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The Internet offers an alternative context in which personal experiences with sexual violence can be shared. It has been suggested that victims experience lower barriers to disclosing their stories in a digital environment due to an online disinhibition effect and mainly anonymity. However, little is known about the lived experiences of victims who have shared their experiences online regarding these disinhibiting affordances of the Internet. Twenty-three interviews with victims were conducted to understand the digital affordances involved in the online disclosure of sexual victimization. The results suggest that the Internet offers several opportunities (visibility management, asynchronicity, and connectivity) and constraints (lack of non-verbal communication, disclosing online is irreversible, and Internet as a source of triggers) when disclosing sexual violence victimization online. We learn that disclosures are informed by previous experiences and weighed against digital affordances. Victims use multiple platforms or multiple accounts on the same platform and manipulate anonymity and visibility through the settings of online platforms. The Internet offers a potential for informal online peer support. The results have practical implications for victims, clinicians, and support providers for guiding the disclosure process. Furthermore, a re-evaluation and nuance of the online disinhibition theory is suggested. Suggestions for future research are made.

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Sexting is a form of intimate communication available in today's digital society consisting of exchanging erotic-sexual content online. However, doing it without the consent of the person appearing in the content is becoming a normalized form of cyberviolence among adolescents. To advance our understanding of this phenomenon, further research is needed on its facilitating factors, which may include those related to its potential moral dimension and online disinhibition. This study aims to analyze, according to gender and age, the relationship between nonconsensual forwarding of erotic-sexual content, differentiating between the type of content and the gender of the person appearing in it, moral disengagement, and toxic online disinhibition. A total of 1,611 adolescents (47.9 percent girls) aged 12-15 years (M = 13.4; SD = 1.0) participated in the study. Moral disengagement and toxic disinhibition have been shown to facilitate nonconsensual forwarding of erotic-sexual content, but their relevance varies depending on the type of content, and whether girls or boys appear in it. Facilitating factors for nonconsensual forwarding of content featuring boys include age, the diffusion of the consequences, and toxic online disinhibition. For girls, identifying with the male gender and cognitive restructuring were the main facilitators. These findings represent an original advance in the field of study by discriminating between the type of content forwarded and the gender of the person who appears in it. The differences found contribute toward explaining the processes that lead to making immoral decisions when sexting and help lay the foundations for designing psychoeducational programs in the future.

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Cyberbullying among adults is barely studied, though its consequences may be as severe as in children and adolescents. The present study investigated the links between psychological distress, cyber-perpetration, and passive cyber-bystander behavior. We also explored the moderating role of toxic disinhibition in this regard. Our sample comprised 385 adults aged 19-66 (M = 28.35, SD = 11.22, 76.62% females). The results suggested that psychological distress was significantly associated with cyberbullying perpetration and passive bystander behavior. Also, higher psychological distress significantly predicted toxic disinhibition. Further moderation analyses suggested that at high and medium levels of toxic disinhibition, psychological distress significantly predicted cyberbullying perpetration but not passive cyber-bystander behavior. Finally, we discuss our results regarding their theoretical and practical implication for cyberbullying prevention among adults.

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OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting individuals' decisions to discuss specific personal issues in psychotherapy vs on social media, either non-anonymously or pseudonymously/anonymously. METHOD: A heterogeneous sample of participants (N = 443) completed an online survey that included assessments of their therapy experience, attachment style, attitudes towards seeking mental healthcare, and the extent of their disclosures about personally distressing topics in therapy and online under different conditions. RESULTS: Results suggest that attachment style plays a significant role in determining individuals' likelihood of discussing personally distressing topics online and in determining the extent to which they find disclosures in therapy and in anonymous and non-anonymous online spaces to be helpful. CONCLUSION: Clinicians may find it helpful to monitor the extent to which patients disclose personal issues online, checking as to whether patients, especially younger patients and those with avoidant and ambivalent attachment styles, view psychotherapy as an appropriate domain to disclose specific personally distressful issues.

