Social Psychiatry, Vol. 51 No. 3, 2023.
Review article
https://doi.org/10.24869/spsih.2023.258
A Critical Review of Research into Adolescent Risky Behavior on Social Networks
Ivana Borić Letica
orcid.org/0009-0004-7484-3753
; Faculty for Education and Educational Sciences, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
Gordana Kuterovac Jagodić
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The aim of this paper was to provide an insight into some of the previously established findings regarding the factors
associated with adolescent risky behavior on social networks, with a critical review of the research methodology in this
field, as well as recommendations for future research. The paper examines some of the predictors of risky behavior on
social networks - gender and age of adolescents, their concerns about online privacy, their personality traits, emotional
and behavioral problems, as well as parental and peer mediation of adolescents’ online activities. The models that are
most often used in order to explain adolescent risky behavior on social networks, with an emphasis on the Prototype
Willingness Model, which attempts to explain risky behaviors that are not planned or rational, are explained as well. The
shortcomings of previous research dealing with the verification of the Prototype Willingness Model for the explanation of
risky behavior in the online context are highlighted, and the need for further research is explained. The lack of developed
measures for assessing relevant constructs, the lack of longitudinal designs, as well as the fact that only a small number
of studies take into account a larger number of factors potentially associated with adolescent risky online behavior have
been stated as the biggest limitations of the previously mentioned research. Research progress in this field is of extreme
importance, since the application of obtained results can contribute to the quality and success of preventive programs
aimed at safer online behavior of children and adolescents.
Keywords
Adolescents; Social networks; Risky Behavior
Hrčak ID:
318769
URI
Publication date:
5.3.2024.
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