DURHAM, N.H. – Sextortion -- threats to expose sexual images -- has particularly intense effects on the lives and development of young people, according to new research from the University of New Hampshire Crimes against Children Research Center (CCRC).

More than 1,600 young women and men recruited through ads on Facebook completed anonymous surveys about being targets of sextortion in the study, which was conducted by CCRC and Thorn, a nonprofit dedicated to driving technology innovation to fight child sexual exploitation. Half the victims were under 18 when the episodes happened.

Perpetrators against minors (versus adults) were more likely to pressure victims into producing initial sexual images, demand additional images, threaten victims for more than six months, and urge victims to harm themselves.

In the study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, the researchers called for more education, more accessible information, and more cooperation among technology companies.

“So many survey participants felt they had nowhere to turn for help or found only obstacles when they sought assistance,” said the researchers. “They needed quicker and more effective responses from both technology sites and law enforcement, as well as better guidance about actions they could take to help defeat threats. it is time for policy makers and technology companies to take action against perpetrators and provide remedies to victims.”

The study also found sextortion tended to occur in two broad contexts. One was in the wake of face-to-face romantic or sexual relationships in which sexual images were taken or shared, when an aggrieved partner threatens to disseminate images either to force reconciliation or to punish their former partner. The other was when a perpetrator met a target online and used a sexual image to demand more images or sexual interactions.

About one-third of minor victims were threatened with physical assaults and menaced for more than six months. Half did not disclose incidents and few reported to police or websites. In addition to exposure of sexual images, the threatening behaviors included stalking, assaults, hacking into accounts, and extorting money. Perpetrators carried out their threats in 45 percent of the cases.

The research was conducted by Janis Wolak, senior researcher; David Finkelhor, director of CCRC and professor of sociology; and Wendy Walsh, research assistant professor of sociology.