Elsevier

Computers in Human Behavior

Volume 70, May 2017, Pages 119-130
Computers in Human Behavior

Full length article
Sending and receiving text messages with sexual content: Relations with early sexual activity and borderline personality features in late adolescence

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.12.082Get rights and content

Highlights

  • 65% of adolescents engaged in sending or receiving texts with written sexual content.

  • Sexting at age 16 predicted risky sexual activity at age 18.

  • Texting about hypothetical sex at age 16 predicted borderline personality features at age 18.

Abstract

This research examined adolescents' written text messages with sexual content to investigate how sexting relates to sexual activity and borderline personality features. Participants (N = 181, 85 girls) completed a measure of borderline personality features prior to 10th grade and were subsequently given smartphones configured to capture the content of their text messages. Four days of text messaging were micro-coded for content related to sex. Following 12th grade, participants reported on their sexual activity and again completed a measure of borderline personality features. Results showed that engaging in sexting at age 16 was associated with reporting an early sexual debut, having sexual intercourse experience, having multiple sex partners, and engaging in drug use in combination with sexual activity two years later. Girls engaging in sex talk were more likely to have had sexual intercourse by age 18. Text messaging about hypothetical sex in grade 10 also predicted borderline personality features at age 18. These findings suggest that sending text messages with sexual content poses risks for adolescents. Programs to prevent risky sexual activity and to promote psychological health could be enhanced by teaching adolescents to use digital communication responsibly.

Introduction

Adolescents prefer text messaging as a way to communicate with peers, even above face-to-face communication (Lenhart, 2012), and texting may play an important role in emerging sexual relationships. Sexting refers to sending sexually explicit or suggestive images, videos, or text messages via digital communication (Cox Communications, 2009). Although sending nude or nearly nude pictures has serious psychological and legal consequences, we should not ignore the practice of adolescents sending sexually suggestive written text messages. Adolescents more frequently exchange written sext messages than sexual images (Drouin et al., 2015, Fleschler-Peskin et al., 2013; The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy [NCPTUP], 2008). Further, teens' engagement in sex talk using other forms of digital communication has been linked to increased sexual behavior intent, increased risks of victimization, and unwanted sexual solicitation (e.g., Brown et al., 2009, Moreno et al., 2012). Thus, the current study defined sexting as sending text messages containing written sexual content and unlike previous studies, this research examined the actual content of adolescents' text messages.

Sexting may confer risk for early sexual activity and other risky sexual behaviors, as well as other forms of maladjustment. Indeed, the immediacy of sexting could contribute to the emergence of borderline personality features given that it constitutes a source of attention and reassurance seeking for vulnerable youth desperate for relationships. The primary goals of this study were to: examine the prevalence of sexting among a typically developing adolescent sample, examine whether sending text messages about sex relates to sexual activity, examine whether sexting predicts borderline personality features above and beyond sexual activity, and examine whether borderline personality features predict engaging in sexting. The current study also explored gender differences in sending text messages discussing sex. Because younger adolescents are in an important developmental period of establishing identity and mid-to late-adolescence is a time for sexual exploration, understanding the relations between sexting, sexual activity, and adjustment is vital to developing prevention programs for risky sexual behavior (DeLamater & Friedrich, 2002).

Sending text messages about sex may relate to actual sexual activity because adolescents co-construct their online and offline identities. Co-construction theory suggests that in both their offline relationships and in their digital communication, adolescents work through critical developmental issues such as identity formation, autonomy development, intimacy, and sexual identity (Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008). Adolescents' online and offline identities and social relationships are psychologically connected and influence adolescent identity formation.

Furthermore, because adolescents' online relationships often provide developmental contexts for offline relationships, examining adolescents' exploration of intimate disclosure in the context of digital communication might provide insight into the relation between sexting and psychological outcomes. Previous research suggests that engaging in sexting is linked to psychological disorders such as histrionic personality disorder, social anxiety, and attachment anxiety among young adults (Drouin and Landgraff, 2012, Ferguson, 2011, Reid and Reid, 2007, Weisskirch and Delevi, 2011). In light of the associations between sexting and psychological disorders with symptomology similar to borderline personality disorder (BPD), examining sexting behaviors as a possible predictor of borderline personality features seems warranted as does the idea that BPD features and sexting are likely reciprocally related.

