1. Introduction
People’s lifestyles and their way of relating to and interacting with others are changing due to new technologies [
1]. The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has increased considerably in recent years [
2] becoming the primary form of communication between teenagers in intimate relationships [
3].
As a result of new technologies, some studies have noted the emergence of new, previously nonexistent ways to initiate, develop and even end relationships [
4]. This is due to the fact that advances in communication technology have allowed billions of people to connect with each other using their mobile phones [
5], and even start relationships via their phones using mobile applications [
6], text messages, instant messaging, voice messages, email, social networks and so on [
7].
Background
Breadcrumbing, also known as “Hansel and Gretelling” [
8], is one of the new emerging concepts linked to the virtual relationship paradigm. This term, which comes from the idea of figuratively throwing someone breadcrumbs, is one of the latest trends in dating, and one with which particular precaution must be taken [
9]. It is defined as the act of “leading someone on by contacting them intermittently by phone or social media to keep them interested” [
10] with no intention of being in a relationship. As far as it has been studied, the perpetrators of breadcrumbing, known as “breadcrumbers”, have been associated with having narcissistic, egocentric personalities, self-esteem issues or emotional problems [
11] as well as the need to attract and hold the attention of others to boost their own self-esteem [
12], which previously has been observed in other monitoring behaviors [
13]. According to Baker and Carreño [
14] these types of monitoring behaviors often seem to be related to immaturity and insecurity (e.g., fear of ending the relationship for good or not wanting to hurt the other person), although, it could also be due to a conscious desire to maintain control over the other person and, in turn, feed their own ego [
15].
The modus operandi of the breadcrumber is to deceitfully leave a trail of breadcrumbs along the road to a meeting that will never take place [
8]. Literature has associated breadcrumbing perpetration to repeated instances of sporadic communication with no commitment in order to keep victims’ hope and interest of a relationship alive [
16]. Breadcrumbers do not want to commit to anyone, but they like the attention and keeping their victims interested, generating a dependency on the feeling of being interesting and appealing in the dating world [
17]. Therefore, they want their victims to continue thinking about them, but do not necessarily want a committed relationship [
18]. In fact, breadcrumbing perpetrators tend to avoid uncomfortable or negative interactions, such as expressing feelings, because of their fear or inability to commit to another person [
7]. Though this type of behavior can happen both online and offline, using social networks and applications are the most common ways of expressing these dangerous behaviors [
19]. The risks of online dating are very real [
8]. Breadcrumbing perpetration can last for weeks or months and it may be a dangerous practice given its association to the feelings of guilt, anxiety and pain reported by victims [
11].
Adolescence is a time in which the contact between peers is amplified and marks the beginning of affective-sexual or sexual-affective relationships, affective and sexual experiences in the form of dating, stable relationships, “hooking up,” etc. [
20]. It is a phase of experimentation and learning in terms of ones love life, which includes numerous forms of relationships [
21]. Adolescents are the main users of the internet and online social networks [
22]. They use these new technologies to keep in contact with their partners as well as to establish, maintain and end relationships, and even to reconnect after a breakup [
23]. Social networking not only enables their users to flirt and communicate with their romantic partner but it also can play a central role in the process of relational information seeking [
13]. On the other hand, technology use can lead to potentially dangerous social interactions [
24] and can place adolescents in situations of vulnerability and helplessness in virtual reality and in real life. It can even have a negative impact on their affective-sexual well-being [
25]. Nevertheless, the role that social media may play in romantic relationships is an emerging area of research and the majority of studies have been carried out with college-age young adults than with middle adolescents [
26]. Furthermore, due to constantly changing online tools for social connection and dating, few studies have recently explored the new ways in which adolescents use and describe their online use for sexual exploration and relationship-building [
27].
Health professionals play a key role as health educators to aid the development and maintenance of healthy habits and lifestyles in the community, including adolescents and families. They raise awareness of health-related problems and the dangers associated with certain behaviors [
28]. Consequently, they are essential for dealing with new virtual behaviors and providing support [
29]. To be able to assess and intervene appropriately, health professionals working with adolescents in the community, in in-patient or out-patient settings need to understand social media and its role in breadcrumbing perpetration. However, like most emerging concepts, the breadcrumbing phenomenon remains unclear.
Currently, breadcrumbing has captured the attention of the press and the knowledge generated surrounding it thus far has been journalistic in nature, similar to other emerging topics [
7]. Little scientific research has been carried out as of yet regarding the phenomenon of breadcrumbing, which constitutes a relevant gap in knowledge. The few published research investigations on this phenomenon focus on the prevalence of breadcrumbing victimization [
30,
31]. Therefore, the scientific knowledge about the profile of individuals who are most likely to become breadcrumbing perpetrators is limited, making it difficult to develop effective prevention and intervention programs. Research has not examined the possible consequences of breadcrumbing perpetration which might be due to the lack of a specific instrument to measure this phenomenon with reliability and validity. It is essential to create a new instrument that leads further research on the profile of breadcrumbing perpetrators as well as on the consequences of breadcrumbing perpetration on adolescents’ health and wellbeing.
The purpose of the study was to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Breadcrumbing Affective-Sexual Relationships (BREAD-ASR) Questionnaire to explore breadcrumbing perpetration in adolescent relationships.
