Social media facilitates disclosure among people experiencing child maltreatment: A brief report
Background: Many victims, particularly adolescents, must disclose abuse or neglect to have their experiences identified by people able to provide support and resources. Social media may be part of how young people seek support. Objective: This brief reports the percentage of young victims of maltrea...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Child Protection and Practice |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193825000658 |
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| _version_ | 1849688054455861248 |
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| author | Laura M. Schwab-Reese Morgan E. PettyJohn Rafia Tasnim Michelle Fingerman |
| author_facet | Laura M. Schwab-Reese Morgan E. PettyJohn Rafia Tasnim Michelle Fingerman |
| author_sort | Laura M. Schwab-Reese |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Many victims, particularly adolescents, must disclose abuse or neglect to have their experiences identified by people able to provide support and resources. Social media may be part of how young people seek support. Objective: This brief reports the percentage of young victims of maltreatment who use social media to disclose their experiences and describes the most used platforms. Participants, setting, and methods: Of the 641 individuals who completed a screening survey via Connect on CloudResearch, 111 experienced childhood maltreatment and shared their experiences on social media. Of these, 26 participants completed a follow-up survey. Findings: Almost all respondents in the follow-up survey reported offline disclosure (n = 24; 92 %), although telling an adult offline was less common (n = 19; 73 %). Most participants disclosed maltreatment on multiple platforms (n = 22; 85 %), usually on two or three platforms (n = 14; 54 %). Although it was common to use anonymous accounts to talk about maltreatment, 80 % of participants posted at least once on their personal accounts. Conclusion: This study identifies the importance of social media for young people's maltreatment disclosures. Social media platforms and users need to be prepared to respond appropriately. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-efe8e8bf0ec245a99f7366fbcf5ba004 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2950-1938 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Child Protection and Practice |
| spelling | doaj-art-efe8e8bf0ec245a99f7366fbcf5ba0042025-08-20T03:22:09ZengElsevierChild Protection and Practice2950-19382025-07-01510015810.1016/j.chipro.2025.100158Social media facilitates disclosure among people experiencing child maltreatment: A brief reportLaura M. Schwab-Reese0Morgan E. PettyJohn1Rafia Tasnim2Michelle Fingerman3Department of Public Health, Purdue University, USA; Corresponding author. 812 W State St, MTHW 214F, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Arlington, USADepartment of Public Health, Purdue University, USAIndependent Scholar, USABackground: Many victims, particularly adolescents, must disclose abuse or neglect to have their experiences identified by people able to provide support and resources. Social media may be part of how young people seek support. Objective: This brief reports the percentage of young victims of maltreatment who use social media to disclose their experiences and describes the most used platforms. Participants, setting, and methods: Of the 641 individuals who completed a screening survey via Connect on CloudResearch, 111 experienced childhood maltreatment and shared their experiences on social media. Of these, 26 participants completed a follow-up survey. Findings: Almost all respondents in the follow-up survey reported offline disclosure (n = 24; 92 %), although telling an adult offline was less common (n = 19; 73 %). Most participants disclosed maltreatment on multiple platforms (n = 22; 85 %), usually on two or three platforms (n = 14; 54 %). Although it was common to use anonymous accounts to talk about maltreatment, 80 % of participants posted at least once on their personal accounts. Conclusion: This study identifies the importance of social media for young people's maltreatment disclosures. Social media platforms and users need to be prepared to respond appropriately.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193825000658Child abuseChild maltreatmentDisclosureSocial mediaOnline |
| spellingShingle | Laura M. Schwab-Reese Morgan E. PettyJohn Rafia Tasnim Michelle Fingerman Social media facilitates disclosure among people experiencing child maltreatment: A brief report Child Protection and Practice Child abuse Child maltreatment Disclosure Social media Online |
| title | Social media facilitates disclosure among people experiencing child maltreatment: A brief report |
| title_full | Social media facilitates disclosure among people experiencing child maltreatment: A brief report |
| title_fullStr | Social media facilitates disclosure among people experiencing child maltreatment: A brief report |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social media facilitates disclosure among people experiencing child maltreatment: A brief report |
| title_short | Social media facilitates disclosure among people experiencing child maltreatment: A brief report |
| title_sort | social media facilitates disclosure among people experiencing child maltreatment a brief report |
| topic | Child abuse Child maltreatment Disclosure Social media Online |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950193825000658 |
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