Sexting, psychological distress and dating violence among adolescents and young adults

• Mara Morelli ^[1] ; Dora Bianchi ^[1] ; Roberto Baiocco ^[1] ; Lina Pezzuti ^[1] ; Antonio Chirumbolo ^[1]
  1. [1] Sapienza Universitá di Roma (Italia)
• Localización: Psicothema, ISSN-e 1886-144X, ISSN 0214-9915, Vol. 28, Nº. 2, 2016, págs. 137-142
• Idioma: inglés
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Sexting, trastorno psicológico y noviazgo violento en adolescentes y adultos jóvenes
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo (pdf)
• Dialnet Métricas: 18 Citas
• Resumen
  • español

    Antecedentes: sexting es el intercambio de material explicítamente sexual o de contenido provocante (mensajes de texto, fotos y vídeos) mediante el uso de Smartphone, Internet y social network. Las pruebas recientes han descubierto la relación entre varios riesgos y comportamientos de tipo agresivo. El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar la relación entre la cantidad de sexting, malestar psicológico y violencia durante el noviazgo entre adolescentes y adultos jóvenes. Método: el estudio incluyó a 1.334 participantes (68% mujeres, edad media de 20,8) que completaron una encuesta con la Kinsey Scale, Sexting Behavior Questionnaire, Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory y General Health Questionnaire. Resultados: los resultados mostraron diferencias de orientamiento sexual, los hombres (vs. mujeres) practicaron más sexting, mientras los homosexuales (vs. heterosexuales) están más involucrados en sexting. Por otra parte, los que más usaban el sexting cometieron más actos violentos durante las citas o el noviazgo. En cuanto a trastornos psicológicos, no se encontraron diferencias entre alto o poco/moderado uso del Sexting. Conclusiones: los resultados demostraron que el uso moderado y alto del sexting podría ser un factor de riesgo para algunos comportamientos problemáticos como el noviazgo violento, si bien no hay una relación con los síntomas de ansiedad y depresión.

  • English

    Background: Sexting is the exchange of sexually explicit or provocative content (text messages, photos, and videos) via smartphone, Internet, or social networks. Recent evidence enlightened its relationships with several risk and aggressive behaviors. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the amount of sexting, psychological distress, and dating violence in adolescents and young adults. Method: The study involved 1,334 participants (68% females; mean age = 20.8) who completed a survey containing Kinsey Scale, Sexting Behavior Questionnaire, Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory, and General Health Questionnaire. Results: Results showed gender and sexual orientation differences: Males (vs. females) did more sexting, while non-heterosexuals (vs. heterosexuals) were more involved in sexting. Moreover, high/moderate users of sexting committed more offline and online dating violence. Regarding psychological distress, no differences were found between high and low/moderate users of sexting. Conclusions: Results suggested that moderate and high use of sexting could be a risk factor for some problematic behaviors such as dating violence, even if there is not a relationship with anxiety and depression symptoms.

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