, Price SA. The relevance of technology to the nature, prevalence and impact of adolescent dating violence and abuse: a research synthesis. Aggress Violent Behav 2014; 19:390-417., substance abuse ²⁰20. Zweig JM, Lachman P, Yahner J, Dank M. Correlates of cyber dating abuse among teens. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:1306-21.^,3838. Dank M, Lachman P, Zweig JM, Yahner J. Dating violence experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:846-57.^,4343. Van Ouytsel J, Walrave M, Ponnet K, Temple JR. Digital forms of dating violence: what school nurses need to know. NASN Sch Nurse 2016; pii:1942602X16659907. [Epub ahead of print].^,4444. Van Ouytsel J, Walrave M, Ponnet K, Temple JR. Adolescent cyber dating abuse victimization and its association with substance use, and sexual behaviors. Public Health 2016; 135:147-51.^,5656. Temple JR, Choi HJ, Brem M, Wolford-Clevenger C, Stuart GL, Peskin MF, et al. The temporal association between traditional and cyber dating abuse among adolescents. J Youth Adolesc 2016; 45:340-9.^,6060. Patton DU, Hong JS, Ranney M, Patel S, Kelley C, Eschmann R, et al. Social media as a vector for youth violence: a review of the literature. Comput Human Behav 2014; 35:548-53.^,6464. Morelli M, Bianchi D, Baiocco R, Pezzuti L, Chiumbolo A. Sexting, psychological distress and dating violence among adolescents and young adults. Psicothema 2016; 28:137-42., anxiety ²⁰20. Zweig JM, Lachman P, Yahner J, Dank M. Correlates of cyber dating abuse among teens. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:1306-21.^,3636. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Cyber dating abuse: prevalence, context, and relationship with off-line dating aggression. Psychological Reports: Relationships & Communications 2015; 116:565-85.^,3838. Dank M, Lachman P, Zweig JM, Yahner J. Dating violence experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:846-57.^,4343. Van Ouytsel J, Walrave M, Ponnet K, Temple JR. Digital forms of dating violence: what school nurses need to know. NASN Sch Nurse 2016; pii:1942602X16659907. [Epub ahead of print].^,5454. Stonard KE, Bowen E, Lawrence TR, Price SA. The relevance of technology to the nature, prevalence and impact of adolescent dating violence and abuse: a research synthesis. Aggress Violent Behav 2014; 19:390-417.^,6262. Wright MF. Cyber aggression within adolescents' romantic relationships: linkages to parental and partner attachment. J Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:37-47.^,6464. Morelli M, Bianchi D, Baiocco R, Pezzuti L, Chiumbolo A. Sexting, psychological distress and dating violence among adolescents and young adults. Psicothema 2016; 28:137-42., aggressiveness/hostility ²⁰20. Zweig JM, Lachman P, Yahner J, Dank M. Correlates of cyber dating abuse among teens. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:1306-21.^,3838. Dank M, Lachman P, Zweig JM, Yahner J. Dating violence experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:846-57.^,4343. Van Ouytsel J, Walrave M, Ponnet K, Temple JR. Digital forms of dating violence: what school nurses need to know. NASN Sch Nurse 2016; pii:1942602X16659907. [Epub ahead of print].^,5454. Stonard KE, Bowen E, Lawrence TR, Price SA. The relevance of technology to the nature, prevalence and impact of adolescent dating violence and abuse: a research synthesis. Aggress Violent Behav 2014; 19:390-417., sleep disorders ⁵⁴54. Stonard KE, Bowen E, Lawrence TR, Price SA. The relevance of technology to the nature, prevalence and impact of adolescent dating violence and abuse: a research synthesis. Aggress Violent Behav 2014; 19:390-417., depressive symptoms ²⁰20. Zweig JM, Lachman P, Yahner J, Dank M. Correlates of cyber dating abuse among teens. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:1306-21.^,3636. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Cyber dating abuse: prevalence, context, and relationship with off-line dating aggression. Psychological Reports: Relationships & Communications 2015; 116:565-85.^,3838. Dank M, Lachman P, Zweig JM, Yahner J. Dating violence experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:846-57.^,4343. Van Ouytsel J, Walrave M, Ponnet K, Temple JR. Digital forms of dating violence: what school nurses need to know. NASN Sch Nurse 2016; pii:1942602X16659907. [Epub ahead of print].^,4646. Jackson J, Randell KA, Miller MK. Adolescent relationship abuse: how to identify and assist at-risk youth in the emergency department. Clin Pediatr Emerg Med 2016; 16:113-8.^,5454. Stonard KE, Bowen E, Lawrence TR, Price SA. The relevance of technology to the nature, prevalence and impact of adolescent dating violence and abuse: a research synthesis. Aggress Violent Behav 2014; 19:390-417.^,5656. Temple JR, Choi HJ, Brem M, Wolford-Clevenger C, Stuart GL, Peskin MF, et al. The temporal association between traditional and cyber dating abuse among adolescents. J Youth Adolesc 2016; 45:340-9.^,6161. Wolford-Clevenger C, Zapor H, Brasfield H, Febres J, Elmquist J, Brem M, et al. An examination of the partner cyber abuse questionnaire in a college student sample. Psychol Violence 2016; 6:156-62.^,6262. Wright MF. Cyber aggression within adolescents' romantic relationships: linkages to parental and partner attachment. J Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:37-47.^,6464. Morelli M, Bianchi D, Baiocco R, Pezzuti L, Chiumbolo A. Sexting, psychological distress and dating violence among adolescents and young adults. Psicothema 2016; 28:137-42., self-inflicted violence ⁴⁶46. Jackson J, Randell KA, Miller MK. Adolescent relationship abuse: how to identify and assist at-risk youth in the emergency department. Clin Pediatr Emerg Med 2016; 16:113-8., and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts ⁵⁴54. Stonard KE, Bowen E, Lawrence TR, Price SA. The relevance of technology to the nature, prevalence and impact of adolescent dating violence and abuse: a research synthesis. Aggress Violent Behav 2014; 19:390-417.^,5656. Temple JR, Choi HJ, Brem M, Wolford-Clevenger C, Stuart GL, Peskin MF, et al. The temporal association between traditional and cyber dating abuse among adolescents. J Youth Adolesc 2016; 45:340-9..

