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The SR identified 33 studies from IEEE, Web of Science, Scopus, Springer, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases, and 11 ML methods were meta-analyzed for accuracy (ACC), precision (P), recall (R), and\n                    <jats:inline-formula>\n                      <jats:tex-math>$$\\hbox {F}_1$$<\/jats:tex-math>\n                    <\/jats:inline-formula>\n                    Score (F1). Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) demonstrated the highest accuracy (ACC=92%, p&lt;0.001) and precision (P=81%, p&lt;0.001), excelling in capturing complex, nonlinear patterns essential for analyzing nuanced online interactions. Support Vector Machine (SVM), with an ACC of 88% (p&lt;0.001), achieved a balanced performance, characterized by high precision (P=86%, p&lt;0.001), recall (R=74%, p&lt;0.001), and the highest F1 score (0.79). SVM emerges as an effective algorithm, providing a robust balance across all metrics, emphasizing its adaptability and reliability in detecting nuanced grooming behaviors. This study is pioneering in meta-analyzing ML methods applied to the effectiveness in detecting grooming. The results highlight the efficacy of certain algorithms and contribute to the identification of online predators. A crucial aspect of cybersecurity for preventing child sexual abuse.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-024-83003-4","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,15]],"date-time":"2025-03-15T11:27:36Z","timestamp":1742038056000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Effectiveness of machine learning methods in detecting grooming: a systematic meta-analytic review"],"prefix":"10.1038","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Marcelo","family":"Leiva-Bianchi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nicolas","family":"Castillo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"C\u00e9sar A.","family":"Astudillo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francisco","family":"Ahumada-M\u00e9ndez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"83003_CR1","volume-title":"Grooming: Qu\u00e9 es, c\u00f3mo detectarlo y prevenirlo?","author":"Save the Children","year":"2019","unstructured":"Save the Children. 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