Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31299/ksi.25.2.2
Sexting, cyber-violence and sexually risk behaviour among college students
Dea Kričkić
orcid.org/0000-0002-3991-6839
; Elementary School “Ivan Meštrović” Drenovci and Elementary School “Davorin Trstenjak” Posavski Podgajci, Croatia
Daniela Šincek
; Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Croatia
Ana Babić Čike
; Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Croatia
Abstract
This research explores the relationship between sexting, committing and experiencing cyber-violence, and risk sexually behaviour among college students. A total of 202 college students filled out an adjusted version of the Sex and Tech Survey Questionnaire (STSQ), the Committing and Experiencing Cyber Violence Scale (CECVS) and the subscale on sexually risk behaviour from the Youth Self-reported Delinquency and Risk Behaviours Questionnaire (SRDP-2007). It has been found that a total of 60.89% of the participants have sent a sexually explicit text message and/or video content at least once, 60.33% have received such content, and 13.12% have forwarded or shown the received content to other people. Furthermore, 3.5% of the participants have experienced, and 2.01% have committed, cyber-violence. The majority of the participants have sent explicit content to their boyfriends/girlfriends. Most of the participants perceived sexting as a kind of joke, as a gift to their partner or as an answer to receiving sexually explicit content, while a minority of the participants mentioned negative motives for practicing sexting, such as peer or partner pressure. Almost all of the participants were aware of the danger sexting bore, but most of them still indulged in sexting, noting its positive outcomes, such as the excitement that followed it. Both committing/experiencing cyber-violence and sexually risk behaviour correlate positively and moderately with sexting. Positive and moderate correlations were found between committing and experiencing cyber-violence. Also, positive but weak correlations were found between practicing/experiencing cyber-violence and sexually risk behaviour in real life. Predicting sexting by experiencing and committing cyber violence and sexually risk behaviour has shown that only sexually risk behaviour is significant predictor. Such behaviour likely serves as a mediator for the relationship between committing cyber-violence and sexting, yet it explains only 8.2% of sexting variance, while the model as a whole explains almost 20%. The results indicate that different forms of risk behaviour are correlated, and that sexting is perceived not only as a risk behaviour, but as a behaviour that can be used to facilitate committed relationships in young adulthood.
Keywords
cyber-violence; sexting; sexually risk behaviour
Hrčak ID:
191656
URI
Publication date:
29.12.2017.
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