Sexting, Substance Use, and Sexual Risk Behavior in Young Adults | Journal of Adolescent Health

Cell phone use has become more widespread over the past decade. Young adults are frequently early adopters of new technologies, including cell phones. Most previous research examining sexting, the act of sending sexually explicit or suggestive images via text message, has focused on the legal or social consequences of this behavior. This study from the Journal of Adolescent Health focused on the public health implications of sexting by examining associations between sexting, substance use, and sexual risk behavior in youth. Results suggest that sexting is robustly associated with high-risk sexual behavior. Many individuals exchange explicit or provocative photos with long-term sexual partners, but at least some participants in this study were incurring new sexual risks after sexting. Additional research is needed to understand the contexts in which sexting occurs, motivations for sexting, and relationship of sexting to risk behavior.

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• Drug Misuse