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Introduction: Toxic behavior (i.e., toxicity) is a pervasive problem in online gaming communities such as League of Legends. This issue arises from factors such as frustrating and stressful in-game experiences and online disinhibition. Prior research on addressing toxicity has focused primarily on the perpetrators and how to mitigate their negative behavior and the consequences. The aim of this study was to approach toxicity from the perspective of the victims instead, and consequently, to investigate the factors that contribute to the experience of victimhood in multiplayer online battle arena games. Methods: A global sample of League of Legends and Defense of the Ancients 2 players (n=313) was collected to test hypotheses based on three theoretical approaches drawn from previous work, namely, the online disinhibition effect, social cognitive theory and theory of planned behavior. Participants were asked to complete a survey that included variables related to the three theoretical approaches. Results: The results of the study indicated that self-efficacy, and benign and toxic disinhibition, were the most relevant antecedents for the experience of being a victim of toxicity. Accordingly, the findings thus suggest that players with low self-efficacy and high online disinhibition may be more likely to experience victimhood in multiplayer online battle arena games. In general, insights based on our study demonstrate that individual characteristics partially explain why some players are more susceptible to toxic behavior than others. Discussion: The study's results have practical implications for game developers and policymakers, particularly in the areas of community management and player education. For example, game developers may consider incorporating self-efficacy training and disinhibition reduction programs into their games. Overall, this study contributes to the growing body of literature on toxicity in online gaming communities and invites further research into toxicity from the perspective of the victims.

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The purpose of the current theoretical review is to argue for the theoretical integration of cyber-racism perpetration into the broader cyberbullying context-making note of the similarities between both types of nefarious online behavior that make this integration appropriate and the differences that make the integration less clear. Cyber-racism and cyberbullying victimization have been shown to be prevalent in youth and is related to poor psychological outcomes. Understanding both types of antisocial online behaviors have implications for the understanding and subsequent reduction of cyber-racism. Our review focuses on a cyber-racism model that proposes the importance of anonymity perceptions afforded to the online user to cause cyber-racism via several routes that focus on (a) online disinhibition, (b) deindividuation and group polarization, and (c) stereotypes. We discuss the tenets of this theory and the overlap with the Barlett Gentile Cyberbullying Model-a learning-based model that focuses on how anonymity eventually predicts cyberbullying via the development of positive cyberbullying attitudes. We believe that theoretical integration is necessary; however, future work needs to test several theoretical underpinnings of these models first. We end with a discussion of theoretical and intervention implications before discussing limitations and future work. Overall, we hope this review sparks interesting future research to understand cyber-racism and broaden the existing research on cyberbullying.

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Life stress is a significant predictor of cyberbullying. However, previous studies have not investigated the roles of emotional and cognitive characteristics, such as expressive suppression and online disinhibition, in explaining the associations between life stress and cyberbullying perpetration/victimization. To fill this gap, a two-wave longitudinal design was used to investigate these two mediating variables as the underlying mechanisms among adolescents after controlling for possible covariates. A total of 724 Chinese adolescents (female: 41.2%) aged 12 to 16 years old (M = 13.36, SD = 0.77) participated in this survey. They completed self-report questionnaires on life stress, expressive suppression, online disinhibition (including benign and toxic disinhibition), cyberbullying perpetration, and cyberbullying victimization. The survey was conducted in two waves, six months apart. The correlational analyses showed that life stress was positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration/victimization cross-sectionally and longitudinally. After controlling other variables, life stress did not predict cyberbullying perpetration cross-sectionally or longitudinally, but cross-sectionally predicted cyberbullying victimization. The results only revealed the significant mediation effects of expressive suppression and online disinhibition at the first time point. Specifically, toxic disinhibition mediated the relationship between life stress and cyberbullying perpetration/victimization, and benign disinhibition mediated the relationship between life stress and cyberbullying victimization. In addition, life stress cross-sectionally and positively predicted cyberbullying victimization through the serial mediating roles of expressive suppression and benign disinhibition. The results of the multi-group analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the hypothesized model for the male and female groups. This study reveals how life stress is related to cyberbullying perpetration/victimization. Reducing expressive suppression and online disinhibition may be effective in preventing cyberbullying among adolescents.

