Sexting behaviour among adolescents: Do friendship quality and social competence matter?

Abstract

Sexting is fast becoming a common activity among adolescents, and an important issue of concern to adults. Previous literature suggests that the sending and/or receiving of sexual images, videos or texts within the peer network is a normative part of adolescent development. Much of the emerging work on sexting has focused on the peer network and emphasised that peer relationships are important contributing factors. Two under-studied elements in this regard relate to social competence and friendship; however, the association between sexting, social competence and friendship quality is difficult to determine based on previous literature alone. As such, this study performed two hierarchical regression models to identify which one best explains the relationships between these variables. Results suggest that Model 2, where social competence and sexting were predictors of friendship quality, explained more variance (25%) than Model 1, where social competence and friendship quality predicted sexting behaviour (16%). These results, as well as prevalence rates for sending sexts are discussed in detail. Recommendations for future research that considers the role of the peer group to understanding adolescent sexting are also outlined.