The Role of Psychosocial Factors in Youth Sexting: A Multi-Country Analysis of Risk Perception

Purpose

Using nationally representative surveys with internet-using children aged 12–17 across 13 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa and Southeast Asia, the study aimed to examine attitudinal factors associated with sexting-related risk perception and analyze the extent to which risk perception is correlated with sexting behavior.

Methods

Multivariate linear regression with risk perception as the outcome variable was conducted. Slopes were plotted per country, with risk perception and sexting (having shared naked pictures or videos of self online in the past year) as the outcome, to examine the relationship between risk perception and sexting behavior across countries.

Results

More risk-averse attitudes were consistently positively associated with risk perception in almost all countries. Plotted slopes of risk perception and sexting, in turn, showed that higher risk perception was associated with reduced sexting, with similar directionality across all countries. However, the levels varied, e.g., in Thailand and Cambodia, risk perception had a similar effect on sexting (same slope) but at substantially different levels: those who sext in Thailand still have higher concerns (risk perception = 4) than those who do not sext in Cambodia (risk perception = 3).

Discussion

The finding that less restrictive attitudes and lower risk perception were correlated with sexting aligns with literature in the field, although the range of risk perception thresholds associated with sexting was noteworthy. The study provides some support for the importance of developing tailored approaches that take into consideration the psychological as well as contextual factors affecting sexting, as opposed to one-size-fits-all methods.