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The present study explored the associated factors of intimate partner violence through technological abuse (ITPV) in a sample of 1113 participants aged 18 to 65 (71.3% females). Our research's primary questions were the following: 1). Is there a significant link between relationship attachment styles and ITPV perpetration or victimization?; 2). Is there a significant link between participants' demographic and relationship characteristics (i.e., relationship length and partners' fidelity), online behavior (i.e., benign and toxic disinhibition), moral disengagement, psychological distress), and ITPV perpetration or victimization?; and 3). Did the COVID-19 pandemic increase ITPV perpetration or victimization?. We analyzed our data by creating three different groups, depending on participants' answers concerning ITPV, i.e., the overall sample, abusers' and victims' groups. Our main results suggested significant, positive correlations between ITPV perpetration and victimization, moral disengagement, psychological distress, and online disinhibition. Age negatively correlated with IPVT victimization and perpetration. We also found significant associations between participants' dominant relationship attachment style and their own and partners' cheating behavior, as well as ITPV-victimization and perpetration. Finally, 13.7% to 23% of participants in all three groups considered that the Covid-19 increased the frequency of ITPV behaviors (for both abusers and victims). Results are discussed considering their theoretical and practical implications for domestic violence and the potential related prevention and intervention strategies.

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The Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism) is associated with online disinhibition and antisocial online behaviors. However, the mediating role between online disinhibition and online trolling has never previously been investigated. We examined direct and indirect associations between online disinhibition and online trolling via the Dark Triad among 1,303 participants. The results showed that online disinhibition is positively correlated with online trolling, and their link is partly mediated by Machiavellianism and psychopathy. Furthermore, men exhibited higher levels of Dark Triad traits and were more likely to engage in online trolling than women. Moderated mediation analyses indicated that gender moderated the relationship between psychopathy and online trolling. The study provided a promising perspective for the intervention of online trolling, namely netizens should be taught to reduce impulsivity and improve empathy and self-control, especially for men.

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While many scholars have explored the sharing of nude photographs one-to-one (i.e., sexting), few have examined the sharing of nudity in a one-to-many context. The current study examined the sharing of nude photographs on Reddit, framing the practice as an act of disinhibited online behavior. A survey (n = 628) was conducted to assess whether Redditors levels of sensation seeking, self-esteem, perceived attractiveness, and narcissism would be related to whether or not they posted nude photographs on the site. Results indicated that posting nudity on Reddit was significantly associated with higher perceived attractiveness and narcissism, but not sensation seeking or self-esteem. The role of gender and sexual orientation in the posting of nudity online was also assessed, and an overrepresentation of nude content produced by females and bisexual persons, as well as an underrepresentation of nude content produced by males and heterosexuals, was found. Findings are discussed in relation to self-concept, sexual health, and the online disinhibition effect.

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With the pervasive nature of social media and Internet use among young adults, researchers have begun to explore experiences of online disinhibition, defined as reductions in restraint in online versus face-to-face settings. In contributing to this literature, this study aimed to test whether perceptions of the Internet as a place where one has the ability to be invisible, anonymous, and exercise control over interactions promotes greater online disinhibition. A sample of Australian young adults (N = 687; 59.8 percent female; Mage = 19.45 years, SD = 2.07) were included in the study. The sample was split to enable exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on the measures of Internet perceptions, with results finding two subfactors; (a) perceptions of the ability to be protected, invisible, or feel safe online (labeled protection), and (b) perceptions of control over interactions and self-presentation online (labeled control). Links between perceptions of protection and control, and online disinhibition were then examined, before testing social anxiety as a moderator of these links. Results demonstrated that perceptions of protection, but not control, significantly predicted online disinhibition in young adults. Furthermore, this relationship was moderated by social anxiety such that young adults high in both social anxiety and perceptions of protection reported the highest online disinhibition. This study highlights novel perceptions of online contexts, illustrates their links with online disinhibition, and demonstrates how social anxiety may interact with perceptions of protection in predicting online experiences.

