Digital sexual crimes among adolescents continue to emerge as a significant social issue each year, posing critical challenges for the
development of effective preventive policies. This study aims to examine the impact of parenting attitudes on adole...
Digital sexual crimes among adolescents continue to emerge as a significant social issue each year, posing critical challenges for the
development of effective preventive policies. This study aims to examine the impact of parenting attitudes on adolescents' experiences of
digital sexual crime perpetration and analyze whether interpersonal relationships mediate this effect and provides practical, targeted policy
recommendations to address this issue.
This study utilizes secondary data analysis based on the 2021 Korean Youth Panel Survey (KYPS), focusing on 2,837 middle and high school students. Key variables include parenting attitudes, interpersonal relationships, and experiences of digital sexual crime perpetration.
Logistic regression analysis and the bootstrapping-based PROCESS macro (Model 4) were employed to test mediating effects.
The results are as follows:
First, logistic regression analysis identified several factors influencing adolescents' perpetration of digital sexual crimes. Parenting attitudes,
interpersonal relationships, gender and grade level were found to have statistically significant effects. Second, further logistic regression
analysis confirmed the mediating role of interpersonal relationships in the relationship between parenting attitudes and digital sexual crime
perpetration. The mediating effect was verified. Third, bootstrapping analysis was conducted to strengthen empirical validation, yielding
statistically significant results.
Based on these findings, several recommendations are proposed. Surveys should assess both children’s perceptions of parenting attitudes
and parents’ self-reported parenting practices. Utilizing these findings, schools should establish systems to address inappropriate parenting
practices and implement regular parenting education. Additionally, to prevent adolescents from engaging in digital sexual crimes, programs
should aim to enhance the quality of relationships with parents, peers, and teachers while also introducing stress-reduction initiatives.
Despite its contributions, this study has limitations. It exclusively examined parenting attitudes as the independent variable influencing the
prevention of digital sexual crime perpetration. Furthermore, responses to sensitive questions, such as those regarding digital sexual crime
perpetration, may have been subject to social desirability bias. Finally, the questions used to assess parenting attitudes lacked specificity,
limiting the ability to capture detailed subfactors.