Factors associated with sexual and reproductive health ¹⁸18. Dick RN, McCauley HL, Jones KA, Tancredi DJ, Goldstein S, Blackburn S, et al. Cyber dating abuse among teens using school-based health centers. Pediatrics 2014; 134:e1560-7.^,2020. Zweig JM, Lachman P, Yahner J, Dank M. Correlates of cyber dating abuse among teens. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:1306-21.^,4040. Zweig JM, Dank M, Yahner J, Lachman P. The rate of cyber dating abuse among teens and how it relates to other forms of teen dating violence. J Youth Adolesc 2013; 42:1063-77.^,4141. Miller E, Goldstein S, McCauley HL, Jones KA, Dick RN, Jetton J, et al. A school health center intervention for abusive adolescent relationships: a cluster RCT. Pediatrics 2015; 135:76-85.^,4343. Van Ouytsel J, Walrave M, Ponnet K, Temple JR. Digital forms of dating violence: what school nurses need to know. NASN Sch Nurse 2016; pii:1942602X16659907. [Epub ahead of print].^,4444. Van Ouytsel J, Walrave M, Ponnet K, Temple JR. Adolescent cyber dating abuse victimization and its association with substance use, and sexual behaviors. Public Health 2016; 135:147-51.^,4646. Jackson J, Randell KA, Miller MK. Adolescent relationship abuse: how to identify and assist at-risk youth in the emergency department. Clin Pediatr Emerg Med 2016; 16:113-8.^,5050. Miller E, McCauley HL. Adolescent relationship abuse and reproductive and sexual coercion among teen. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol 2013; 25:364-9.^,6060. Patton DU, Hong JS, Ranney M, Patel S, Kelley C, Eschmann R, et al. Social media as a vector for youth violence: a review of the literature. Comput Human Behav 2014; 35:548-53.^,6464. Morelli M, Bianchi D, Baiocco R, Pezzuti L, Chiumbolo A. Sexting, psychological distress and dating violence among adolescents and young adults. Psicothema 2016; 28:137-42. are reported by Jackson et al. ⁴⁶46. Jackson J, Randell KA, Miller MK. Adolescent relationship abuse: how to identify and assist at-risk youth in the emergency department. Clin Pediatr Emerg Med 2016; 16:113-8. and Miller & McCauley ⁵⁰50. Miller E, McCauley HL. Adolescent relationship abuse and reproductive and sexual coercion among teen. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol 2013; 25:364-9., highlighting that cyber dating abuse and reproductive coercion are the most recent forms of intimate partner abuse. Dick et al. ¹⁸18. Dick RN, McCauley HL, Jones KA, Tancredi DJ, Goldstein S, Blackburn S, et al. Cyber dating abuse among teens using school-based health centers. Pediatrics 2014; 134:e1560-7. found that girls with recent exposure to cyber dating abuse showed 2 to 4 times higher odds of failure to use any form of contraception and 3 to 6 times higher odds of reproductive and/or “sexual risk behaviors” when compared to those who had not been exposed to cyber dating abuse, indicating again the synergy between the dynamics of violence in on-line and face-to-face relationships.