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BACKGROUND: Online trolling is a highly prevalent online antisocial behaviour that has recently received increasing attention because of its potentially destructive consequences. The current study aimed to examine whether trait mindfulness was negatively related to online trolling and whether anger rumination mediated this relationship. We further examined whether online disinhibition moderated the direct and indirect relation between trait mindfulness and online trolling. METHODS: A total of 1303 Chinese college students completed the measurements of trait mindfulness, anger rumination, online disinhibition, and online trolling. Moderated mediation analysis was performed to examine the relationships between these variables. RESULTS: After controlling for sex, the results showed that trait mindfulness was negatively related to online trolling and that this relationship was partially mediated by anger rumination. Moreover, the effect of anger rumination on online trolling was strengthened when online disinhibition was high. LIMITATIONS: This study is a cross-sectional study, and causal inferences cannot be drawn. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with trait mindfulness are less likely to ruminate anger and further express less online trolling. Online disinhibition serves as a risk factor for online trolling. Interventions targeting trait mindfulness, anger rumination, and online disinhibition might aid prevention strategies.

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The current study sought to examine whether parental phubbing was significantly related to adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration and if moral disengagement mediated this relationship. We further examined whether online disinhibition moderated the direct and indirect relationships between parental phubbing and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration. The participants included 2,407 adolescents from seven middle schools in China who completed the questionnaires regarding their experience with parental phubbing, moral disengagement, cyberbullying perpetration, and online disinhibition. Results indicated that adolescents with a high level of parental phubbing were likely to cyberbully others. Moral disengagement significantly mediated the relationship between parental phubbing and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration. Furthermore, online disinhibition moderated the indirect relationship between parental phubbing and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration. Specifically, the paths from parental phubbing to moral disengagement and from moral disengagement to cyberbullying perpetration became strengthened when adolescents experienced high levels of online disinhibition.

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INTRODUCTION: The risk and protective factors of cyberbullying perpetration have been widely investigated. Less attention is paid to explore the effects of personal and situational factors, internal states, and external states in an integrated framework. This study aims to fill this void by developing an integrated framework to investigate the effects of power imbalance, the online disinhibition effect, internal states, and parental mediation on cyberbullying among Chinese adolescents. METHODS: Multistage cluster random sampling was employed with 1103 adolescents (Mage = 15.3, 52.5% girls) who responded to the questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted. RESULTS: Proficiency in technology use was directly related to cyberbullying. Social status among peers was found to be not only directly related to cyberbullying but also to operate through low self-control to predict cyberbullying. The online disinhibition effect did not directly correlate to cyberbullying but operated through moral disengagement and low self-control to predict cyberbullying. Notably, the results showed that physical power was neither directly correlated to cyberbullying nor aligned with moral disengagement or low self-control to predict cyberbullying. The multiple-group comparison analysis revealed that parental mediation moderated the effects of the online disinhibition effect on cyberbullying. However, this study found that parental mediation had no buffering effects when examining the relationships between physical power, social status, technology use, and cyberbullying. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that cyberbullying prevention should consider the effects of both internal states and external factors. The study has provided theoretical and practical implications for understanding and tackling the widespread problem of cyberbullying among adolescents.

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Today's youth have extensive access to the internet and frequently engage in social networking activities using various social media platforms and devices. This is a phenomenon that hate groups are exploiting when disseminating their propaganda. This study seeks to better understand youth exposure to hateful material in the online space by exploring predictors of such exposure including demographic characteristics (age, gender, and race), academic performance, online behaviors, online disinhibition, risk perception, and parents/guardians' supervision of online activities. We implemented a cross-sectional study design, using a paper questionnaire, in two high schools in Massachusetts (USA), focusing on students 14 to 19 years old. Logistic regression models were used to study the association between independent variables (demographics, online behaviors, risk perception, parental supervision) and exposure to hate online. Results revealed an association between exposure to hate messages in the online space and time spent online, academic performance, communicating with a stranger on social media, and benign online disinhibition. In our sample, benign online disinhibition was also associated with students' risk of encountering someone online that tried to convince them of racist views. This study represents an important contribution to understanding youth's risk factors of exposure to hateful material online.

