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Adolescent problematic digital behaviors associated with mobile devices
Abstract
This study examined the relationship between teenagers' use of mobile Internet devices, such as smartphones and tablets, and their involvement in potentially problematic digital behaviors. A cross-sectional correlational design employing a sample (N = 97) of teens aged 13-18 was used. Results indicated that teens using smartphones as their primary source of Internet access spent more time on the Internet and were more likely to receive sexting requests than teens using computers or other devices. Additionally, teens using computers to access the Internet were most likely to view pornography intentionally. Contextual factors such as age, gender, family structure, religious commitment, attachment to parents, and parental monitoring of online activities were also examined to determine their relationship to negative psychological and interpersonal outcomes. Teens who were highly religious and who had strong attachment to their parents were less likely to use the Internet in problematic ways.
... On an individual, intrapersonal level, ethnic background (non-White) and sexual orientation (non-exclusively heterosexual) were associated with a greater likelihood of sending sexts (Klettke et al., 2014). Engagement in sexting was also related to higher levels of sensation seeking, impulsivity, and substance use (Cooper et al., 2016), (risky) sexual activity, multiple sexual partners, lack of contraception use (Kosenko et al., 2017;Mori et al., 2019), lower religiosity (Atwood et al., 2017), deviant behavior, and poorer mental health (Mori et al., 2019). Experiences of relational aggression, bullying, and cyberbullying have also been linked to sending sexts (Doyle et al., 2021). ...
... Research regarding parenting and family functioning among adolescents aged 12-20 years revealed several correlates significantly associated with sending sexts. Poorer attachment to parents and overly restrictive parenting practices have been identified as risk factors for greater willingness to send sexts (Atwood et al., 2017). Lower family cohesion reported by adolescents constituted a risk factor for sending partially naked photos or images to someone online (Baumgartner et al., 2012). ...
... Perceived parental attitudes towards sexting were not significantly related to young persons' sending of sexts to a romantic partner or others (Van Ouystel et al., 2017). Parental supervision of youth's online activities or mobile phones was not related to teens' willingness to send sexts (Atwood et al., 2017) and sending of sexts (Campbell & Park, 2014). Some of these studies included samples of older adolescents, e.g., aged 15-21 years (Van Ouystel et al., 2017), suggesting that parental influence on teens' sexting behaviors may reduce as the latter mature and individuate. ...
Although consensual sending of sexts between adolescents is considered developmentally appropriate, it may also entail a range of negative consequences. Current sexting research lacks a comprehensive theoretical framework identifying a range of risk and protective factors underpinning adolescent consensual sending of sexts across individual, interpersonal, and distal levels. Further, there is a lack of systematic evaluation of how the importance of these factors may vary across adolescent age. This study investigated the utility of the Social Development Model to predict a range of risk and protective factors across individual, family, peer, school, and community-level factors. The sample included 1302 teenagers from Victoria, Australia (Mage = 14.54, SD = 1.14, 50.8% girls). Results indicated that 146 (11.7%) participants sent a sext (76 boys and 70 girls). Logistic regression analyses revealed that the Social Development Model accounted for 45.8% of variance in sexting, with greater likelihood of sending sexts being associated with older age, prior sexual activity, school sector, physical activity, lifetime substance use, greater depressive symptoms, sensation seeking, and perceived substance availability in the community. Multigroup analyses revealed that lifetime substance use was associated with a greater likelihood of sending sexts among younger teens. Among older adolescents, adaptive coping was associated with reduced engagement in sexting, while higher parental overcontrol and family conflict increased the odds of sending sexts. Overall, sexting is associated with a range of modifiable factors potentially amenable to intervention.
