Many teens are abused online by the people they're dating, a new study suggests.
This abuse can include being monitored, stalked, threatened and harassed through hurtful comments, the researchers said.
The findings were based on surveys of teens who visited northern California school health clinics, and don't hint at how common this kind of abuse among teens is overall.
But the study does suggest that females, non-whites and bisexuals are most vulnerable. In addition, "these numbers clearly show that 'cyber dating abuse' is common," said study author Rebecca Dick, a clinical research coordinator of the Center for Adolescent and Young Adult Health at the University of Pittsburgh.
"We need to support prevention efforts that increase education about the many different forms of abuse in adolescent relationships, and to encourage parents, teachers, coaches and others to talk to young people about what healthy relationships look like," she added.
The researchers launched their study to better understand the frequency of cyber dating abuse in teens and its implications. Evidence has already shown that cyber dating abuse is linked to physical, sexual and psychological abuse, Dick said.
[For more of this story, written by Randy Dotinga, go to http://consumer.healthday.com/...se-study-693747.html]
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