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De Santisteban PAuthorAlcázar-Córcoles MAuthorGamez-Guadix MAuthor

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Progression, maintenance, and feedback of online child sexual grooming: A qualitative analysis of online predators

Publicated to:CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT. 80 203-215 - 2018-06-01 80(), DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.03.026

Authors: de Santisteban, Patricia; del Hoyo, Joana; Angel Alcazar-Corcoles, Miguel; Gamez-Guadix, Manuel

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Abstract

The limited literature on online child grooming has focused mainly on studying the characteristics of perpetrators and victims that facilitate the sexual abuse of minors. Little attention has been given to the perceptions of the perpetrators about the abuse process and the strategies used to sustain it over time. In the present study, after identifying a sample of 12 men convicted of online grooming, we used qualitative grounded theory through in-depth interviews and comparisons with the proven facts of their convictions. The results show how aggressors actively study the structural environment, the needs and vulnerabilities of the minors). In this way, the aggressors adapt by using most effective strategies of persuasion at all times, so that the child feels like an active part of the plot. This allows the aggressors to have sexual interactions with minors either online or offline and in a sporadic or sustained manner. This process is maintained with some distorted perceptions about minors and the abuse process, which seem to feed back to the beginning of the cycle with other potential victims. The interaction between the persuasive processes and the distorted perceptions of the aggressor leads to a potential work focus for treatment as well as detection and prevention. Trying to visualize the complexity of the phenomenon could also help researchers to understand processes from this approach that may be applied with other types of vulnerable populations.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords

child sexual abusegroominginternet offendersminorspersuasionChild sexual abuseGroomingInternet offendersMinorsPersuasionVulnerable

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2018, it was in position 3/43, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Social Work. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 4.19. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 5.09 (source consulted: FECYT Feb 2024)
  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 17.36 (source consulted: Dimensions Jun 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-06-06, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 47
  • Scopus: 58
  • Europe PMC: 1
  • OpenCitations: 40

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-06-06:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 228.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 227 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 11.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 3 (Altmetric).

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (DE SANTISTEBAN PEREZ, PATRICIA) and Last Author (GAMEZ GUADIX, MANUEL).