Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.31299/hrri.61.2.1
Addressing the relationship between adolescent characteristics and their attitudes towards and frequency of exposure to risky online contact
Ivana Borić Letica
; Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Education, Cara Hadrijana 10, Osijek
*
Gordana Kuterovac Jagodić
orcid.org/0000-0001-8186-5046
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ul. Ivana Lučića 3, Zagreb, Croatia
* Dopisni autor.
Sažetak
Research shows that adolescents are prone to various risky online behaviours, including establishing risky online contacts. The aim of this research was to assess adolescents’ attitudes towards establishing risky online contacts and the frequency of such behaviour. Using newly developed instruments and a short-term longitudinal research design, we wanted to determine whether we can predict the adolescents’ attitudes towards risky online contacts and the frequency of this type of risky online behaviour based on their age, gender, type of school, academic achievement, and time spent online. Additionally, we investigated whether we can predict their risky online behaviour based on their attitudes. The sample consisted of high school students (n = 667) with an average age of 16.3 years (SD = 1.181), comprising 201 boys (30.1%) and 466 girls (69.9%). The study used customised questionnaires that were constructed for the purpose of this research: the Sociodemographic Data Questionnaire and the Attitudes Towards Risky Online Contacts Questionnaire were both applied at the first time point, and the Risky Online Contacts Questionnaire was applied at the second time point two months later. These questionnaires demonstrated expected factor structures, as well as satisfactory to high internal reliability coefficients. The results indicate that boys have more positive attitudes towards risky online contacts than girls. In addition, the more time adolescents spent online, the more positive their attitudes were towards risky online contacts. Adolescents who had more positive attitudes towards establishing risky online contacts and those who spent more time engaging in online activities in the first time point were more likely to engage in such behaviour in the second time point. Age, type of high school attended, and academic achievement did not contribute to predicting adolescents’ attitudes and their frequency of establishing risky online contacts. These findings suggest that adolescents sometimes establish risky online contacts and tend to underestimate the negative consequences that can occur from such behaviour, which highlights the importance of encouraging their critical thinking in online contexts.
Ključne riječi
adolescents, risky online contact, attitudes towards risky online contacts
Hrčak ID:
341809
URI
Datum izdavanja:
19.12.2025.
Posjeta: 645 *