... The number of participants enrolled in each study ranged from 97 to 11,956. Six studies were conducted specifically on adolescents (28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33), two on young adults (34,35), four on mixed samples of adolescents and young adults (36)(37)(38)(39), and in only one study the sample consisted only of adults (40). The studies were conducted in different countries: two in the US (30,35), two in Iran (36,37), one in Turkey (39), one in China (28), one in Malaysia (31), two in Switzerland (34,38), one in Poland (40), one in the Czech Republic (29), one in South Korea (33), and one was a multicenter study involving 10 countries: Austria, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Romania, and Slovenia (32). ...
... Six studies were conducted specifically on adolescents (28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33), two on young adults (34,35), four on mixed samples of adolescents and young adults (36)(37)(38)(39), and in only one study the sample consisted only of adults (40). The studies were conducted in different countries: two in the US (30,35), two in Iran (36,37), one in Turkey (39), one in China (28), one in Malaysia (31), two in Switzerland (34,38), one in Poland (40), one in the Czech Republic (29), one in South Korea (33), and one was a multicenter study involving 10 countries: Austria, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Romania, and Slovenia (32). ...
... One study measured religiosity using the Religious Background and Behavior Questionnaire (34); one adapted the short form of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (31); one measured religiosity using a single question from the Global School-Based Pupil Health Survey (GSHS) and the European Values Study (EVS) about self-perception of being a religious person (32); one study measured religiosity using the Religious Belief Scale to ascertain high-school students' religious belief levels (39); one applied the Korean Brief God's Image Scale, which consists of 17 items covering five dimensions (answering, accepting, benevolent, presenting, and nurturing God's image), as a short form of Lawrence's God's Image Scale, which contains 72 items (33). Other studies used ad hoc questionnaires to investigate different domains of religiosity (28,30,(35)(36)(37)40), such as: praying, self-perception as a religious person, perception of the importance of religiosity, devotion, frequency of attending religious services, religious beliefs, and commitment (30). Finally, two studies (29, 33) investigated spirituality using the adjusted short version of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), and one (38) only measured spirituality by asking to what extent participants believed in a spiritual higher power, and in its supporting and judging roles. ...
Introduction
The literature provides evidence of religiosity being associated with physical and mental health, and also with behavioral addictions. This systematic review examines the data on the link between religiosity or spirituality and the emerging internet addictions.
Methods
A systematic literature review was conducted in the PubMed and Scopus databases to identify observational (cross-sectional, cohort, and case-control) studies conducted on adolescents and young adults to investigate the association between religiosity or spirituality and internet addiction. Of the 854 articles identified in the databases, 13 met our inclusion criteria and were included in our systematic review.
Results
Eleven of the 13 studies reviewed specifically investigated religiosity and internet addiction: six found an inverse association between religiosity and internet addiction; three found no evidence of any association; and one found a direct association. One study examining both religiosity and spirituality generated mixed results. Only one study investigated spirituality unrelated to religion, and found a direct association with internet addiction. Two of three studies specifically considering internet gaming addiction found it inversely associated with high levels of religiosity, while the third found no association.
Conclusion
This review supports a possible role for religiosity as a protective factor, as emerged from the majority of the studies examined. Religiosity also seemed to be associated with lower internet gaming rates among adolescents.
... Some studies have listed IA as behavioral addiction (Durkee et al., 2016) or impulse control disorder (Shapira et al., 2003). IA is mainly characterized by uncontrolled use of the Internet, impaired physical and psychological functions, individual behavior disturbance, and interference with normal life (Islam and Hossin, 2016;Atwood et al., 2017). Some researchers also call IA Pathological Internet use (PIU) or compulsive Internet use (CIU) (Atwood et al., 2017;Ballarotto et al., 2018;Zhao et al., 2018). ...
... IA is mainly characterized by uncontrolled use of the Internet, impaired physical and psychological functions, individual behavior disturbance, and interference with normal life (Islam and Hossin, 2016;Atwood et al., 2017). Some researchers also call IA Pathological Internet use (PIU) or compulsive Internet use (CIU) (Atwood et al., 2017;Ballarotto et al., 2018;Zhao et al., 2018). Although PIU and IA are both problematic Internet use, there are differences in degree . ...
