Sexting
Sexting with benefits? Exploration of sexting behaviours through the lens of protection motivation theory.
Open Access: No.
Abstract
Sexting is a common form of sexual communication that is often considered normative and beneficial despite some research highlighting its negative social, psychological, and legal repercussions. Using protection motivation theory (PMT), this study examines how young adults weigh the pros and cons of sending consensual sexts, sexting under pressure, and deciding against sending sexts, and whether body image dissatisfaction interacts with any of the decision-making processes. In total, 906 participants (554, 61.14% women), aged 18-25 years (M = 21.65, SD = 2.01), completed an online measure of sexting behaviours, body image, and protection motivation. Overall, 71.41% of respondents ever sent a sext. Of those, 45.07% and 36.32% felt pressure to sext or sent a sext because of pressure. Further, 63.90% participants ever considered and decided not to send a sext. All models predicting various sexting behaviours were significant and provided a partial support for the PMT. Body image was a unique predictor of ‘pressured’ sexting but its interactions with the PMT subscales for pressured sexting and decisions against sexting were non-significant. Our study illustrates the need for increasing young people’s self-efficacy and body image to improve their sexting agency and experience.
Relevance
Among young adults aged 18-25, dissatisfaction was for both men and women a “significant” predictor of feeling pressured or coerced into sending a sext. “The results suggest that young adults…would benefit from interventions targeting…the way they evaluate their physical appearance. These interventions might prevent young people from engaging in pernicious types of sexting and potentially protect them from experiencing negative psychological outcomes associated with this behaviour.”
Citation
Howard, D., Klettke, B., Clancy, E., & Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M. (2022). Sexting with benefits? Exploration of sexting behaviours through the lens of protection motivation theory. Body image, 43, 301–313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.09.003
