INTERNET BEHAVIOURS AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN ADOLESCENT POPULATION

Digital spaces offer new ways of establishing social relationships while providing new contexts for different forms of victimization. In this sense, the perception of risk in social networks is a key factor for the acquisition and maintenance of actions related to cybersecurity, directly related to safe and self-protective behaviours in an online environment. In order to analyse risk behaviours on Internet in adolescent populations and taking into account a gender perspective, we proposed a descriptive study. A sample of 128 participants (67 women and 61 males) from two schools from the province of A Coruna completed the Scale of Conducts on the Network. Two factors are optimally drawn from the exploratory factor analysis of this scale: factor 1 "Network safety behaviours" 1, (alpha =.91), which corresponds to conduct that protects against the risks posed by the network; factor 2, "Control in the Couple", (alpha =.803), relates to aspects of control within the couple through social media. The results reveal that boys scored higher in safe behaviours, while girls have higher scores on control in the couple. Taking into account the omnipresence of new technologies in adolescent life, and bearing in mind the limitations of our research, the results obtained are discussed and future lines of research are proposed on programmes of prevention focused on promoting and developing safe and equal behaviours in adolescents.