Association of Sexting With Sexual Behaviors and Mental Health

Among Adolescents A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Mariana Paulina Escalona León

October 23rd, 2019

 Content
• Introduction
– Sexting
– Definition
– Background
• How to read a Forest plot?
• Article
• Conclusions
 Introduction
• The Internet and new technologies have
become socializing tools, particularly
appreciated by adolescents with the
development of their communication skills.
• Americans send 2 trillion text messages
annually.
• Young adults and older adolescents are
especially likely to be cell phone users.
Benotsch, E. G., Snipes, D. J., Martin, A. M., & Bull, S. S. (2013). Sexting, substance use, and sexual risk behavior in young adults. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52(3), 307-313
Barrense-Dias, Y., Berchtold, A., Surís, J. C., & Akre, C. (2017). Sexting and the definition issue. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61(5), 544-554.
 Introduction
• Eighty-three percent of 17 year olds own cell
phones, and this percentage increases in young
adulthood.
• In particular, text-based communication is
increasingly popular among youth.
• More than one-half of cell-owning teenagers
text a friend at least daily, and approximately
one-third report sending more than 100 text
messages per day.
Benotsch, E. G., Snipes, D. J., Martin, A. M., & Bull, S. S. (2013). Sexting, substance use, and sexual risk behavior in young adults. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52(3), 307-313
Barrense-Dias, Y., Berchtold, A., Surís, J. C., & Akre, C. (2017). Sexting and the definition issue. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61(5), 544-554.
 Sexting
• Sexting the act of sending sexually explicit or
suggestive images via text message?
– Sexting, which describes sharing sexually suggestive
photos or messages through
Sexting, cell phones and other mobile
the contraction
media.
of sex and texting
• its definition is still a gray area.

• Actions (sending, receiving, and forwarding); media

types (text, images, and videos); sexual
characteristics; and transmission modes.
Barrense-Dias, Y., Berchtold, A., Surís, J. C., & Akre, C. (2017). Sexting and the definition issue. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61(5), 544-554.
Benotsch, E. G., Snipes, D. J., Martin, A. M., & Bull, S. S. (2013). Sexting, substance use, and sexual risk behavior in young adults. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52(3), 307-313.
It is rapidly
becoming part of
the dating process
 For teens….

Negative consequences
 Sexting
• During adolescence, the construction of a
personal identity also implies sexuality
exploration.
• Technology progress and development of
communication and sharing means, including
growth of the Smartphone market and
conception of new applications, frequently lead
to the creation, the evolution or the facilitation
of certain behaviors such as sexting.
Barrense-Dias, Y., Berchtold, A., Surís, J. C., & Akre, C. (2017). Sexting and the definition issue. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61(5), 544-554.
 A dangerous behavior?
• Regarding young people, considering sexting as a problem
per se or as a risky behavior appears to be a controversial
issue.

• Sexting could be considered as a harmless way to express

desire and a consensual practice between two persons.
• Negative consequences could result from this activity,
such as humiliation, (cyber)bullying, or harassment,
especially when the content is shared with others without
consent and it goes viral

Barrense-Dias, Y., Berchtold, A., Surís, J. C., & Akre, C. (2017). Sexting and the definition issue. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61(5), 544-554.
 A dangerous behavior?
• Legal aspects are also debated, particularly when
minors are involved, to determine if it could be
considered as child pornography.

• Studies associated sexting with other risk behaviors.

– substance use and high-risk sexual behavior, including
having multiple sexual partners, unprotected sex, and
higher rates of sexually transmitted infections.
• Most previous research examining sexting has focused
on the legal or social consequences of this behavior.
Benotsch, E. G., Snipes, D. J., Martin, A. M., & Bull, S. S. (2013). Sexting, substance use, and sexual risk behavior in young adults. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52(3), 307-313.

Barrense-Dias, Y., Berchtold, A., Surís, J. C., & Akre, C. (2017). Sexting and the definition issue. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61(5), 544-554.
 Como se desarrolla una revisión sistemática con
metaanálisis

Revisiones
por pares
Definir las variables de resultado o los
punto de corte significativos.

Como se
reportan los
resultados

El abstract Heterogeneidad
puede ser
engañoso. Tamaños de muestra
 How to read a forest plot
“any study line which crosses the line of null effect does not
illustrate a statistically significant result.”

The diamond is probably the most

important thing you will see on a
forest plot.
The diamond represents the point
estimate and confidence intervals
when you combine and average all
the individual studies together.
 The
journal's Impa
ct factor is
12.0, the
highest-
ranking pediat
ric journal in
the world. 
 OBJECTIVE
• To provide a meta-analytic synthesis of studies
examining the associations between sexting,
sexual behavior, and mental health using sex,
age, publication date, and study
methodological quality as moderators.
 The flow
diagram outlines
the search
strategy used to
identify articles
 Conclusion
• Results of this study suggest that sexting is
associated with various sexual behaviors and
mental health risk factors; moving forward,
education campaigns should focus on providing
youth with comprehensive information about
sexting and digital citizenship.

• Why is important to us? We have many patients

that struggle with sexting and its consequences.
marianapaulina.escalona@gmail.com