Other possible harmful outcomes for teen victims of cyber dating abuse are low school performance ²⁰20. Zweig JM, Lachman P, Yahner J, Dank M. Correlates of cyber dating abuse among teens. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:1306-21.^,3838. Dank M, Lachman P, Zweig JM, Yahner J. Dating violence experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:846-57.^,5656. Temple JR, Choi HJ, Brem M, Wolford-Clevenger C, Stuart GL, Peskin MF, et al. The temporal association between traditional and cyber dating abuse among adolescents. J Youth Adolesc 2016; 45:340-9. and delinquent behaviors ²⁰20. Zweig JM, Lachman P, Yahner J, Dank M. Correlates of cyber dating abuse among teens. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:1306-21.^,3838. Dank M, Lachman P, Zweig JM, Yahner J. Dating violence experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:846-57..

Concerning social intervention technologies, all the studies analyzed here acknowledge the need for approaches that prioritize confronting this new modality of intimate partner violence.

Borrajo et al. ³⁵35. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Justification beliefs of violence, myths about love and cyber dating abuse. Psicothema 2015; 27:327-33. recommend preventive programs targeting preteen boys and girls and that challenge the justifications cited by teenagers for relationship abuse, such as “jealousy”, “aggression as a game”, or “payback”, in cases where one partner commits violence because the other partner already did.

Two articles emphasized that certain groups should be prioritized because of their increased vulnerability. Dank et al. ³⁸38. Dank M, Lachman P, Zweig JM, Yahner J. Dating violence experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:846-57. suggest preventive studies and professional interventions for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth, based on their study showing a higher prevalence of cyber dating abuse in LGBT teens when compared to heterosexual teens. Foshee et al. ⁵⁷57. Foshee VA, Benefield T, Dixon KS, Chang L, Senkomago V, Ennet ST, et al. The effects of moms and teens for safe dates (MTSD): a dating abuse prevention program for adolescents exposed to domestic violence. Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:995-1010., based on an evaluation of the efficacy of the Moms and Teens for Safe Dates project, suggest prevention programs specifically targeted to adolescents exposed to domestic violence, since they are potentially vulnerable to dating violence. Adding to these proposals is the suggestion by Sánchez et al. ⁵⁸58. Sánchez V, Muñoz-Fernández N, Vega E. Cyberdating in adolescence: the risks and the emotional harm of sexual cyberbehavior. Psychology, Society & Education 2015; 7:227-40. and Walrave et al. ⁴⁵45. Walrave M, Ponnet K, Van Ouytsel J, Gool EV, Heirman W, Verbeek A. Whether or not to engage in sexting: explaining adolescent sexting behavior by applying the prototype willingness model. Telematics and Informatics 2015; (32):796-808. reinforcing the need for measures to raise young people’s awareness concerning sexual risk behaviors and the legal consequences of sexting.