... In the family, technology-related education is often dominated by the father, while emotion-related education is dominated by the mother . In addition, father-child intimacy can improve children's self-control ability (Zhang et al., 2021), and the worse their self-control ability is, the higher the possibility of problematic Internet use (Atwood et al., 2017). Different parenting styles of fathers and mothers can lead to different influences on problematic Internet use. ...
As past studies of the association between parent-child relationship and problematic internet use show mixed results and are influenced by many factors, this meta-analysis of 75 primary Chinese and English language studies from 1990 to 2021 with 110,601 participants (aged 6−25 years) explored (a) the overall association between parent-child relationship and problematic internet use, and (b) whether the association is affected by their types, country, measures, objects of the parent-child relationship, gender, age, year and publication types. We used funnel plots, Classic fail-safe N and Egger's test to test for publication bias and for moderation with the homogeneity tests. The results showed a negative association between quality of parent-child relationship and problematic internet use (r = −0.18, 95% CI = [−0.20, −0.15]). The moderation analysis found that compared with internet addiction tendency, the association between social media addiction and parent-child relationship was stronger. Moreover, the association between the parent-child relationship and problematic internet use of emerging adults (18–25 years old) was stronger than that of adolescents (12−18 years old). Furthermore, the negative association between parent-child relationship and problematic internet use was weaker (a) in Italy than those in Turkey and China, (b) when using CPS (Closeness to Parents Scale), IPPA (Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment), or PARQ (Parent-Child Relationship Questionnaire) measuring parent-child relationship than using PCCS (Parent-Child Communication Scale), (c) when using IAT measuring problematic internet use rather than using IGDS or APIUS. Hence, these results indicate a negative association between parent-child relationships and problematic internet use, and the association is moderated by types of problematic internet use, age, country, scales of both parent-child relationship and problematic internet use.
... They found that parental monitoring and parental discussion of privacy settings acted as protective factors for sexting, especially for females. In a study on 97 adolescents, Atwood et al. [2] examined the relationship between teenagers' use of mobile Internet devices, involvement in potentially problematic digital behaviors, including sexting, parental mediation and parental attachment. Results showed that parental mediation did not affect sexting directly. ...
... Drawing on the available evidence, we expected that parental practices regarding adolescent online life and parental monitoring would be negatively linked to adolescent's engagement in sexting [2,13,47,67]. Moreover, we expected a positive link between parental practices regarding adolescent online life and parental monitoring with adolescent negative attitude toward sexting [28] which in turn would be negatively linked to adolescent engagement in sexting [33,63]. ...
... Participants responded to a three-item scale that was originally used by Atwood et al. [2] to measure participants' perceptions of parental active mediation (i.e., "How frequently in the past six months a parent has talked to you about what is appropriate and inappropriate to view on the Internet and mobile devices?"). Responses were given using a five-point Likert scale ranging from "Never" (1) to "Always" (5). ...
Background:
Sexting has recently emerged as a public health and social issue. The present study had two aims: a) to preliminarily test adolescent gender differences on parental practices regarding adolescent online life, parental monitoring, adolescent attitude towards sexting and sexting behaviors; b) to separately test for male and female adolescents a conceptual model in which sexting behaviors are explained by the parental practices and monitoring, with the mediation of adolescent negative attitude towards sexting.
Methods:
Direct and indirect links between the variables in the model were investigated. The study was carried out with 541 participants. Participants were Italian adolescents (60% males; 40% females) aged 14 to 19 years (Mage = 16,19 years, SDage = 1,31).
Results:
Results suggested that females sent more multimedia sexts, had a higher perception of risk associated with sexting and reported higher scores for both parental practices regarding adolescent online life and parental monitoring. Rules on Contents, Parental Knowledge, Adolescent Disclosure, and Parental Control resulted to be linked to both sexting attitudes and behaviors for male and female adolescents.
Conclusions:
Findings emphasize the important role that parents play in shaping attitudes and behaviors of both daughters and sons during adolescence.
