de Vries Ieke, Kafafian Matthew, Gobar Sheelah, Farrell Amy
Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands.
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Nebraska, Omaha.
JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Jun 2;8(6):e2513520. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.13520.
Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) of young people (aged 6-26 years) poses a considerable public health and social challenge. Understanding how social network exposure to CSE influences CSE risk may inform targeted prevention strategies for at-risk youths.
To examine the association between social network exposure to CSE and personal risk of experiencing CSE among youths, with a focus on how exposure interacts with childhood adversities.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study used data collected between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2022, from a CSE program at a children's advocacy center in the northeastern US. Eligibility criteria included referral for suspected or confirmed CSE risk. Social relationships with offenders, peers, and others sharing residential placements were examined as potential sources of exposure. The final analyses were completed on March 20, 2025.
Social network exposure to CSE among youths.
Experiencing CSE was the main outcome. Logistic regression was used to assess associations between youth network exposure to CSE and the risk of experiencing CSE, and social network analyses were conducted to identify patterns in the connections between youths with and without CSE experiences.
A total of 997 youth were included in the study (mean [SD] age, 14.7 [2.1] years; 903 female [90.6%]). Youths exposed to CSE through their social networks were significantly more likely to experience CSE (adjusted odds ratio, 2.92; 95% CI, 1.91-4.47). A significant interaction between social exposure and childhood adversities revealed that social network exposure was associated with higher CSE risk among youth with fewer adversities (adjusted odds ratio, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.22-1.74). Network analyses revealed that youth experiencing CSE were more likely to be connected to one another (β [SE], 0.32 [0.14]), highlighting the clustering of CSE within social networks.
These findings suggest that prevention strategies should aim to reduce unmitigated exposure to individuals experiencing CSE and focus on fostering supportive and healthy relationships. This study underscores the potential for social network modeling to identify at-risk youth and inform prevention efforts.
对年轻人（6至26岁）的商业性剥削构成了重大的公共卫生和社会挑战。了解社交网络中接触商业性剥削如何影响遭受商业性剥削的风险，可为针对高危青少年的预防策略提供依据。
研究社交网络中接触商业性剥削与青少年个人遭受商业性剥削风险之间的关联，重点关注这种接触如何与童年逆境相互作用。
设计、背景和参与者：这项横断面研究使用了2015年1月1日至2022年12月31日期间从美国东北部一家儿童权益中心的商业性剥削项目收集的数据。纳入标准包括因涉嫌或确认存在商业性剥削风险而被转介。与犯罪者、同龄人以及其他共享居住安置的人的社会关系被视为潜在的接触源。最终分析于2025年3月20日完成。
青少年在社交网络中接触商业性剥削。
遭受商业性剥削是主要结局。采用逻辑回归评估青少年社交网络中接触商业性剥削与遭受商业性剥削风险之间的关联，并进行社交网络分析以确定有和没有商业性剥削经历的青少年之间的联系模式。
共有997名青少年纳入研究（平均[标准差]年龄，14.7[2.1]岁；903名女性[90.6%]）。通过社交网络接触商业性剥削的青少年遭受商业性剥削的可能性显著更高（调整后的优势比为2.92；95%置信区间为1.91至4.47）。社交接触与童年逆境之间的显著交互作用表明，在逆境较少的青少年中，社交网络接触与更高的商业性剥削风险相关（调整后的优势比为1.45；95%置信区间为1.22至1.74）。网络分析表明，遭受商业性剥削的青少年彼此之间更有可能相互联系（β[标准误]为0.32[0.14]），突出了商业性剥削在社交网络中的聚集性。
这些发现表明，预防策略应旨在减少对遭受商业性剥削者的无节制接触，并侧重于培养支持性和健康的关系。本研究强调了社交网络建模在识别高危青少年和为预防工作提供信息方面的潜力。
