Who Sexts? An Analysis of Psychological Predictors in Adolescents and Emerging Adults

Sexting has become a common practice among adolescents and young adults. Certain psychological variables influence behavioral patterns, in turn increasing, in some cases, negative consequences. In other sexual behaviors, variables such as impulsivity, self-esteem or romantic love myths have been associated with behavioral patterns and consequences by gender, but the evidence regarding sexting is still unclear. For this reason, the present study analyzes sexting behaviors (sending, responding and posting), motives and attitudes, as well as the role of significant psychological variables (motives and attitudes towards sexting, myths of romantic love, perceived emotional distress, self-esteem, impulsivity, secure attachment, and perception of social relationships) in the engagement in sexting in Spanish adolescents and emerging adults.

In this cross-sectional study, between 2022 and 2023, 1686 Spanish people (61.1% women and 38.9% men), aged between 12 and 25 years (M = 16.23; SD = 3.25) completed an online questionnaire to evaluate sexting behaviors and related psychological variables.

Our findings supported the consolidation of sexting from early adolescence, as a common practice, more present among emerging adults and, in general, revealed few gender differences. Furthermore, beyond the importance of positive attitudes for engaging in sexting for adolescents and emerging adults, other variables played a different role depending on the age group. For example, higher impulsivity was associated with engaging in sexting for early and middle adolescents, but not for emerging adults.

Therefore, it is necessary to adjust preventive interventions to different age groups, as well as consider the weight of different psychological variables by age.