... They found that parental monitoring and parental discussion of privacy settings acted as protective factors for sexting, especially for females. In a study on 97 adolescents, Atwood et al. [2] examined the relationship between teenagers' use of mobile Internet devices, involvement in potentially problematic digital behaviors, including sexting, parental mediation and parental attachment. Results showed that parental mediation did not affect sexting directly. ...
... Drawing on the available evidence, we expected that parental practices regarding adolescent online life and parental monitoring would be negatively linked to adolescent's engagement in sexting [2,13,47,67]. Moreover, we expected a positive link between parental practices regarding adolescent online life and parental monitoring with adolescent negative attitude toward sexting [28] which in turn would be negatively linked to adolescent engagement in sexting [33,63]. ...
... Participants responded to a three-item scale that was originally used by Atwood et al. [2] to measure participants' perceptions of parental active mediation (i.e., "How frequently in the past six months a parent has talked to you about what is appropriate and inappropriate to view on the Internet and mobile devices?"). Responses were given using a five-point Likert scale ranging from "Never" (1) to "Always" (5). ...
Il fenomeno del sexting riscuote sempre maggiore interesse a livello pubblico e sociale. Tuttavia la ricerca sui fattori connessi a tale fenomeno è agli albori. Sebbene l’esistenza di una forte e chiara associazione tra parenting e comportamenti a rischio in adolescenza sia stata ampiamente dimostrata (Newman et al., 2008), sono pochi gli studi riguardanti sexting in adolescenza e influenza genitoriale. In questi primi studi (Campbell e Park, 2013; West et al., 2014) un forte controllo genitoriale sull’uso che i figli fanno delle tecnologie non è risultato associato a comportamenti di sexting in adolescenza ma l’avere dei genitori che forniscono regole circa l’inviare e il ricevere sext è associato a minor rischio di sexting. In Italia non vi sono studi che indagano tale legame nello specifico.
Obiettivo del presente studio è di analizzare il legame tra stili educativi genitoriali e comportamenti di sexting in adolescenza.
Il campione è composto da 492 studenti italiani (maschi=30%, Metà=16.56; D.S.=1.09) che hanno o hanno avuto una relazione sentimentale. L’82% vive con entrambi i genitori, il 14% ha i genitori separati e il 4% vive con un solo genitore. Gli adolescenti hanno compilato un questionario su: comportamenti di sexting e percezione retrospettiva degli stili educativi genitoriali materno e paterno.
Sono state svolte delle correlazioni bivariate preliminari tra stili educativi materni e paterni (autoritario, autorevole, permissivo) e due comportamenti di sexting (ricevere e inviare contenuti a sfondo sessuale). È emersa un’associazione significativa positiva dei comportamenti di sexting con gli stili autoritario e permissivo materno e paterno, e negativa con lo stile autorevole di madre e padre. Sono stati quindi testati 2 modelli di regressione lineare multipla, modello stepwise. Nel primo modello gli stili, autoritario paterno (β=,131, p=.013), permissivo materno (β=,188, p<.001) e autorevole paterno (β= -,130, p=.012) spiegano l’11% della varianza della variabile dipendente “ricevere sext” (F(3,47)=18,428, p<.001). Nel secondo modello, la varianza della variabile “inviare sext” è spiegata per il 6% (F(2,47)=16,152, p<.001) dagli stili autorevole (β= -,227, p<.001) e permissivo (β=,093, p=.038) paterno. A partire da questi risultati preliminari verrà testato un modello di equazione strutturale.
I risultati confermano le evidenze della letteratura secondo cui l’avere sperimentato durante l’infanzia genitori autoritari o permissivi aumenta la probabilità che l’adolescente sia coinvolto in comportamenti a rischio. Al contrario un genitore autorevole sembra diminuire tale rischio. Aspetto innovativo del presente contributo è quello di aver indagato tale legame considerando nello specifico il fenomeno del sexting, ancora poco esplorato. Alla luce di tali evidenze potrà essere interessante in futuro, ampliando il campione, considerare la presenza di differenze di genere.
