Character strengths as protective factors against engagement in sexting in adolescence

Abstract

El sexting es una nueva forma de interacción sexual en adolescentes que ha sido asociada tanto a problemas psicológicos como comportamientos de riesgo sexual. Aunque varios estudios han examinado la relación entre sexting y rasgos de personalidad, es posible que la asociación con fortalezas del carácter no haya sido explorada. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar cuales fortalezas de carácter podrían funcionar como factores protectores contra la participación en el sexting, controlando otras variables que pueden influenciar en esta relación. Los adolescentes cumplimentaron cuestionarios sobre recursos tecnológicos, sexting activo y fortalezas de carácter. Los resultados de la regresión lineal mostraron que el sexting activo estuvo positivamente relacionado con las fortalezas de curiosidad y humor y negativamente relacionado con justicia y autenticidad. Estos resultados sugieren que programas escolares o familiares que tienen como objetivo la prevención del sexting deben incluir actividades específicas que fomenten el uso positivo de la curiosidad y el humor y que busquen promover la honestidad, el respeto, la justicia y la responsabilidad en el uso de la tecnología para las relaciones interpersonales. Sexting is a new kind of sexual interaction among adolescents that has been linked to both psychological problems and sexual risk behaviors. Although studies have examined the relationship between sexting and personality traits, its possible association with character strengths remains unexplored. The aim of this study was to analyze which character strengths may function as protective factors against engagement in sexting, controlling for other variables that might influence this relationship. Adolescents completed questionnaires about technological resources, active sexting, and character strengths. The results from hierarchical regression showed that active sexting was positively related to the strengths of curiosity and humor and negatively related to fairness and authenticity. These findings suggest that school- or family-based programs aimed at preventing sexting should include specific activities that encourage a positive use of curiosity and humor and which seek to promote honesty, respect, fairness, and responsibility in the use of technology for interpersonal relationships

Sending, receiving, and nonconsensually sharing nude or near‐nude images by youth

“…What remains unknown is their motivations; for instance, it is possible young boys were more likely to reshare as a prank, whereas older youth were more likely to reshare as a form of harassment or bullying. Also, our survey did not include questions regarding other potential risk factors, such as personality traits (Yépez‐Tito et al, 2021) that are associated with a lower likelihood of risky image‐related behavior.…”

Life Satisfaction and Character Strenghs in Ecuatorian Adolescents

“…Based on their research, Peterson and Seligman (2004) identified 24 character strengths, which they classified into six broad virtues (Wisdom and Knowledge, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance, and Transcendence). Overall, character strengths have been considered protective factors against psychological difficulties during adolescence, reducing the risk of psychiatric disorders and violent behaviors or attitudes (Bromley et al, 2006;Ferragut et al, 2013;Kumar & Mohideen, 2021;Ma et al, 2008;Park & Peterson, 2006;Yépez-Tito et al, 2021).…”

“…Character strengths have likewise been scarcely studied in this context. Research on this topic in Latin America has generally found that strengths may contribute to the development of prosocial behavior (García-Vázquez et al, 2020), improvement in schoolrelated variables (Grinhauz & Castro, 2014), and the prevention of risk behaviors such as sexting (Yépez-Tito et al, 2021).…”

Sexting Among Australian Adolescents: Risk and Protective Factors

“…Experiences of relational aggression, bullying, and cyberbullying have also been linked to sending sexts (Doyle et al, 2021 ). Personal qualities such as fairness and authenticity, on the other hand, were protective against sending sexts, suggesting that these character strengths constitute the basis for more measured technology use among young persons and hence should be targeted and enhanced in sexting prevention and intervention programs (Yépez-Tito et al, 2021 ). However, it is noteworthy that the aforementioned research encompasses samples of adolescents across a broad age range from 10 to 19 years.…”