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Exercise 2: My different stages

To change behaviour, it is important to recognize and understand the patterns in past behaviour. This can help us know the signs of the behaviour repeating itself and help us think about how we can change for the better.

Thinking about your online behaviour, what examples can you identify for each stage?

Remember that not every stage will be relevant for everyone. For example, some people do not try to make friends with the minor concerned, or to form a relationship with them. But other people do. The difference often says a lot about people’s motivations. You can download this exercise here. 

  1. Download and open the file in a PDF reader. If you can’t do this, you can download this free PDF reader from Adobe.
  2. Modify the worksheets by filling in the editable fields.
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The cycle of online grooming

Some people find it more helpful to think of their behaviour as following a repeated pattern rather than, for example, the stages set out above. As with the stages above, considering your behaviour patterns can help you to understand the form your behaviour took, and the factors involved in your decision-making.

This will put you in a position where you can recognize this and change your behaviour so it is not repeated in the future.

The cycle below is based on the work of de Santisteban et al. (2018). Just like with the stages above, how a person moves through the cycle will be unique to them and is likely to have changed over time as their behaviour developed. Not every stage will apply to everyone.