Teenage girls who have been abused or neglected engage in more high-risk behaviour online, a new study has shown.

Researchers studied 251 girls aged between 14 and 17, about half of whom were victims of abuse or neglect, and found 20% had experienced online solicitations.

Abused and neglected girls were more likely to present themselves provocatively online, and the research showed this high-risk behaviour was associated with more offline meetings.

Around one third (30%) of the teenagers had offline meetings with people they met online without confirming their identities.