By Joan Tabachnick and David Prescott

Technology use and attitudes about peer norms were most significantly associated with sexting behavior in youth. Image-related behavior overall was positively correlated with the participant’s age.     

In this study, the authors defined sexting to include “content that meets the legal definition of child sexual exploitation materials and can place youths at risk of harassment, bullying, and sextortion.” The survey contained a sample of 996 youths and asked questions about demographics, sexting behaviors, technology use, attitudes and perceived peer norms.  By including 394 youth aged 9-12, this study significantly extended the existing research into this younger youth category. Four different behaviors were examined: sending nude or near-nude images, receiving images sent without the depicted person’s consent, non-consensually resharing images, or having one’s own image non-consensually shared. 

Through regression analysis, Seto, Roche, Stroebel, Pons, and Goharian found that 15% of girls and 9% of boys aged 13-17 had shared their own images, 22% indicated they had received images without the depicted person’s consent, 10% reported non-consensually resharing the images of others, 10% reported having their own images non-consensually leaked. Compared with the 13– to 17-year-old participants, a smaller number of the younger 9- to 12-year-old youth shared images of others, non-consensually leaked images of others or had their own images shared without consent. However, the numbers were still significant; 15% of boys in this age received images of others and 12% of these youths shared images of others without consent.  

Overall, image related behaviors in all categories were positively correlated with participant age – behaviors increasing with participant age. Technology use, particularly the use of a dating app was significantly associated with all image related behavior. Attitudes about self-sharing images and non-consensually resharing images of others were significant positive correlations with all four sexting behaviors. Gender was a significant variable in just one category, the self-sharing of images. In particular, gender/sexual minority participants were significantly more likely to share their own images and also receive non-consensually reshared images of others. 

For more detail on each of the four behaviors:

  

While these findings may not surprise the more seasoned professionals in the field of treating problematic sexual behavior, they illustrate the full scope of a problem that didn’t exist when many of us were younger. It is important for professionals to be aware of the prevalence of these behaviors because:

1)     This is the context in which so many of our child and adolescent clients grow up in, and:

2)     Professionals providing assessment and treatment to young people will want to screen for these kinds of behaviors and address them in treatment.

The authors point out that boys aged 9-12 were the most likely group to non-consensually reshare images. They also point out that we don’t know enough about the motivations of these boys – a critical question for future research and for clinicians when exploring treatment opportunities. It also challenges us to explore the perceived norms among friends and how those perceived norms can be shifted as a prevention strategy. 

This study reminds us, again, just how common these behaviors are among young people. They also remind us that professionals in our field have an opportunity to intervene and prevent these situations from happening through education with children/teen clients and their families. In many quarters, it is common to hear parents and caregivers express doubt that their child would be involved in these behaviors. Professionals can use these data to help parents and caregivers engage with youths, learn about their concerns and internet use, and ultimately provide the guidance that will prevent further harm.

Seto, M. C., Roche, K., Stroebel, M., Gonzalez‐Pons, K., & Goharian, A. (2023). Sending, receiving, and nonconsensually sharing nude or near‐nude images by youth. Journal of Adolescence.

Participants were a market panel sample of 394 youths aged 9–12 and 602 youths aged 13–17 (M_age = 13.5, SD = 2.50, 60.3% females) recruited for an anonymous online survey in the United States. The survey comprised questions about demographic characteristics, sexting behaviors, technology use, attitudes, and perceived norms. The four outcomes were sending nude or near-nude images or videos (images), receiving images sent without the depicted person's knowledge, nonconsensually resharing images, or having one's own images nonconsensually reshared.