Mobile Applications Designed for Sexual or Dating Violence Prevention Targeting Adolescents and Emerging Adults: A Scoping Review

Adolescents and emerging adults are at highest risk for sexual violence. While technology-based interventions are emerging in the literature, little is known regarding mobile applications specifically for use with young people. The objective was to identify and map available mobile-based applications designed to reach adolescent or emerging adult users at risk of sexual or dating violence. The Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis extension for scoping reviews were employed. All available English language studies and methodological papers describing mobile-based applications designed to prevent and/or mitigate sexual violence targeting young persons were included with no time limits. Abstracts and full-text readings were carried out by three independent reviewers, followed by data charting and thematic analysis, presented in narrative. Mobile applications targeting young people show promise ( N = 15). Most applications target emerging adults over the age of 18 years, with a scarcity of mobile applications designed for adolescents. The myPlan Safety Planning app is the most reported in the literature, adapted to three countries, demonstrating promise across three available randomized controlled trials. Mobile applications can aid in reaching young people at the highest risk for sexual violence. Findings may inform further mobile application development and intervention research. This scoping review was registered prospectively on the Open Science Framework (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/QWZBE).