Abstract
Study Objective
To explore whether sexting by young adolescent girls and boys is associated with adverse
life experiences including exploitative or violent sexual relationships.
Design and Setting
Cross-sectional, anonymous survey of a convenience sample of minor adolescents younger
than age 18 years recruited while waiting for care in clinics affiliated with a children's
hospital in a low-resource, high-poverty, urban community.
Participants
Five hundred fifty-five adolescents aged 14-17 years, 63% girls and 37% boys.
Main Outcome Measures
We measured sexting by asking, “Have you ever sent a sexually suggestive or naked
picture of yourself to another person through text or e-mail?” The survey also measured
risk behaviors, sexual abuse, intimate partner violence (IPV), and arrest and included
a validated depression scale.
Results
Mean age was 15.6 ± 1.1 years; 59% were Hispanic, 28% were black; 44% of girls and
46% of boys ever had sex; 24% of girls and 20% of boys ever sent a sext. More girls
than boys reported sexual abuse (16% vs 3%; P < .01), IPV victimization (15% vs 7%; P < .01), and depression (33% vs 17%; P < .01). More boys than girls reported arrest (15% vs 7%; P < .01). Independent associations with sexting for girls were: ever had sex (odds
ratio [OR], 4.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.29-9.19; P < .001); sexual abuse (OR, 3.81; 95% CI, 1.80-8.05; P < .001); IPV victim (OR, 2.72; 95% CI, 1.11-6.62; P < .05), and for boys: ever had sex (OR, 4.26; 95% CI, 1.47-12.32; P < .01); sexual abuse (OR, 38.48; 95% CI, 1.48-999.46; P < .05); IPV perpetration (OR, 16.73; 95% CI, 1.64-170.75; 95% CI, P < .05), as well as cannabis use, older age, other race, and arrest.
Conclusion
For young adolescents, sexting is independently associated with exploitative and abusive
sexual relationships including sexual abuse and IPV with similarities and differences
in predictors of sexting for girls and boys.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 19, 2019
Footnotes
The authors indicate no conflicts of interest.
The findings of this study were presented, in part, at the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine annual meeting in Seattle, Washington, March 2018, and at the Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Research Meeting, Toronto, Ontario, May 2018.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc.