The suggestion of including professionals trained in identification, orientation, prevention, and intervention in cases of abuse in the approach to families and schools was highlighted by Dank et al. ³⁸38. Dank M, Lachman P, Zweig JM, Yahner J. Dating violence experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:846-57. and Murray et al. ⁵¹51. Murray CE, King K, Crowe A. Understanding and addressing teen dating violence: implications for family counselors. Fam J Alex Va 2016; 24:52-9., who emphasize the relevant role of family and school counselors in orienting families and students as to the risk of dating abuse in adolescence, aimed at demystifying this form of abuse, often played down by the teenagers’ parents as harmless. Miller & McCauley ⁵⁰50. Miller E, McCauley HL. Adolescent relationship abuse and reproductive and sexual coercion among teen. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol 2013; 25:364-9. also suggest training physicians and other health professionals to identify various forms of dating violence, including cyber dating abuse. Another study suggests school programs aimed at the prevention of dating violence ⁴³43. Van Ouytsel J, Walrave M, Ponnet K, Temple JR. Digital forms of dating violence: what school nurses need to know. NASN Sch Nurse 2016; pii:1942602X16659907. [Epub ahead of print]..

Johnson et al. ⁶⁷67. Johnson SE, Hoffman JA, Kruger LJ, Rizzo CJ. Teaching school psychology students about teen dating violence: a snapshot of training practices across the USA. School Ment Health 2015; 7:249-60. also cite the need to restructure the training curricula for school psychologists to include not only general knowledge on teenage dating violence, but also assessment and intervention in cases of cyber dating abuse.

Finally, the literature also points to the need for further studies focusing on cyber dating abuse. They suggest in-depth qualitative studies that attempt to elucidate the experiences of cyber dating abuse perpetrated by intimate partners in the modern technological world, aimed at prevention and intervention efforts ¹⁹19. Lucero JL, Weisz AN, Smith-Darden J, Lucero SM. Exploring gender differences: socially interactive technology use/abuse among dating teens. Affilia 2014; 29:478-91.^,2222. Durán M, Martínez-Pecino R. Ciberacoso mediante telefono móvil e Internet en las relaciones de noviazgo entre jóvenes. Comunicar 2015; XXII:159-67.^,4747. Marganski A, Melander L. Intimate partner violence victimization in the cyber and real world: examining the extent of cyber aggression experiences and in-person dating violence. J Interpers Violence 2015; pii:0886260515614283. [Epub ahead of print].^,4949. Melander LA. College students' perceptions of intimate pertner cyber harassment. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 2010; 13:263-9.^,5252. Reed LA, Tolman RM, Ward LM. Snooping and sexting: digital media as a context for dating aggression and abuse among college students. Violence Against Women 2016; 22:1556-76.^,5353. Rueda HA, Lindsay M, Williams LR. "She posted it on facebook": Mexican American adolescents' experiences with technology and romantic relationship conflict. J Adolesc Res 2015; 30:419-45.^,6060. Patton DU, Hong JS, Ranney M, Patel S, Kelley C, Eschmann R, et al. Social media as a vector for youth violence: a review of the literature. Comput Human Behav 2014; 35:548-53.^,6363. Marganski A, Fauth K. Socially interactive technology and contemporary dating: a cross-cultural exploration of deviant behaviors among young adults in the modern, evolving technological world. Int Crim Justice Rev 2013; 23:357-77. concerned with distinguishing youth with heterosexual orientation from those with homosexual orientation ³⁸38. Dank M, Lachman P, Zweig JM, Yahner J. Dating violence experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. J Youth Adolesc 2014; 43:846-57.^,4646. Jackson J, Randell KA, Miller MK. Adolescent relationship abuse: how to identify and assist at-risk youth in the emergency department. Clin Pediatr Emerg Med 2016; 16:113-8., and that relate sexting, alcohol use, sexual risk behaviors, depression, and anxiety to cyber violence in the context of dating ⁴⁴44. Van Ouytsel J, Walrave M, Ponnet K, Temple JR. Adolescent cyber dating abuse victimization and its association with substance use, and sexual behaviors. Public Health 2016; 135:147-51.^,6262. Wright MF. Cyber aggression within adolescents' romantic relationships: linkages to parental and partner attachment. J Youth Adolesc 2015; 44:37-47.^,6464. Morelli M, Bianchi D, Baiocco R, Pezzuti L, Chiumbolo A. Sexting, psychological distress and dating violence among adolescents and young adults. Psicothema 2016; 28:137-42..

Final remarks

This review reiterates evidence of differences between cyber dating abuse and cyberbullying, considering the three main types of cyber dating abuse (control/monitoring; revenge porn, including unconsented sexting; and direct aggression) addressed in this article.

