Identifying Subtypes of Image-Based Sexual Abuse and their Distinct Incident Characteristics, Victimization Histories, and Personal Correlates

Image-based sexual abuse is common among adolescents, yet most research treats it as a single, uniform construct, obscuring important variation in how image-based harms occur and who is most vulnerable. This lack of differentiation represents a central gap in the field, limiting theoretical development and hindering understanding of the behavioral and relational dynamics that shape youth image-based sexual abuse. The present study addresses this gap by examining incident-level heterogeneity in image-based sexual abuse experiences that occurred before age 18. Data were drawn from a national sample of 2,854 young adults aged 18–28 (Mean age = 22.16, SD = 3.1) who reported details on 4,205 unique image-based sexual abuse incidents. Almost three-quarters (73.6%) of participants were female at birth, 25.3% identified with a gender minority identity, and 62.2% with a sexual minority identity. Incident-level latent class analysis of types of image-based sexual abuse identified four distinct profiles: (1) Coerced Production and Distribution: peer-driven pressure to produce sexual content, marked by frequent, sustained incidents and low perceived intent to harm; (2) Non-Coerced Image Sharing with Older Individuals: age-discrepant exchanges with people 5 + years older that, while lacking overt coercion, raise concerns about grooming and exploitation; (3) Image Re-Distribution: peer-based non-consensual sharing and the highest rates of disclosure; and (4) Threat-Based Exploitation: blackmail, commercial exchange, and predatory adult perpetrators. Findings demonstrate that image-based sexual abuse is not a single type of harm but a set of behaviorally and relationally distinct patterns. By identifying the specific constellations of behaviors, this typology provides a clearer foundation for future theory-building and research on mechanisms, resilience, and risk in image-based sexual abuse among youth.