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Online hatred based on attributes, such as origin, race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation, has become a rising public concern across the world. Past research on aggressive behavior suggests strong associations between victimization and perpetration and that toxic online disinhibition and sex might influence this relationship. However, no study investigated both the relationship between online hate victimization and perpetration and the potential moderation effects of toxic online disinhibition on this relationship. To this end, the present study was conducted. The sample consists of 1,480 7th to 10th graders from Germany. Results revealed positive associations between online hate victimization and perpetration. Furthermore, the results support the idea that toxic online disinhibition and sex, by way of moderator effects, affect the relationship between online hate victimization and perpetration. Victims of online hate reported more online hate perpetration when they reported higher levels of online disinhibition and less frequent online hate perpetration when they reported lower levels of toxic online disinhibition. Additionally, the relationship between online hate victimization and perpetration was significantly greater among boys than among girls. Taken together, our results extend previous findings to online hate involvement among adolescents and substantiate the importance to conduct more research on online hate. In addition, our findings highlight the need for prevention and intervention programs that help adolescents deal with the emerging issue of online hate.

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Hatred directed at members of groups due to their origin, race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation is not new, but it has taken on a new dimension in the online world. To date, very little is known about online hate among adolescents. It is also unknown how online disinhibition might influence the association between being bystanders and being perpetrators of online hate. Thus, the present study focused on examining the associations among being bystanders of online hate, being perpetrators of online hate, and the moderating role of toxic online disinhibition in the relationship between being bystanders and perpetrators of online hate. In total, 1480 students aged between 12 and 17 years old were included in this study. Results revealed positive associations between being online hate bystanders and perpetrators, regardless of whether adolescents had or had not been victims of online hate themselves. The results also showed an association between toxic online disinhibition and online hate perpetration. Further, toxic online disinhibition moderated the relationship between being bystanders of online hate and being perpetrators of online hate. Implications for prevention programs and future research are discussed.

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In an online experiment we examined the role of self-control in recognizing social cues in the context of disinhibited online behavior (e.g., flaming and trolling). We temporarily lowered participants' self-control capacity with an ego depletion paradigm (i.e., color Stroop task). Next, we measured participants' sensitivity to social cues with an emotional Stroop task containing neutral, negative, and taboo words. Sensitivity to social cues is represented by the increase in reaction time to negative and especially taboo words compared to neutral words. As expected, undepleted participants were slower to process the color of negative and taboo words. By contrast, depleted participants (i.e., those with lowered self-control capacity) did not react differently to taboo or negative words than they did to neutral words. The experiment illustrates that self-control failure may manifest itself in a failure to recognize social cues. The finding underlines the importance of self-control in understanding disinhibited online behavior: Many instances of disinhibited online behavior may occur not because people are unable to control themselves, but because they do not realize that a situation calls for self-control in the first place.

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This study investigates how men who have sex with men (MSM) use chat and dating sites based on theories of stigma-related offline behavior and online self-disclosure. We hypothesize that hidden MSM (those who self-label as heterosexual or who hide their same-sex sexual attraction from family, friends, acquaintances, or a female romantic partner) differ from open MSM in how they behave on gay chat and dating sites and in offline gay venues. Drawing on a survey of 12,002 MSM, we show that hidden MSM tend to mask their identity on gay chat and dating sites while avoiding offline gay venues. They also focus more strongly on online sexual activities (e.g., masturbating during online chats) when using gay chat and dating sites. However, they spend the same amount of time on these sites, and they use them to initiate offline sexual encounters as often and as fast as open MSM.

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