... With regard to adolescents' sexual orientation, we expect to confirm previous findings of an increased frequency of sexting and exposure to online victimization in sexual-minority adolescents (e.g., Gámez-Guadix et al., 2017;Gámez-Guadix, Almendros, Borrajo, & Calvete, 2015), and to determine the differential role of verbal and visual sexting as possible mediators of the association between sexual orientation and online victimization. In all predictive analyses presented in the study, we control for gender, age, and time spent online, since these characteristics have been shown to be significantly associated with individual differences in the frequency of sexting, or the exposure to online victimization in adolescence (e.g., Atwood, Beckert, & Rhodes, 2017;Gámez-Guadix & Mateos-Pérez, 2019;Park, Na, & Kim, 2014). ...
... As a second goal, we investigated the role of adolescents' sexual dimensions, as well frequency of involvement in verbal and visual sexting behaviors, as a predictor of exposure to different forms of online victimization, namely, unwanted sexual solicitation and cyberbullying victimization. With regard to the investigated control variables, female adolescents were more likely to report exposure to online sexual solicitations, while the amount of time spent online by adolescents was directly related to their risk of exposure to both forms of online victimization (e.g., Atwood et al., 2017;Gámez-Guadix & Mateos-Pérez, 2019). With regard to adolescents' sexual dimensions, we found that sex drive and sexual orientation had a direct effect on adolescents' exposure to unwanted sexual solicitation in the online environment, while sexual self-concept did not. ...
... Although the results of the present study support the relationship between avoidance and/or anxiety attachment and sext dissemination, future studies should examine this association using specific attachment measures such as attachment to intimate partners, peers, or adults at school, which may be more relevant and meaningful than attachment measures measured as attachment to close individuals. According to some studies, parental practices (e.g., regulating and monitoring adolescents' media use) indirectly predict sending (Norman, 2017) or receiving sexting requests (Atwood et al., 2017) through attachment to parents and should be a target for future research on sext dissemination. It is necessary that future studies continue to examine the associations between school monitoring of adolescent behavior and sext dissemination, rather than accepting the null hypothesis of the current study, especially given the findings that a developmentally appropriate, structured school climate for adolescents requires adult monitoring and clarity of rules and expectations (Gergory et al., 2010). ...
The aim of this study was to examine the risk factors for sext victimization and perpetration among Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian adolescents. The sample comprised 4215 high school students (including 57.49% girls), aged 14 to 20 years (mean age 16.41). Attitudes toward sexting, self-control, attachment style, parental/school cell control, school cell supervision and sociodemographic data were also examined as factors potentially relating to victimization and/or perpetration of sext dissemination. Of the total sample of 4215 adolescents, nearly one-fifth (19.41%) reported either being victimized through non-consensual sext dissemination or having perpetrated sext dissemination, with boys more likely to be involved in sext dissemination compared to girls. Friends usually disseminated sexts, while the most frequently cited reason for disseminating sext was joking. Logistic regressions showed that perpetration significantly predicted victimization and vice versa. Regression analysis also showed that being male, having stronger parental control over mobile phone use, having positive attitudes toward sexting, having lower levels of self-control, and having insecure attachment increased the risk of being either a victim or perpetrator of sexting. The data suggest that there are common risk factors for both victimization and perpetration of sexts, with one of the most important factors predicting both is a positive attitude toward sexting. Nevertheless, we should not neglect the importance of gender, self-control, or insecure attachment style in predicting different forms of sext dissemination.
... A previous study showed that the odds of having a risky lifestyle (i.e., smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, and unhealthy diet) were lower among adolescents who scored high on religiosity (Rajab et al., 2021). The inverse relationship between self-reported religiosity and PIU found in our study is in agreement with similar studies (Agbaria and Bdier, 2019;Atwood et al., 2017). However, a Polish study showed that it was not religiosity but rather moral incongruence (i.e., action not supported by belief) that was associated with Internet addiction, social networking, and online gaming (Lewczuk et al., 2021). ...
