Safe Sexting, Sexual Orientation, and Gender: Risky Sexting in a Community Sample

Abstract

Among young adults, engaging in sexting (i.e., sharing sexually explicit materials of oneself with others) can be a healthy and normative sexual experience. However, there is risk associated with some types of sexting. The present study examined the rates and characteristics of high-risk sexting in a community sample of emerging adults (i.e., aged 18–30 years; N = 3,022). High-risk sexting was defined as participating in at least three of the following behaviors: showing one’s face in a sext, sexting someone met online, sexting before the age of 16, sexting while intoxicated, or posting one’s sext to a website. Over a quarter of participants had ever sent a high-risk sext (28%). Cisgender LGBPA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, and other non-straight sexual orientations; 38%, 462/1,220) and transgender (34%; 106/309) participants were significantly more likely to have sent a high-risk sext than heterosexual cisgender participants (18%; 271/1,493). When examining the strength of the relationship between impulsivity, susceptibility to peer pressure, perceptions of sexting, and sexual history with high-risk sexting, we found that the effect sizes overlapped across all three groups, meaning that the relationship between each of the correlates and high-risk sexting was not significantly different across the three groups. We suggest that peer pressure, perceptions of sexting, and impulsivity could be promising targets to inform effective sexual education content, regardless of sexual orientation or gender.