Variations in the Onset of Adolescent Sexting and Associations with Risk Behavior over Time

Background and Purpose:  Research has identified sexting as a risk marker among adolescents, with cross-sectional correlations with depression, substance use and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).  However, research on the stability of these associations is mixed in young adult samples, particularly around depression.  This study examines the timing of sexting onset to determine if risk associations are higher among youth engaging in sexting at a younger age.   We assess the longitudinal stability of associations among adolescents who have sexted versus those who have not sexted, and those who initiate sexting later in adolescence compared to those that initiate earlier.   

Methods: Data were collected longitudinally from a high school cohort of 525 adolescents.   Surveys were administered annually across three waves, when the cohort was in 9^th, 10^th and 11^th grade respectively.   Lifetime incidence of sexting was measured at Wave 1 and Wave 3 and the cohort was classified into three groups: early onset (lifetime incidence reported by 9^th grade), later onset (first reported sexting in 10^th or 11^th grade), and non-sexters.   The socio-demographics collected include gender, race, community concentrated disadvantage, and presence of both parents in the home. Behavioral variables including recent depressive symptomology, delinquency, self-control, ACEs and past-year substance use were measured at Waves 1 and 3.  Bivariate analyses were used to compare groups along these dimensions at each wave and logistic regression models were fit to examine associations with lifetime incidence of sexting at each wave.

Results:  Those reporting an early onset of sexting behavior (24% of sample) were more likely than those who had not sexted as of Wave 1 to be Black and report more depressive symptoms, ACEs, delinquent behaviors, and substance use in the past year.  When assessed two years later, among those with a lifetime incidence of sexting (51% of sample), race and depression were no longer significantly associated with sexting.  All other associations observed in Wave 1 held, and the number of dating and sexual partners were positively associated with sexting.  In eleventh grade, later onset sexters had significantly lower depressive symptoms compared to early onset sexters.  Both early and later onset sexters reported higher ACE scores, delinquent behaviors and rates of substance use than those who had not yet sexted.

Conclusions:  Adolescent onset of sexting may be a marker of concurrent substance use, elevated levels of ACEs, and delinquent behavior, while onset of sexting before or during ninth grade is indicative of increased depressive symptoms.  The (in)stability of risk behavior associations observed in the current study may be due to the behavioral profiles of adolescents with a later onset of sexting behavior, rather than changes over time among early onset sexters. 

Implications:  Social workers engaged with adolescents should be cognizant of the associations with sexting, while also taking into account the timing of sexting onset. The higher number of dating and sexual partners along with elevated level of substance use among later onset sexters prior to initiation of sexting suggest a temporal ordering where certain behaviors precede sexting.