Digital technologies are attractive to adolescents as a source of sexual information and exploration because they are widely available, are always on, and are viewed as being safe (Brown et al., 2009, Subrahmanyam et al., 2004). Rather than communicate face-to-face, adolescents prefer to text one another during the initial stages of a romantic relationship due to the privacy, sense of constant connectedness, and ease of conversing (Pascoe, 2011). The findings suggest that adolescents perceive a sense of control over their environment when communicating by text messaging. Given the discreet, dyadic nature of text messaging and considering that adults rarely monitor adolescents' text messaging, adolescents may use texting as a forum for sexual discussion (Devitt & Roker, 2009). Therefore, analyzing adolescents' text messages about sex allows access to what might be considered privileged information, information that might be difficult to obtain using self-report methods.

Little is known about why teens engage in sexting, under what conditions they engage in sexting, and the consequences associated with the behavior. Sexting might be understood in the context of the co-construction model of development which suggests that adolescents often meet peers offline and seek to pursue or enhance their relationships online (Pascoe, 2011, Subrahmanyam and Greenfield, 2008). The co-construction model of adolescent development suggests that when interacting with peers via digital communication such as text messaging, adolescents are co-constructing their environment rather than simply being shaped by their environment (Subrahmanyam, Smahel, & Greenfield, 2006). For instance, many youth display their sexual orientation on social networking sites, post stories and poems about sex, write blogs detailing sexual experiences, and share sexually explicit pictures and messages via cell phones; thus they are detailing their offline sexual experiences in an online forum (Brown et al., 2009). As a result, adolescents are able to openly present a digital persona that might be difficult to communicate in the real world. For example they can communicate a digital identity that is either sexual or not, in a relationship or not, or open to new experiences, and in doing so they are able to address multiple key developmental tasks of adolescence including identity formation, autonomy, intimacy, and sexuality.

According to an internet survey conducted by a popular media outlet, adolescents more frequently send sexually suggestive messages than nude or semi-nude pictures or videos, with 39% reporting having sent a sexually suggestive message and 48% reporting having received such messages (NCPTUP, 2008). Further, approximately 25% of high school students reported sending and 32% reported receiving sexually suggestive written text messages (Fleschler-Peskin et al., 2013); and 68% of young adult participants reported sending a text-only sext message as opposed to 47% of participants who reported sending a sexually explicit picture (Drouin et al., 2015). Twenty-two percent of teens reported being more forward and aggressive when sending text messages containing sexually suggestive words than they are in face-to-face conversations (NCPTUP, 2008). Considering the possibly aggressive nature of sext messages, sexting could be associated with sadness, depression, and suicidal thoughts (Dake, Price, Maziarz, & Ward, 2012). Sexting was related to symptoms of anxiety and depression when sexting was consensual, but unwanted (i.e., one of the participants felt coerced into participating; Drouin et al., 2015). Sexting has also been shown to be related to psychosocial problems such as low self-esteem (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2014) and to digital media dating violence (Reed et al., 2016, Van Ouytsel et al., 2016).

Adolescence is characterized by emerging independence, identity formation challenges, the development of intimacy, and the formation of romantic relationships (Katzman, 2010, Tolman and McClelland, 2011). Within this context, sexting may be a form of sexual experimentation, a means of addressing emerging sexual feelings, and a way of establishing moral values (Katzman, 2010, Lenhart, 2009). Sexting in the form of explicit images may be a proxy for face-to-face sexual contact for some youth (Lenhart, 2009). Not all teens who sext engage in sexual activity (Dake et al., 2012); thus sexting might be considered beneficial for adolescents. Indeed, sharing sexual content by cell phones allows adolescents to address sexual desires and construct a sexual identity without the pressure of face-to face physical sexual relationships which are often unstable and a source of regret for many adolescents (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, With One Voice, 2007). Yet sexting can lead to consequences such as engagement in digital media dating violence (Van Ouytsel et al., 2016).

For other teens, sexting is used to enhance an already sexual relationship (Lenhart, 2009). However, sharing sexual content by cell phone may be problematic as it may promote a view of sex as risk-free. Consequently, sexually inexperienced teens may feel increased pressure to engage in sexual activity before they are physically or mentally ready (Moreno et al., 2009). Early sexual debut (i.e., having sexual intercourse prior to the age of 16) is often associated with psychological maladjustment (Spriggs & Halpern, 2008).