Objective
Though there is no consensus on its definition, problematic Internet use (PIU), especially in adolescents, is concerning. Research into risk factors is needed. We explored associations between lifestyle and individual characteristics associated with PIU in a nationally representative sample of adolescents.
Methods
Students (Grades: 7–12; n = 2,546) from randomly selected schools in three major cities across Saudi Arabia completed Young's Internet Addiction Test (YIAT) and questions about demography, lifestyle, religiosity, and Internet use. A multilevel regression model was used to assess correlates of PIU (defined as YIAT ≥40).
Results
Participants’ mean (SD) age was 15.6 (±1.8) years; 54% were girls. The PIU prevalence was 41.8%, while the prevalence of Internet addiction (YIAT ≥70) was 3.7%. The odds of having PIU increased incrementally and significantly across increasing screen times (OR 1.2, 1.9, 2.3, and 2.9 for 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, and >8 hours/daily, respectively; ref ≤2 hours) and across decreasing ages of Internet initiation (OR 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4 respectively for 11–12, 9–10 and ≤8 years, respectively; ref ≥13 years). The odds of having PIU were ∼20% higher among those with low or moderate (ref = high) religiosity, although results were not statistically significant. Additionally, the odds of having PIU were higher among those who had unhealthy diets (OR 1.4).
Conclusion
PIU is associated with other risk behaviors as well as resilience factors in Saudi Arabia. Delaying Internet initiation among children may help reduce PIU.
... Fostering a safe and healthy use of ICT, the Internet, and social networks is also noteworthy. Because adolescents who use their cell phones as their main Internet connection and spend more time connected are most likely to receive sexting requests (Atwood et al., 2017), it is important to teach them how to use technology appropriately. This training should cover personal expectations about digital privacy (e.g., Albury et al., 2017; Soriano-Ayala & González-Jiménez, 2014); control over personal data on the Internet (e.g., Diliberto & Mattey, 2009;Patrick et al., 2015); safe online behaviors (e.g., Mura et al., 2014;O'Keeffe, 2016); and knowledge of rights and responsibilities when it comes to digital technology (e.g., Gámez-Guadix et al., 2017;Uhler & Smith, 2012). ...
Sexting has become a new form of intimate interaction in line with contemporary communication methods. This phenomenon often leads to positive outcomes, but it can also have negative repercussions depending on the situation, such as the context of the relationship, and whether it is consensual or coercive. Despite this, the main types of sexting behaviors (sending, receiving, and third-party forwarding) must be addressed in order to promote safe and healthy practices. However, the approach to tackling this phenomenon remains unclear. This systematic review sought to summarize the lines of action proposed or conducted in the scientific literature to address sexting, to help researchers and educators create and evaluate effective programs. A systematic search of 21 databases was conducted; only articles relating to sexting education, prevention, and intervention among child and adolescent populations were considered. In total, 456 articles were identified, 91 of which were included for the purposes of this research. The results highlighted a need to respond to the aforementioned sexting behaviors and to tackle the resulting conflict situations. Although interventions across different areas are recommended (e.g., health, family, policies, legal advice, law enforcement, technology experts, and even society as a whole), most studies agree that school is the most practical setting for intervention. Thus, the 15 lines of action identified in this systematic review must all be considered to effectively address sexting in childhood and adolescence.
... A cross-sectional study of 97 American teenagers aged 13-18 years found that those with a strong attachment to parents are less likely to have 'problematic' internet use, with teens less attached to parents significantly more willing to 'sext' ('i.e. send nude or nearly nude images of oneself to others, or exchange sexually explicit verbal messages via mobile devices') than strongly attached teens (Atwood, Beckert, and Rhodes 2017). ...
