Sexting

Open Access: Yes

Abstract

The current study tested a model in which three body image factors were assumed to be associated with adolescents’ sexting (sending nude or semi-nude pictures and/or video clips) to either romantic partners or strangers. We hypothesized that lower appearance esteem, more body surveillance, and more dysfunctional appearance beliefs would be associated with a higher likelihood of sexting. We also examined the effects of pubertal timing in the model, along with assessing the moderating effect of gender on the pathways to sexting. A questionnaire study was conducted with 1543 adolescents (girls=791, 50.7%; boys=772, 49.3%), ages between 13 and 16 years. The results from structural equation modeling indicated that girls’ and boys’ dysfunctional appearance beliefs were most consistently associated with sexting with romantic partners and strangers. Body surveillance also predicted sexting with strangers, but only for boys. Contrary to our hypotheses, appearance esteem was not significantly associated with sexting. Early-maturing girls and boys were more likely to sext with either partner. Girls reporting earlier pubertal timing were more likely to sext with romantic partners via the mediation of appearance beliefs. The findings from this study provide novel evidence of the complex interplay between body image and adolescents’ sexting, emphasizing that, in general, dysfunctional appearance beliefs seem to be more important for adolescents’ sexting compared to body surveillance and appearance esteem.

Relevance

“The overarching aim of the present study was to examine the links between pubertal timing and different body image factors with adolescents’ sexting behaviors. We also investigated whether relations between body image factors and sexting differed depending on the recipient of the sext (romantic partner or stranger), and whether patterns in the results differed between boys and girls.”

“The present study supports that body image factors are associated with adolescents’ sexting experiences. In particular, dysfunctional beliefs about appearance were linked with adolescents’ sexting with both romantic partners and strangers. Body surveillance was also associated with sexting with strangers, but only for boys. Early pubertal timing was associated with an increased likelihood for sexting with either sexting partner among both girls and boys, and for girls, dysfunctional appearance beliefs mediated this link. Unexpectedly, for both girls and boys, no significant association between appearance esteem and sexting was found.”

Citation

Burén, J., Gattario, K. H., & Lunde, C. (2025). The role of body image factors in Swedish adolescents’ sexting behaviors. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 54(4), 1441–1457. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03115-4