Search Here

Parents beware - A new study is out that says that nearly 1 in 3 teens has sent a nude picture of him or herself to someone else, and more than half have been asked to do so.

The study, published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, surveyed nearly 1,000 Texas teens and also noted that teen "sexting" is strongly linked to actual sexual behavior.
According to researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, the study is the "first to explore the public health impact of sexting."

By the Numbers:

• 28 percent of adolescents have sent a nude pictures of themselves through electronic means
• More than half - 57 percent - have been asked to send a nude picture
• About one-third - 31 percent- have asked for a nude picture to be sent to them
• About 77 percent of girls aged 14 to 19 who had sent a sext reported having had intercourse, compared with 42% of those who hadn't sexted
• 82 percent of boys who had sexted had had sex, while 46% of non-sexters had done so
• More than half - 56 percent - of those who'd sent a sext had had more than one sexual partner in the previous year, compared with 35 percent who had not sexted.
• About 40 percent of girls who used alcohol or other drugs before sex were female sexters compared to 27 percent who were non-sexters

"It appears that sexting is a modern version of 'show me yours and I'll show you mine,' but the commonness of the behavior does not condone its occurrence," said lead author Jeff Temple, UTMB assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. "On the contrary, we found that teens are generally bothered by being asked to send a naked picture. In fact, nearly all girls were bothered by having been asked, and among boys, more than half were bothered at least a little."

The study included teens between 14 and 19 years old in the 10th and 11th grades.
Temple said parents also should counsel their teens about these issues and that a discussion about sexting might be a less intimidating door opener to a talk about sex.

"Pediatricians, policy makers, schools and parents have been handicapped by insufficient information about the nature and importance of teen sexting," said Temple. "These findings shed new light on the public health importance of this increasingly common behavior, and we hope that the data contributes to improved adolescent health care."