The first difference involves the issue of audience (posts aimed at public humiliation in a peer collective), central to cyberbullying but not necessarily present in cyber dating abuse. In the latter, tracking and monitoring target the amorous/sexual partner and are done discreetly, without public knowledge or that of the partner. The anonymousness and secrecy of abusive practices in intimate relationships are crucial for their reproduction. For example, there are dozens of mobile phone apps (Android and iPhone) that allow remote control of the mobile devices, simple, easy, and without the partner’s knowledge, of all the acts done with the phone, including posts, chats, moves (via GPS technology), calls, photos, and videos, among others.

Harassment or control/monitoring in cyber dating abuse is known to the literature on gender violence/intimate partner violence, i.e., aimed at controlling behaviors and social contacts, to monitor friendships and possible amorous betrayals ³⁵35. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Justification beliefs of violence, myths about love and cyber dating abuse. Psicothema 2015; 27:327-33.. The power relationship and power imbalance are thus associated with the idea of controlling the partner and are linked to a gender perspective.

Meanwhile, revenge porn, which includes the widespread practice of unconsented sexting and direct aggression, also appears in cyberbullying. Unconsented sexting is not even limited to amorous and sexual partners. Direct aggression involves acts that aim to cause harm to the partner, like threats, insults, slander, and defamation ³⁵35. Borrajo E, Gámez-Guadix M, Calvete E. Justification beliefs of violence, myths about love and cyber dating abuse. Psicothema 2015; 27:327-33.. Even these points of convergence involve different social representations: cyber dating abuse is often interpreted by victims as proof of love and jealousy (which is not true for cyberbullying) and is characteristic of intimate partner violence.

Cyber dating abuse is not limited to teenage amorous and sexual relationships, since it also occurs in adults, but young people are potentially more vulnerable to its effects ⁶⁸68. Brauser D. Cyber dating abuse common among teens. Medscape Medical News Psychiatry 2014. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/835105.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/8351... . The harms to the identity, self-esteem, integrity, and privacy of victims of cyber dating abuse leave psychological scars, the extent of which is still unknown, potentially leading to withdrawal, depression, anxiety, poor school performance, and even suicide attempts and suicide itself ⁶⁹69. Martinez C. An argument for States to outlaw "revenge porn" and for Congress to Amend 47 U.S.C § 230: How our current laws do little to protect victims. Journal of Techonology Law & Policy 2014; 14:236-52.^,7070. Tungate A. Bare necessities: the argument for a "revenge porn" exception in Section 230 immunity. Information & Communications Technology Law 2014; 13:172-88..

Such consequences highlight the importance of a careful approach by health professionals when analyzing and addressing these issues with teenagers, as well as the professionals’ contribution to the identification of such situations. Although cyber dating abuse is a recent issue due to its on-line and technological characteristics, the theme of intimate partner violence has already accumulated experience in health and education, and suggests that discussing teenagers’ amorous relationships with them is a strategic and still insufficiently met demand, given this age group’s vulnerability to suffering and practicing various forms of violence.

In an age of relationships with on-line hyper-exposure, cyber dating abuse represents damage to the individual’s public image, which is essential capital in the field of on-line social relationships ⁵5. Keen A. Vertigem digital: por que as redes sociais estão nos dividindo, diminuindo e desorientando. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar; 2012.^,7171. Hinduja S, Patchin JW. Electronic dating violence: a brief guide for educators and parents. http://cyberbullying.org/electronic_dating_violence_fact_sheet.pdf (acessado em 30/Jul/2016).
http://cyberbullying.org/electronic_dati... . Cyber dating abuse is also a new modality of intimate partner violence, challenging studies to better elucidate whether there is basically a continuum of acts between partners that are already violent in their face-to-face exchanges, or if the digital environment encourages those who would not otherwise practice such acts without such means. The high level of reciprocity in cyber dating abuse further indicates that future studies should seek to understand how gender dynamics are reproduced or subverted in this form of cyber violence.

We contend that interventions should focus less on the idea of controlling the use of technologies (since they are a central thrust of contemporary teen sociability) and more on a critical discussion of how different forms of violence are routinely taken for granted in relationships since they are first experienced by youth.

References

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