Mobile touch screen devices (smartphones and tablet computers) have become an integral part of many parents’ and children’s lives, with this interaction linked to physical, mental and social outcomes. Despite the known importance of parent-child attachment, evidence on the association between device use and attachment was yet to be reviewed. Following protocol pre-registration, databases were searched, papers screened, and methodological quality assessed. Three papers met the inclusion criteria, and reported some negative associations between duration of parent/child smartphone use and attachment outcomes. A narrative synthesis on two groups of related papers found child time using any screen technology (including television viewing), and child “problematic” internet, mobile phone, gaming and social media use, was negatively associated with attachment outcomes. Currently there is limited direct evidence on any association between time parents or children spend using these devices and parent-child attachment to support time guidelines for families and professionals working with families.
Practitioner Summary: Many parents and children regularly spend time using smartphones and tablet computers. This systematic review found limited evidence evaluating associations between child/adolescent or parent time using devices and parent-child attachment. Until quality evidence exists, practitioners should be alert to potential impacts of device use on family relationships and child outcomes.
... Other studies also show that young people living with parents were less likely to resort to sexting (Wong et al. 2019). Another factor is religious belief, for example, Atwood et al. (2017) report that more religious teens were less likely to engage in risky Internet practices. ...
The practice of sexting is a phenomenon that has been growing in recent times due to the use of technology and the advance of mobile devices. This practice can have negative consequences for young people who practice it without knowing the risk involved. The main objectives of this paper were to analyze sexting behavior in Mexican and Spanish university students, and to determine the possible sociodemographic factors that influence sexting practice in order to generate explanatory models. A cross-sectional study design was adopted by applying an online survey to a sample of 781 university students. The students belonged to two different institutions, 394 from a Mexican university and 387 from a Spanish university. The results indicated that the practice of sexting was higher in Spanish university students and there were significant differences between the two populations. Furthermore, the model generated on sexting indicated that the country, gender, sexual orientation and use of dating applications were possible predictors of this phenomenon. At the same time, the practice of sexting had a possible influence on students’ levels of depression and stress. Finally, the data and findings obtained showed relevant data on the practice of sexting in Mexican and Spanish students and on the sociodemographic factors that can be influential.
... Examining the prevalence of sexting among emerging adults is important to characterize due to the role of sexting in modern sexuality and relationships, particularly given the widespread use of dating apps among emerging adults, which facilitate the easy exchange of sexually explicit messages and images (Sumter, Vandenbosch, & Ligtenberg, 2017). Many studies have deemed sexting to be a risk behavior, especially in youth, that is linked with negative outcomes such as substance abuse and depression (Atwood, Beckert, & Rhodes, 2017;Brinkley, Ackerman, Ehrenreich, & Underwood, 2017;Medrano, Lopez Rosales, & Gámez-Guadix, 2018;Mori, Temple, Browne, & Madigan, 2019). To date, the association most heavily researched appears to be that between sexting and sexual behavior. ...
Sexting is the sharing of sexually explicit images, videos, and/or messages via electronic devices. Prevalence estimates of sexting have varied substantially, potentially due to broad age ranges being examined. The current study sought to synthesize relevant findings examining the prevalence of consensual and non-consensual sexting in a specific developmental period, emerging adulthood (≥ 18–< 29), to try to explain discrepancies in the literature. Searches were conducted in electronic databases for articles published up to April 2018. Relevant data from 50 studies with 18,122 emerging adults were extracted. The prevalence of sexting behaviors were: sending 38.3% (k = 41; CI 32.0–44.6), receiving 41.5% (k = 19; CI 31.9–51.2), and reciprocal sexting 47.7% (k = 16; CI 37.6–57.8). Thus, sexting is a common behavior among emerging adults. The prevalence of non-consensual forwarding of sexts was also frequent in emerging adults at 15.0% (k = 7; CI 6.9–23.2). Educational awareness initiatives on digital citizenship and psychological consequences of the non-consensual forwarding of sexts should be targeted to youth and emerging adults with the hopes of mitigating this potentially damaging and illegal behavior.
