Adolescent Profiles According to Their Beliefs and Affinity to Sexting. A Cluster Study

Abstract

Sexting consists of sending, receiving, and distributing images of sexually suggestive content through electronic devices. This practice is one of the new ways of linking sex affectively through virtual environments, especially in adolescence. However, not all young people have the same relationship with the practice of sexting. This study of a sample of 603 Spanish and Moroccan adolescents residing in Andalusia analyzes beliefs towards sexting as part of a virtual sexuality and the perception of those who carry it out, defining profiles of affinity to sexting. The cluster analysis reveals the existence of three predominant profiles: adolescents who show a sexting-philia, perceiving it as a fun, flirty, and daring practice; sexting-phobes, who consider sexting to be characteristic of people, or attitudes, who are desperate, impolite, and conflicting; and a third ambivalent profile of people who appreciate the practice as something fun but conflicting. The majority discourse is one that presents a positive view of this phenomenon. Young people also recognize that sexting has some characteristics of virtual sexuality, such as a loss of privacy and a distance between virtual and real behavior. These findings allow us to deepen our understanding of the new practices of relationships and offer measures for the prevention of the associated risks.

Analysis of Representations of the Aid That Public Psychological Support Points Provide to Adolescent Female Victims of Gender-Based Violence: Reformulation of Policies and Practices

“…These young adolescents receive education and values influenced by the culture of their families in which they do not usually promote equality, but rather the opposite, submission towards males. The permanence of sexist values and traditional gender roles in these cultures reinforces discrimination and the assumption of the role of victim-survivor even in younger women [ 41 ]. In contrast, Spanish victim-survivors present different characteristics.…”

Ciberviolencia en la pareja adolescente: análisis transcultural y de género en centros de secundaria

“…Se han evidenciado similitudes entre los comportamientos online con las dinámicas sociales, de género y étnicoraciales (offline) preexistentes en la sociedad (Cava et al, 2015;Cava y Buelga, 2018;Fernández-Fuertes y Fuertes, 2010;Lorente, 2018;. Sin embargo, también se han descrito distintos guiones comportamentales sexuales, cultural sexual scripts, según si el escenario cultural es social (offline) o interactivo (online) (Simon y Gagnon, 1987;Soriano-Ayala et al 2020). La nueva cultura sexual virtual presenta características específicas como son el anonimato, las identidades virtuales, el distanciamiento, la exposición de la vida íntima y privada y la posibilidad de mayor control que favorecen el desarrollo de otras formas de ejercer ciberviolencia en la pareja (Estébanez, 2018;Lorente, 2018).…”

Physical, emotional and social aspects of vulnerability in adolescence

“…One of the most recent events that have caused changes in adolescents' relationships and behavior is the so-called "sexting", that is, the dissemination of erotic and sensual content through digital devices. Studies have shown that this practice is associated with unfavorable events such as cyberbullying, grooming, and sextortion [85][86][87] . The need for self-assertion and the attempt to gain confidence is often expressed in the appreciation of the number of likes that their posts receive with their social status, leading the teenager to create profiles that do not correspond to the reality to be accepted by colleagues [80,88] .…”