Sexting and Emotional Difficulties in High School Pupils
Sexting has recently attracted the attention of researchers. The aim of this study was twofold: (a) to investigate the prevalence of sexting among boys and girls, and b) to examine the relationship between different types of sexting and emotional difficulties in high school pupils. The research was conducted on a sample of 711 adolescents aged 14-19 years. The Sexting Behavior Questionnaire was used to assess sexting, while the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales and the item of suicidality were used to assess emotional difficulties. The results of the study show that the most frequently reported type of sexting is sending sexually explicit content and the rarest is posting sexually explicit content. Boys are more frequently engaged in sexting compared to girls. Furthermore, pupils involved in sexting think about suicidal thoughts and suicide more often. The obtained results suggest that youth do participate in sexting and those who do have some negative thoughts, which emphasize the necessary for both a prevention and intervention approach for this population.