Sexuality Education & Therapy with Children

Open Access: No.

Abstract

Adolescent sexting is considered a public health and social issue. Parents may play a fundamental role in shaping their children’s attitudes and behaviours toward sexting. Adolescent attitude toward sexting overall may also be relevant for sexting engagement. The present study aimed to test a conceptual model in which sexting behaviours are explained by parental practices, mediated by adolescents’ attitudes toward sexting, controlling for gender and age. We investigated separately the role of two different mediators: adolescents’ perception of sexting as risky and adolescents’ perception of sexting as fun and carefree. The sample consisted of 507 Italian adolescents aged 14–19. Results suggested that rules on content, parental knowledge, parental control and frequency of communication explained adolescent sexting attitudes or behaviours. Also, adolescents who reported a more favourable attitude toward sexting were more likely to engage in sexting. Results highlighted the fundamental role played by parents in shaping adolescents’ sexting attitudes and behaviours and the importance of adolescents’ attitude toward sexting in shaping sexting behaviours. Findings suggest that parents may play a pivotal role by resorting to effective parental practices of media-mediation and monitoring in order to guide and support their adolescent children in dealing with sexting.

Relevance

The findings of this study were consistent with previous studies that parents – both parental knowledge and setting rules on content – play a protective role in shaping adolescents’ attitudes towards sexting and their sexting behavior. Specifically, “Adolescents whose parents were both informed about their social lives and able to provide clear rules on access to online content showed increased perception and awareness of sexting risks, decreased perception of sexting as something fun and enjoyable, and were less likely to engage in sexting.” Also helpful in regulating adolescent sexting was open communication on general internet and social media use. The findings suggest that parents assume the posture of ‘authoritative parenting’ such that “through open communication and the provision of clear rules, [they] can empathize with and attend, listen, empathize and respond to their children, fostering a sense of understanding in their children.”

“It is interesting to note that with age, adolescents reported a stronger perception of sexting as risky but also a more robust perception of sexting as fun… e believe that a possible explanation of adolescents’ ambivalence toward sexting and the primary influence of a favourable attitude toward actual engagement in sexting could be grounded in neuroscience and contemporary perspectives on adolescent brain development and risk-taking.”

Citation

Cuccì, G., Olivari, M. G., Colombo, C. C., & Confalonieri, E. (2024). Risk or fun? Adolescent attitude towards sexting and parental practices. Journal of Family Studies, 30(1), 22–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/13229400.2023.2189151