Validation of the sexting behavior scale in adolescents: Prevalence and associated consequences

Abstract

The objective of this study was threefold: to validate a version of the Sexting Behavior Scale in adolescents, to assess the prevalence of sexting behaviors, and to determine their associated consequences. A total of 1,271 (50.8% girls) students participated, with a mean age of 15.6 (SD = 1.13). The results show through the confirmatory factor analysis a good fit for the two-dimensional model consisting of items that are grouped into sending photos and/or vídeos (α = .83) and sending text messages with erotic/sexual content (α = .83); 52.8% of adolescents have been identified to carry out sexting behaviors, with texts (91.7%) being more erotic/sexual than photos and/or vídeos (57.8%), and boys the ones that most content send. In addition, 11.6% of adolescents were forced to send sexting content and 5.5% of them were blackmailed.