Pranks, Obscene Chatters, & Ambiguous Content
Project Overview
This project address the lack of studies on inappropriate chatter within sexual assault hotlines. This study focuses on how responders are able to identify if a chat is inappropriate, as well as how responders navigated potential inappropriate chats.
In the Media: Paper to Practice
Web & Text Based Hotlines
Dr. Carrie Moylan, Dr. Michelle Munro-Kramer, and Kathleen Miller discuss the importance of hotlines, the benefits of using web and call based hotlines, and the necessary training for a web based hotline.
Developing a Web-Based Hotline
Dr. Carrie Moylan, Dr. Michelle Munro-Kramer, and Logan Forrester discuss strategies to develop a web based hotline, inappropriate chatter, and the necessary training to guide responders when experiencing inappropriate chatter. Inappropriate chatter is the use of the hotline outside of its intended purposes.
Digging Deeper
Inappropriate chatter are those that seem to be pranks, obscene, inauthentic, possessing a hidden motive, or otherwise suspicious. These interactions are not new to responders. They provide a particular challenge, when responders need to support callers and not prematurely mislabel chatters as inauthentic as well as protecting themselves from abuse. While some responders may receive training on how to navigate these chats, many do not receive any guidance on how to navigate these interactions. Even though there is little research on how these interactions may impact responders, they may feel sad, stressed, angry, or disgusted. Agencies need to provide space for responders to process and debrief any abusive or inappropriate content. The researchers recommend supervisors to check in with responders after experiencing inappropriate content to offer support and normalize a range of reactions to an inappropriate chatter. The researchers hope that with this study they are able to provide guidance on how to improve training related to these interactions, reduce the burden on responders, and ensure survivors have access to crisis hotlines.
Description of Methods
This study looked at 233 transcripts from the web-based assault hotline operated by Michigan State University. All of the transcripts were anonymous, so the researchers lacked demographic data.
The researchers identified 38 transcripts that were suspected of being inappropriate including those that seemed to be pranks, obscene, inauthentic, possessing a hidden motive, or otherwise suspicious. The team used codeback thematic analysis, a qualitative analysis method, to identify patterns in the data. The researchers looked to determine how responders identify if a chat is inappropriate and how they navigate the chats.
Researchers identified 3 themes which responders identified as inappropriate chats:
- Detecting implausibly graphic and abusive content
- Recognizing presumably inauthentic chat patterns
- Navigating ambiguous content
Researchers identified 2 ways which responders navigated potential inappropriate chats:
- Gently attempting to redirect the chatter
- Firm, direct boundary setting
The processes the responder chose seemed to result from their evaluation of the severity of a chatter’s inappropriate conduct.
Research Team
Jacob Nason is a PhD student in the School of Social Work at Michigan State University. His area of study particularly focuses on sexual violence prevention on college campuses, the role of social work in sports, and the intersections of violence prevention and college athletics.
Dr. Carrie A. Moylan is an associate professor in the School of Social Work. Currently, Dr. Moylan is engaged in research examining campus sexual assault policy implementation at colleges and universities and identifying campus-level risk and protective factors such as the role of campus climate in shaping sexual assault prevalence.
Dr. Abbie Nelson is an assistant professor at Southeast Missouri State University. She has practiced as a social worker for over 15 years, with a focus on holistic trauma resolution particularly with female survivors of DV and SA.
Tana Fedewa is the Director of the MSU’s Center for Survivors. She is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Michigan and advocates for trauma-informed services, response, and interventions on campus and in the community.
Dr. Rebecca Campbell is a Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University. For the past 25 years, she has been conducting community-based research on violence against women and children, with an emphasis on sexual assault.
Further Research
Moylan, C. A., Carlson, M. L., Campbell, R., & Fedewa, T. (2021). “It’s Hard to Show Empathy in a Text”: Developing a Web-based Sexual Assault Hotline in a College Setting. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(17-18), NP16037-NP16059. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211025036
Munro-Kramer, M. L., Moylan, C. A., Carlson, M. L., Campbell, R. M., & Fedewa, T. (2022). Core Skills for Digital Crisis Intervention: Lessons from a University-Based Online Sexual Assault Hotline. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 41(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228835.2022.2156654
Nason, J. A., Moylan, C. A., Nelson, A., Munro-Kramer, M. L., Fedewa, T., & Campbell, R. (2024). Pranks, Obscene Chatters, and Ambiguous Content: Exploring the Identification and Navigation of Inappropriate Messages to a Web-Based Sexual Assault Hotline. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 33(2), 183–203. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2024.2319084
Nason, J. A., Moylan, C. A., Nelson, A., Munro-Kramer, M. L., Fedewa, T., & Campbell, R. Pranks, Obscene Chatters, and Ambiguous Content: Identifying and Navigating Obscene/Prank Chats on a Web-Based Sexual Assault Hotline.
Moylan, C. A., Campbell, R., Munro-Kramer, M. L. (2021). Evaluating a Web-Based Crisis Hotline for Sexual Assault Victims: Reducing Barriers, Increasing Help-Seeking, and Improving the Help-Seeking Experience.