Nearly one in five middle-school students has sexted, a latest study reveals.
The study published in the journal 'Pediatrics' stated that 22 percent of at-risk seventh graders have sexted.
Researchers examined the sexting behaviours that included sending sexually explicit messages or pictures, among children aged between 12 and 14. They also studied the link between sexting and the sexual behaviour in the participants.
The authors examined 410 participants from five urban public middle schools in Rhode Island between 2009 and 2012. The respondents were told to answer a questionnaire, which included questions on sexting behavior, sexual activities, intentions to have sex, perceived approval of sexual activity, and emotional regulation skills.
The study results revealed that 17 percent of the participants sent sexual texts and 5 percent sent both texts and explicit photos. The researchers also found that students involved in this behaviour were four to seven times more likely to engage in other sexual behaviors as well. About 9 percent of the teens said that they used the Internet to sent sexual messages and 2 percent used it to send explicit images.
The researchers found that those involved in sexting showed more physical maturity compared to those didn't.
And sexting caused emotional disturbance among the teens, the researchers found. "It could be that for kids who have trouble with emotional processing that it's a little bit easier to sext somebody than to say face-to-face, 'Hey, I like you' and see what that response is," Christopher Houck, the study's lead author and from Rhode Island Hospital's Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center in Providence, told Reuters.
The study authors warned that the sexting behaviour might be an early indicator of sexual risk behaviour that could lead to pregnancy or sexual diseases. They advised the parents to monitor the children's cell phone and internet usage.
"These data suggest that phone behaviors, even flirtatious messages, may be an indicator of risk. Clinicians, parents, and health programs should discuss sexting with early adolescents," the team wrote in the journal.
