Hopelessness and Childhood Trauma Experiences in the Relationship between Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence and Suicidal Ideation Among Young Women in South Korea: A Moderated Mediation Model

Background and purpose

The rapid advancement of digital technology has given rise to various new social issues. One is technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV). Many women, especially women in their 20s and 30s, have a higher incidence of victimization than other age groups. Victims feel threatened and helpless because they perceive TFSV as an uncontrollable and unilateral crime that can target them at anytime and anywhere, and explicit sexual information can be rapidly disseminated without their consent. It can ultimately have a severe impact on their mental health. Rose and Abramson’s hopelessness theory of depression explains that negative life events can trigger suicidal ideation through hopelessness, and negative early life experiences can further exacerbate the magnitude of this influence. However, research on the combined effects of TFSV (a proximal negative life event) and childhood maltreatment (a distal negative early life experience) on suicidal ideation is limited. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between TFSV and suicidal ideation among South Korean women in their 20s and 30s based on the hopelessness theory of depression.

Methods

The data was directly collected, and the sample consisted of 309 women from South Korea. The independent variable, TFSV, was measured by the Sexual Violence Victimization Scale. Suicidal ideation, a dependent variable, was assessed using a modified version of the Scale for Suicidal Ideation. Hopelessness, a mediating variable, was gauged through a modified version of Beck’s Hopelessness Scale, and childhood trauma experiences (CTE), a moderating variable, were assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. The moderated mediation analysis was conducted using Model 7 in the SPSS PROCESS Macro program to verify the research model.

Results

The results showed that 55.7% had experienced TFSV at least once. Participants with a history of TFSV reported higher levels of suicidal ideation. Bootstrapped mediation analysis showed that hopelessness partially mediated the relationship between TFSV and suicidal ideation ( = .048, 95% CI [.0062, .1035]). Moreover, the effect of the interaction between TFSV and CTE was statistically significant ( = .025, t = 3.045, p < .01), and the overall model was significant (F = 16.415, p < .001).

Conclusion

TFSV is an emerging concept and a relatively new issue in Korea. However, a significant number of women in their 20s and 30s in South Korea have experienced direct and indirect TFSV, and they experience hopelessness and depressive symptoms. The findings indicated that exposure to TFSV not only directly increased suicidal ideation but also indirectly through feelings of hopelessness. Furthermore, individuals with a history of CTE are reported to have a higher likelihood of developing a negative cognitive and inferential style, as well as lower resilience that leads to hopelessness. These findings suggest that professional counselors and social workers working with victims of TFSV need to assess hopelessness and history of CTE and consider interventions to address their feelings of hopelessness. Programs and policies targeting women in their 20s and 30s experiencing mental distress due to negative life events, such as TFSV, should prioritize addressing hopelessness to reduce its impact.