Is Sexting More of a Virtual or Gender Challenge? Factors Behind Non-Consensual Forwarding Among Adolescents

The increase in unauthorized dissemination of erotic-sexual content, and the resulting forwarding chains, has emerged as a concerning manifestation of cyberviolence among adolescents that needs to be addressed. This research explored the factors associated with the persistence of involvement in, and repeated victimization through, non-consensual forwarding. A total of 2604 adolescents (53.4% female) aged 11-19 years (M = 14.89; SD = 2.04) participated. Two subsamples were identified: those who had repeatedly engaged in non-consensual forwarding (n = 213) and those who had frequently been the victim of non-consensual forwarding (n = 297). Sexism, gender, and cyberbullying proved to be the main relevant factors in the persistence of this form of cyberviolence. Specifically, both benevolent and hostile sexism predicted persistent engagement in non-consensual forwarding, although hostile sexism predicted it in boys, not girls. Cyberbullying predicted the repeated victimization of non-consensual forwarding. The co-occurrence with cyberbullying reinforces the notion that non-consensual forwarding may serve as a mechanism for victim harm. Gender and cyberbullying victimization also predicted victimization by non-consensual forwarding, but the results had very small effect sizes. These findings underline the high relevance of sexism and gender in understanding what drives adolescents to persist in non-consensual forwarding. The results are discussed in light of potential normalization processes that may underlie the repetition of these behaviors. Key elements for developing prevention programs to eradicate this type of cyberviolence among youth are identified.