{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,15]],"date-time":"2026-03-15T08:35:08Z","timestamp":1773563708662,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Leibniz Institute for Psychology (ZPID)","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,12]],"date-time":"2025-06-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1749686400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["sotrap.psychopen.eu"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sex. Offending"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Concerns about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on child sexual exploitation and abuse have been expressed by police and child protection organizations. However, there are limited data about how the pandemic may have caused changes in the help-seeking behavior of people who have concerns about their thoughts and behaviors regarding children. In this study, we examine helpline and webpage metrics from two organizations \u2013 Stop It Now! USA and Lucy Faithfull Foundation\u2019s Stop It Now! UK and Ireland \u2013 providing resources about child sexual exploitation and abuse prevention, including self-help pages for people concerned about their sexual thoughts or behaviors involving children. Pages for self-help seekers were compared to pages for parents\/caregivers and general audiences. Based on descriptive data, there was mixed evidence of an increased demand for self-help, with an increase in helpline inquiries and an increase in views for some but not all self-help pages. Webpage trends for self-help pages were not matched by similar trends for parent\/caregiver or general information pages, suggesting the increase in demand was specific to self-help seeking. However, ANOVAs of both US and UK and Ireland webpage data did not result in a significant interaction effect between category (self-help, parent, or general) and time. While there were significant increases in self-help related helpline calls in the USA across time, all three types of helpline calls increased in the UK and Ireland. The implications of these data for self-help resources and perpetration prevention are discussed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.5964\/sotrap.14301","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,12]],"date-time":"2025-06-12T07:55:10Z","timestamp":1749714910000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5964\/psychopen.cmp","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Self-help seeking for people concerned about their thoughts and behaviors regarding children during the COVID-19 pandemic"],"prefix":"10.5964","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Michael C.","family":"Seto","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kailey","family":"Roche","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jenny","family":"Coleman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Donald","family":"Findlater","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Elizabeth J.","family":"Letourneau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1941","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"r1","unstructured":"Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2021). Child protection in the time of COVID-19. Canberra: AIHW. https:\/\/www.aihw.gov.au\/reports\/child-protection\/child-protection-in-the-time-of-covid-19\/summary"},{"key":"r2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1027\/1016-9040\/a000326"},{"key":"r3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/14789940903174188"},{"key":"r4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-024-55879-9"},{"key":"r5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/sah0000154"},{"key":"r6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0886260519869237"},{"key":"r7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/0272-7358(94)90025-6"},{"key":"r8","unstructured":"INTERPOL. (2020, September 7). INTERPOL report highlights impact of COVID-19 on child sexual abuse. INTERPOL, News and Events.https:\/\/www.interpol.int\/en\/News-and-Events\/News\/2020\/INTERPOL-report-highlights-impact-of-COVID-19-on-child-sexual-abuse"},{"key":"r9","unstructured":"INTERPOL. (2022, May 25). INTERPOL Secretary General: Online child sexual abuse at record levels. INTERPOL, News and Events.https:\/\/www.interpol.int\/en\/News-and-Events\/News\/2022\/INTERPOL-Secretary-General-Online-child-sexual-abuse-at-record-levels"},{"key":"r10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1027\/1016-9040\/a000325"},{"key":"r11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/14681994.2023.2215710"},{"key":"r12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10508-020-01750-7"},{"key":"r13","unstructured":"Moore Center. (2020). Resources for people concerned about their own sexual thoughts and behavior during the COVID-19 outbreak. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. https:\/\/www.jhsph.edu\/research\/centers-and-institutes\/moore-center-for-the-prevention-of-child-sexual-abuse\/resources\/covid-19-csa-prevention"},{"key":"r14","unstructured":"Nardett, G., Simonet, R., & Findlater, D. (2021). An initial analysis of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on callers to the Stop It Now! UK and Ireland helpline. Lucy Faithfull Foundation."},{"key":"r15","unstructured":"National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. (2021, April 30). COVID-19 and missing and exploited children.https:\/\/www.missingkids.org\/blog\/2020\/covid-19-and-missing-and-exploited-children"},{"key":"r16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/1068316X.2021.1876049"},{"key":"r17","unstructured":"Owen, G., & Savage, N. (2015, September). The Tor dark net. Global Commission on Internet Governance [Paper Series, No. 20]. https:\/\/www.cigionline.org\/sites\/default\/files\/no20_0.pdf"},{"key":"r18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18094505"},{"key":"r19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2020.104719"},{"key":"r20","unstructured":"Schlosser, E., & Estey, C. (2021, January 27). Online child sexual exploitation trends amid the COVID-19 pandemic [Online webinar]. Public Safety Webinar Series 2021 \u2013 Preventing Online Child Sexual Exploitation, Canada."},{"key":"r21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Seto, M. C. (2013). Internet sex offenders. American Psychological Association.","DOI":"10.1037\/14191-000"},{"key":"r22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0000107-000"},{"key":"r23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1079063217720919"},{"key":"r24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chiabu.2021.104990"},{"key":"r25","unstructured":"Thompson, E. (2020, July 13). Child sex exploitation is on the rise in Canada during the pandemic. CBC.https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/politics\/pandemic-child-sexual-abuse-1.5645315"},{"key":"r26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2196\/22984"},{"key":"r27","unstructured":"UNICEF. (2020, October). COVID-19 and children. 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