Teens are all about the sexting

February 26, 2018|Internal Medicine News

Study improves knowledge, identifies research gaps

FROM JAMA PEDIATRICS

More teenagers are sending and receiving sexts than in previous years, based on data from a meta-analysis of 39 studies including 110,380 individuals younger than 18 years.

Published rates of sexting in teens range from 1% to 60%, wrote Sheri Madigan, PhD, of the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and her colleagues. “However, the true public health importance of youth sexting is unclear at present because the field is handicapped by inconsistent information regarding its prevalence.”

Denise Fulton/Frontline Medical News

To better determine the prevalence of sexting in adolescents, Dr. Madigan and her colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of studies regarding sexting via images, video, and/or explicit messaging, with the results published online in JAMA Pediatrics. On average, 15% of individuals sent sexts, and 27% received them. The prevalence of forwarding a sext without consent was 12%, and the prevalence of having one’s own sext forwarded without consent was 8%.

“Higher prevalence rates were found in more recent studies, with older youth, and with youth using a mobile device to sext,” the researchers said.