... Despite differences in terminology, there seems clear consensus on the negative repercussions of PIU. Only a few studies, mainly based on Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model, have conceptualized PIU behaviors on a continuum with adaptive IU during adolescence and emerging adulthood, and have highlighted the potential temporal or developmental aspects of PIU (Atwood et al. 2017;Pempek and McDaniel 2016). ...
Objectives
The increased use of Internet in the last decade has led to problematic behaviour that can affect people’s individual and social functioning, especially among younger individuals. This study aimed to explore the relation between problematic Internet use (PIU), attachment style, and perception of family functioning in adolescence.
Methods
Participants were 306 Italian adolescents (62.7% females and 37.3% males) aged from 15 to 18 years (M = 16.07, SD = 0.91). Participants completed the following measures: the Young’s Internet Addiction Test (Y-IAT), the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ), and the Family Assessment Device (FAD).
Results
The results of regression and relative weight analyses showed that family functioning and attachment styles were important predictors of adolescent PIU. In particular, a greater perception of family members as being interested in and placing value on each other’s activities and concerns (i.e., affective involvement) and a greater perception that tasks were clearly and equitably assigned to family members (i.e., roles) were associated with less PIU. In contrast, a greater anxious-preoccupied attachment was associated with a greater risk of PIU.
Conclusions
In line with these results, it would be recommendable the development of family-focused prevention programs for all adolescents at risk of PIU before they develop a full Internet addiction. Further research on this topic is needed to develop a specific, autonomous, and comprehensive diagnostic process for PIU to avoid conceptual and treatment overlap between PIU and other kinds of addictive behaviors.
Adolescent sexting is considered a public health and social issue. Parents may play a fundamental role in shaping their children’s attitudes and behaviours toward sexting. Adolescent attitude toward sexting overall may also be relevant for sexting engagement. The present study aimed to test a conceptual model in which sexting behaviours are explained by parental practices, mediated by adolescents’ attitudes toward sexting, controlling for gender and age. We investigated separately the role of two different mediators: adolescents’ perception of sexting as risky and adolescents’ perception of sexting as fun and carefree. The sample consisted of 507 Italian adolescents aged 14–19. Results suggested that rules on content, parental knowledge, parental control and frequency of communication explained adolescent sexting attitudes or behaviours. Also, adolescents who reported a more favourable attitude toward sexting were more likely to engage in sexting. Results highlighted the fundamental role played by parents in shaping adolescents’ sexting attitudes and behaviours and the importance of adolescents’ attitude toward sexting in shaping sexting behaviours. Findings suggest that parents may play a pivotal role by resorting to effective parental practices of media-mediation and monitoring in order to guide and support their adolescent children in dealing with sexting.
The purpose of this study was to carry out a review of observational studies that consider links between mobile phone use and mental health from a psychological or behavioral perspective. Systematic literature searches in PubMed and PsycINFO for articles published until 2017 were done. Exclusion criteria included: papers that considered radiofrequency fields, attention, safety, relational consequences, sexual behavior, cyberbullying, and reviews, qualitative, and case or experimental studies. A total of 4738 papers were screened by title and abstract, 404 were retrieved in full text, and 290 were included. Only 5% had any longitudinal design. Self-reporting was the dominating method of measurement. One third of the studies included children or youth. A majority of adult populations consisted of university students and/or self-selected participants. The main research results included associations between frequent mobile phone use and mental health outcomes, such as depressive symptoms and sleep problems. Mobile phone use at bedtime was associated with, e.g., shorter sleep duration and lower sleep quality. “Problematic use” (dependency) was associated with several negative outcomes. In conclusion, associations between mobile phone use and adverse mental health outcomes are found in studies that take a psychological or behavioral perspective on the exposure. However, more studies of high quality are needed in order to draw valid conclusions about the mechanisms and causal directions of associations.
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