Scientific Production on Psychological Factors Associated with Online Grooming in Adolescents: A Bibliometric Study, 2015–2026
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47606/ACVEN/MV0598Keywords:
online grooming, adolescents, psychological factors, online sexual victimization;, bibliometrics;, Bibliometrix.Abstract
Online grooming is a form of sexual victimization in digital environments associated with various psychological, behavioral, and contextual dimensions. This study aimed to analyze the scientific literature on psychological factors linked to online grooming among adolescents from 2015 to 2026, identifying its evolution, impact, and conceptual structure through bibliometric techniques. A descriptive and retrospective bibliometric study was conducted using documents indexed in Scopus. Following the identification, screening, and refinement process, a final corpus of 143 documents was analyzed using Bibliometrix and its Biblioshiny interface. Indicators related to scientific production, sources, authors, countries, and citations were examined, along with the conceptual structure through co-occurrence networks, thematic maps, and multiple correspondence analysis. The results revealed an annual growth rate of 21.48% and a thematic structure centered on online grooming, sexual victimization, sexting, social media, child sexual exploitation, and prevention. Among the psychological dimensions, depression showed the most consistent presence and empirical support, while anxiety, self-esteem, shame, guilt, and psychological distress were also linked to the phenomenon, although with different roles. It is concluded that online grooming has a multidimensional structure in which psychological, behavioral, and contextual dimensions converge. These findings help delineate the main conceptual lines of the field without implying causal relationships.
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