Sexting behavior among adolescents from Spanish-speaking countries

Abstract

Sexting is a common practice among young people which may provoke several negative consequences such as humiliation, bullying or poorer mental health. Consequently, it is essential to understand how it relates to other variables to implement more effective prevention strategies. The first objective was to analyze sexting practices, pornography consumption, bullying, and religiosity in adolescents for significant differences depending on sex (girls vs boys) and religion (no religion vs Christian religion). A further aim was to study the explanatory factors of sexting practices among adolescents, examining associated variables. A predictive model of sexting based on pornography consumption, bullying, religiosity, male sex and age was explored, using structural equation modeling (SEM). The sample consisted of 5,786 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years (55% girls; 35.7% Spanish; 64.3% Latin Americans). Boys showed more sexting and pornography consumption. The Christian group appeared to engage less in sexting and consume less pornography than the non-religious group. Additionally, the results also showed that sexting is associated with pornography consumption and lower religiosity. Prevention programs should incorporate strategies that promote a healthy use of the Internet for sexual purposes and include sexual-affective education to contribute to healthier sexual life in adolescents and young people.