The Relationship of Online Sexual Harassment Experiences and Problematic Internet Use to Anxiety Among Korean Female Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Social Connectedness

Introduction: Prior research has pointed out that anxiety is the most common psychiatric disorder during adolescence and is strongly linked with various personal and social dimensions (Writing et al., 2020). However, there is still a need for understanding whether anxiety disorders are associated with adverse online experiences and Internet use and what protective factor would buffer the association among female adolescents in Korea. This study examined how Korean female adolescents’ offline social connectedness, known as a protective factor buffering against anxiety in adolescents (La Greca & Harrison, 2005; Taylor et al., 2020), would play a protective role in accounting for online sexual harassment experiences and anxiety and whether problematic Internet use (PIU) is associated with anxiety through online sexual harassment experiences. This examination provides a potential intervention strategy and extends current evidence that online sexual harassment experiences and PIU may be significant risk predictors of anxiety disorders among female adolescents.

Methods: Data and samples: This study consisted of female adolescent samples collected from a survey company between June 2020 and July 2020 in Korea. Study participants were recruited from an online panel of female adolescents maintained by the company. Prior to performing the study, researchers received informed consent from the study participants. The institutional review board (IRB) approved the whole study procedure. A total of 509 female adolescents completed the survey, and their mean age was 16.6 years old (SD = 1.37, range: 13 to 18 years old).

Measures: The anxiety variable was measured by the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scale, and it was the sum of six questions (α = .84) with a 4-point Likert type scale (0 = strongly disagree and 3 = strongly agree). The online sexual harassment experiences variable was assessed using six questions (α = .71) with a binary option (1 = yes, 0 = no). The social connectedness measure consisted of eight questions (α = .91) with a 7-point Likert type scale (0 = strongly disagree and 6 = strongly agree). Problematic Internet use (PIU) assessing potential addiction of Internet use was the sum of 15 questions (α = .90) with a 5-point Likert type scale (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree).

Results: The result showed that anxiety was positively associated with online sexual harassment experiences and PIU and was negatively associated with social connectedness. The moderating effect of social connectedness on the relationship between online sexual harassment experiences and anxiety was found to be significant. Online sexual harassment experiences significantly mediated the relationship between PIU and anxiety.

Conclusions and Implications: The findings suggest that offline social connectedness can be a significant positive factor when accounting for Korean female adolescents’ online sexual harassment experiences and anxiety and that adolescents with high levels of problematic Internet use may be at risk of experiencing online sexual harassment, which may affect their anxiety. Our findings imply that expanded efforts are needed to prevent online sexual harassment experiences and promote offline social connectedness as a protective mechanism against female adolescents’ anxiety disorders.