Online, Off-Line and over the Line: Coercive Sexting Among Adolescent Dating Partners

Background and Purpose:  Sexting among adolescents has garnered significant attention in both the popular media and academic literature.  Although most sexting is thought to be consensual, recent studies involving young adults suggest a substantial incidence of coercive sexting and posit potential connections to broader patterns of dating violence.  The aims of this study examine the incidence and correlates of coercive sexting by dating partners among middle and high school students, paying particular attention to gender differences and associations with other forms of sexual coercion. 

Methods:  Data were examined from the first year of a four-year longitudinal survey study of protective factors for teen dating violence in middle and high school students (N=1,236). Youth who reported at least one dating or sexual partner during their lifetime were included for analysis. Logistic regression models were used to establish adjusted risk ratios (ARR) for correlates of coercive sexting.

Results:   Of youth with at least one dating or sexual partner in the past year, 12% percent reported coercive sexting victimization and 8% acknowledged that they pressured a dating partner to sext.  Incidence of perpetration was higher for boys than for girls in both sixth and ninth grade students with rates of 3.7% in sixth grade and 13.4% in ninth grade.  The reverse was observed for coercive sexting victimization, with a higher incidence for girls in both grade cohorts.  Among ninth grade students, 21.3% of girls reported that a dating partner had pressured them to send a sext message, while 6.5% of girls in sixth grade reported the same.  Victims of coercive sexting presented with greater risk of victimization for sexual coercion by a sexual or dating partner (ARR =1.77). The same held for perpetration. Those who pressured a partner to send them sext messages were significantly more likely to perpetrate sexual coercion (ARR = 2.30).

Conclusions:  Results delineated relatively low rates of perpetration and victimization in the sixth grade cohort. However, ninth grade students were more than twice as likely to both experience and engage in coercive sexting. The observed 12-month incidence rates suggest that while coercive sexting is observed as early as the start of middle school, this behavior significantly increases in scope by the time students enter high school. Gender was a significant correlate of both coercive sexting victimization and perpetration. While some girls certainly pressured a partner to sext, the data reveal a clear gender dynamic within coercive sexting – namely boys pressuring girls to send sexually explicit messages and/or photos. The strong association of coercive sexting with other forms sexual coercion suggest that pressuring a partner to send sext messages may be linked to broader patterns of teen dating violence.

Implications:  Social workers engaged with adolescents should take care to avoid pathologizing sexting behavior while also monitoring for potential coercion in this emerging means of adolescent sexual communication.  Intervention and policy must take a nuanced approach to consider the context of sexting behavior. Practitioners might consider extending discussions around sexual consent to include sexting behavior in adolescent dating relationships.