4. Discussion
The results of this study contribute to the literature, with the development of the BREAD-ASR questionnaire as a valid and reliable instrument. However, it was not possible to compare the results due to the lack of studies. The complexity of the comparison of the results was also observed in a recent literature review on digital dating violence measures [
43]. Therefore, there is an urge to define the construct of new concepts and to agree on instruments to measure the virtual phenomena [
22].
In relation to the results of the exploratory factor analysis, four dimensions were extracted: (1) Communication, (2) Avoidance, (3) Commitment and (4) Dependence, which constitute the dimensional structure of the BREAD-ASR questionnaire and help to define the construct of breadcrumbing.
The breadcrumbing phenomenon was associated with repeated instances of sporadic communication without commitment, or breadcrumbs, sufficient to maintain the interest and hope of the other person via social media [
16]. This type of communication could slow down the healing process and personal growth of breadcrumbing victims upon deciding the relationship is over, as the perpetrators do not disappear forever. Instead, they are temporarily absent but return after a while, which may worsen the pain of ending the relationship [
44]. This contact has also been related to increased feelings of stress about the end of the relationship, more negative feelings, a greater sexual longing for the ex-partner and poorer personal growth after the break up [
13].
The lack of commitment along with avoidance seem to be common in other virtual relationships (e.g., ghosting). Perpetrators resort to avoidance when faced with uncomfortable or negative interactions, such as expressing feelings, because of their fear or inability to commit to another person [
7]. They are also likely to ignore or delay responding to messages through social networking sites [
45]. These variables are measured in the BREAD-ASR questionnaire.
Regarding commitment, numerous forms of relationships have emerged from the online context [
21]. Although romantic relationships are not uncommon [
46], uncommitted relationships have recently become popular among young people [
47]. The inability to commit, associated with breadcrumber perpetrators, may lead to discord between ideal and actual relationship progressions or relationship inactualization, which is associated with poor relationship quality and has strong implications for the mental health of victims [
48].
On the other hand, the dependence factor extracted could be explained by relationship-contingent self-esteem [
49], since it is believed that breadcrumber perpetrators do so in order to boost their self-esteem (e.g., reasserting themselves, feeling loved and desired by victims) and feeling ownership, knowing that they are not alone but they have their victim “there”.
In short, the internet, as well as the development of computer applications and virtual platforms, has revolutionized the paradigm of couples’ relationships [
50]. This cyber society context [
51] has changed the way adolescents communicate and manage social, emotional and sexual relationships [
52]. It has led to new ways of interacting with others and new virtual means of social interaction [
53]. There is evidence that adolescent reliance on social media and the internet for communication and connectivity has both positive and negative affects [
24]. Some authors seem to agree on the fact that in some cases, technology exacerbates and facilitates certain forms of victimization in intimate relationships [
3,
24]. However, there is still debate on about whether digital media simply has introduced a new avenue for more traditional (in-person) unhealthy and abusive behaviors (e.g., harassment, monitoring, and controlling behaviors) or whether these behaviors are new [
22,
54].
Being aware of the fact that first sexual-affective experiences are critical because they become an important basis of interpretation and behavior in subsequent relationships [
55], an understanding of the role played by social media in the formation, maintenance, conflict resolution, and dissolution of teen dating relationships will provide important insights that help fill existing gaps. In agreement with Howard et al. [
24], adolescents that experience abusive relationships in their teens carry these unhealthy patterns of abuse into future relationships. Engaging them in the analysis of the benefits and dangers of social media may be instrumental to healthy teen development in the age of technology.
Awareness of the relevance of this phenomenon, adolescents and their families should be provided with education about internet safety behaviors. Health professionals working with adolescents should provide them with knowledge and information about both healthy and unhealthy intimate relationships, and with resources and tools to assist them in navigating social media to develop mentally healthy ways that facilitate their empowerment and prevent harm to themselves or others. Additionally, it is essential to assist young people in adequately identifying digital dating perpetration and provide them with the necessary resources to effectively cope with such victimization. Adolescents need to be encouraged and supported to tell other students or an adult about the drama and discord they witness on social media to prevent it from escalating to more serious complications. The BREAD-ASR questionnaire constitutes a valuable resource that can help health professionals in the screening of breadcrumbing perpetration and in the design of effective prevention and intervention programs in the community.
Limitations and Further Research
Although the results obtained confirmed the validity and reliability of the designed instrument, the study did show limitations. The instrument developed only perpetration measures; therefore, it would not be appropriate to use it to explore breadcrumbing victimization. The development and psychometric testing of a new instrument to explore breadcrumbing victimization might be considered in future research. The temporal stability of the instrument could not be verified as no test-retest was performed. The psychometric properties obtained for the BREAD-ASR questionnaire could not be contrasted with other studies as it is a new instrument. Similarly, the lack of research on the subject meant that the discussion of the study results was limited. This study was conducted in the Spanish language; therefore, its current application is limited to the Spanish-speaking population. The authors recommend performing confirmatory factors analyses (CFA; to verify construct validity) with criterion validity of different samples in future studies. Thus, further research that expands the samples and settings is necessary. Indeed, the translation and psychometric analysis of this new instrument into other languages is needed in order to apply it in different samples and settings of study. Future research should use the BREAD-ASR to explore the prevalence and impact of the breadcrumbing phenomenon in greater depth and establish a more specific perpetrator profile. This will enable the design of specific prevention and intervention programs that are adapted to successfully managing these toxic behaviors and the potential consequences among the adolescent community.