The Dark Side of Being Connected: Image-Based Sexual Exploitation, Dark Personality Traits, and Coercion Perceptions

Technology use has brought about the perpetration of both sexting coercion and image-based sexual abuse. This study examined the association between the Dark Tetrad, propensity to morally disengage, and the perpetration of sexting coercion and image-based sexual abuse. This study also examined how those variables influence how someone perceives online coercion, when relationship type and coercion tactic are altered. With 1467 university students (72% women), higher psychopathy, sadism, or narcissism scores was associated with perpetrating image-based sexual abuse. For sexting coercion, identifying as a man, and higher narcissism scores were associated with perpetrating sexting coercion. Examining the vignettes, being a woman, not having perpetrated sexting coercion, and being higher in moral disengagement propensity altered perceptions of coercion; and a main effect for coercion tactic was found. This study showed that the general aggression model appears to be a valid theory to explain image-based sexual abuse and sexting coercion perpetration.