In addition, sexting may be associated with increased sexual behavior. Defining sexting as sending nude or nearly nude photos or videos of themselves or someone else, researchers categorized a sample of young adults (ages 18–24) as: non-sexters, receivers, senders, and two-way sexters (i.e., senders and receivers; Gordon-Messer, Bauermeister, Gordonzinski, & Zimmerman, 2012). Although sexting was not related to risky sexual behavior, sexting was associated with increased sexual activity. Receivers of sexts were three times more likely to be sexually active, and two-way sexters were 14 times more likely to be sexually active than non-sexters.

Sparse empirical evidence supports the link between the exchange of text-only sext messages and sexual activity among adolescents. For instance, sex talk on youths' Facebook profiles is positively related to sexual behavior intent and can negatively affect potential romantic partner perceptions such that adolescents who publicly display sex talk may be viewed as casual sex partners or sexual objects rather than serious relationship partners (Moreno et al., 2012). Moreover, adolescents' public online references to sex have been associated with increased risks of victimization and unwanted sexual solicitation (Brown et al., 2009). Recent findings suggest that offline sexual coercion has been linked to sexting behaviors such as sending and receiving wanted and unwanted sext messages among adolescents (Choi, Van Ouytsel, & Temple, 2016) and college students (Englander, 2015).

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by impulsive behavior, unstable interpersonal relationships, and desperate attempts to avoid abandonment (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Because text messaging promotes a perception of constant connectedness, text messaging is one context in which adolescents with borderline features may engage in attention seeking behaviors such as sexting. BPD is typically not diagnosed prior to the age of 18 (APA, 2013); nevertheless, evidence suggests that children and younger adolescents often display precursors of the personality disorder throughout development (e.g., emotional instability; impulsivity; overly close, overly dependent, and unstable interpersonal relationships; and a skewed or unstable sense of self; Crick, Woods, Murray-Close, & Han, 2007). Frequently engaging in sexting could exacerbate vulnerable adolescents' fears of abandonment, impulsivity, desperate needs to have enmeshed relationships, and a sense of self that relies on attention from others. Adolescents who engage in sexting may receive peer reinforcement for impulsive, attention-seeking behavior, and this may further contribute to the emergence of borderline features.

We expect that BPD features and sexting will be reciprocally related. Individuals with BPD generally experience episodes of anxiety, depression, and mood reactivity in response to environmental stressors (Adams, Bernat, & Luscher, 2001). Adolescents may engage in sexting to cope with negative emotions that are often associated with borderline personality features (e.g., boredom; Lenhart, 2009). Similarly, adolescents with borderline personality features may use sexting to instantaneously avoid feelings of loneliness or to salvage relationships they perceive as being in jeopardy.

Evidence also suggests that sending text messages with sexual content is associated with histrionic personality disorder, social anxiety, and attachment anxiety among young adults (Drouin and Landgraff, 2012, Ferguson, 2011, Reid and Reid, 2007, Weisskirch and Delevi, 2011), as well as low self-esteem (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2014), feelings of hopelessness (Dake et al., 2012), and facets of impulsivity (Champion and Pedersen, 2015, Temple et al., 2014). Adolescents who engage in sexting also experience emotional health issues such as depression, suicide ideation and attempts, and feelings of loneliness (Dake et al., 2012, Temple et al., 2014). Taken together, these findings suggest that examining sexting as it relates to borderline personality features seems warranted.

The primary purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of sexting among a typically developing adolescent sample and to examine how observed sexting relates to sexual activity (sexual intercourse and risky sexual behaviors) and to borderline personality features. Fifteen-year-old participants were provided with BlackBerry devices with paid service plans configured so that the content of text messages sent and received was saved to a secure online archive for later coding and analysis. Four days of text messaging communication was coded for content related to sex, both discussion of actual sex and hypothetical sex. Participants completed a measure of borderline personality features prior to their 10th grade year, and completed a measure of sexual activity and the same measure of borderline personality features at the end of 12th grade.

The current investigation is one of a few studies that have examined text messaging in a naturalistic setting (e.g., Ehrenreich et al., 2014, Underwood et al., 2012). Rather than relying on self-reports, examining participants' text message communication about sex allows access to what adolescents are saying about their sexual experiences and exploration, thus providing a less biased examination of whether discussions about sex are related to engaging in sexual activity and to borderline personality features.

Boys talk more about sex than girls in online chat rooms (Subrahmanyam et al., 2006) and feel more comfortable discussing romantic issues with girls in the privacy of digital communication (Pascoe, 2011). Therefore, we hypothesized that:

H1

Boys would engage in sexting more than girls.

