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Linking Sexting Expectancies with Motivations to Sext
1Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, United States Air Force Academy, USAF Academy, CO 80840, USA.
European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education
|February 24, 2022
Summary
Understanding why individuals sext is key. This study found that positive expectations predict sexting for sexual purposes, while negative expectations predict sexting for other reasons.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Human Sexuality
- Communication Studies
Background:
- Limited research exists on the motivations behind sexting.
- Previous studies focused on sexting's impact on relationships and mental health, not underlying drivers.
- Understanding motivations is crucial for comprehending sexting behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if sexting for sexual purposes (SP) or body image reinforcement (BIR) predicts positive sext expectancies.
- To examine if instrumental/aggravated reasons (IAR) are predicted by negative sext expectancies.
Main Methods:
- An online questionnaire was administered to 348 participants.
- Regression analysis was used to analyze the data.
- The study explored motivations such as sexual purposes, body image reinforcement, and instrumental/aggravated reasons.
Main Results:
- Positive sext expectancies while sending a sext message predicted sexting for sexual purposes.
- Negative sext expectancies (both sending and receiving) predicted sexting for instrumental/aggravated reasons.
- No prediction was found for body image reinforcement.
Conclusions:
- Individuals sexting for sexual purposes with positive expectancies likely enjoy the outcomes.
- Individuals sexting for instrumental/aggravated reasons may experience discomfort with the consequences.
- This highlights a potential area for clinical intervention to explore the reinforcements behind instrumental/aggravated sexting.
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