The co-construction model of development suggests that adolescents' offline relationships may further develop in response to processes taking place in online relationships; for instance, offline relationships may benefit from increased intimacy as online relationships persist (Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008). This development of intimacy may engender exploration and declaration of sexual desires among adolescents which can help facilitate the transition of online sexual relationships to offline sexual relationships (Brown et al., 2009). Thus, even though sexting is not always associated with sexual activity (Dake et al., 2012, Lenhart, 2009), self-reports of sending sexually explicit or suggestive images are found to be consistently related to risky sexual behaviors (Benotsch et al., 2012, Dake et al., 2012, Temple et al., 2012) and sex talk displayed on social networking website profiles is associated with the intent to engage in sexual behavior (Moreno et al., 2012) indicating an association between the online activity of sexting and the offline activity of sexual behavior. Therefore, we hypothesized that:

H2

Compared with adolescents who had not engaged in sexting, adolescents who engaged in sexting would report an earlier onset of intercourse and having ever engaged in sexual intercourse (H2a).

We also hypothesized that sexting would be related to having more than one sex partner in the past year (H2b), to having used alcohol or drugs prior to having sexual intercourse within the past year (H2c), and to not using birth control when having sexual intercourse (H2d). Although sexting has been linked to risky sexual behavior for girls (Benotsch et al., 2012, Ferguson, 2011, Temple et al., 2012), this has not been the case for boys. Therefore, we predicted that sexting would only be associated with risky sexual activity for girls (H2e).

Similar to anxiously attached individuals who possess an intense, extreme need for closeness in relationships (Drouin & Landgraff, 2012), individuals with borderline personality features have a strong need for closeness accompanied by impulsivity, leading to tumultuous, clingy, and unstable relationships (Crick et al., 2007, Gunderson, 2007). Empirical evidence suggests that children at risk for developing BPD may have failed to negotiate important developmental tasks such as identity formation and autonomy development (Geiger & Crick, 2001), and adolescents who experience identity issues often engage in risky online behaviors such as sexting (Pridgen, 2010). Findings from these studies provide additional support for the co-construction model of development with adolescents' digital communication use manifesting psychologically in their offline world. Therefore, we hypothesized that:

H3

Sexting behaviors would be positively associated with borderline personality features (H3a). Because sexting promotes intimacy without the need for actual physical contact, it was expected that talking about sex via text message communication would predict borderline personality features at age 18 above and beyond sexual activity (H3b). Given that sexting is a novel phenomenon and few studies have examined the relation between sexting behaviors and personality disorder traits, it is difficult to suggest theoretically guided hypotheses with regard to gender differences in this relation. Nonetheless, because girls are more susceptible to internalizing symptoms and self-objectification in relation to sexting than are boys (Brown et al., 2009) we hypothesized that sexting would more strongly relate to borderline personality features for girls (H3c). Further, because borderline personality features and sexting may be reciprocally related, we hypothesized that a predisposition to borderline personality features would predict sexting (H3d).

Section snippets

Participants

Participants included 181 10th grade adolescents (85 girls and 96 boys, 15–16 years old) with text messaging data who participated in an ongoing longitudinal study of relationships and adjustment. Participants were initially recruited when they were either finishing the third grade or beginning the fourth grade of a diverse public school district in the Southwestern United States and were contacted yearly until they completed the 12th grade. Attrition between the 10th grade data collection

Prevalence rates and gender differences in sex talk

During the four days in which text messaging was micro-coded, a total of 181 participants sent and received an average of 713 text message utterances containing both sexual and non-sexual content, with a range of 2–5396 utterances. The overall frequency of sex talk was highly variable across the sample with about 35% (n = 63) not engaging in sex talk, 24% (n = 44) engaging in 1–5 utterances, and about 18% (n = 33) sending and/or receiving greater than 30 sex talk utterances during the four-day

Discussion

Overall, the results supported the hypotheses that sexting at age 16 would be associated with sexual activity and risky sexual behavior (H2), and borderline personality features at age 18 (H3).

Findings from this naturalistic study of text messaging suggest that sexting can be viewed as a modern expression of normal adolescent sexual development (Angelides, 2013). In this typically developing sample, 65% of adolescents engaged in sexting, with 92% of those engaged in sexting sending or receiving

Acknowledgments

The preparation of this manuscript was supported by two grants from the Eunice Kennedy Schriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: R01 HD060995 and R21 HD072165. We are grateful to the adolescents and families who participated, to an excellent team of coders, and to a local school system who prefers to go unnamed. All correspondence should be direct to Marion K. Underwood, [email protected].

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