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Results of a 2011 survey indicate
that one of every seven Los Angeles high school students with a cell phone has
sent sexting messages, a sexually-explicit text message or photo.
This information was released in a
study by Eric Rice, social network researcher at the University of Southern
California, Los Angeles, and an assistant professor in the School of Social
Work. The study was published September 17 in the journal Pediatrics.
The survey also noted that
“sexters,” people who sent such messages, were more likely to be sexually
active and have unprotected sex. Rice warns parents that suspect their children
are sexting to be aware that they may be participating in other sexual
behavior. These findings are based on 1,839 students in Los Angeles high
schools, the majority of whom were Latino. Three-quarters of the study
participants owned a cell phone and used it regularly.
A previous study of high school
students in Houston, Texas, found one in four teens had sexted a nude photo of
themselves, and these students were also involved in risky sex. Rice commented
that the rate of teen sexting in Houston may have been higher than in Los
Angeles, but both reports are consistent.
The study, “Sexually Explicit Cell
Phone Messaging Associated With Sexual Risk Among Adolescents,” was published
ahead of the print version of the journal Pediatrics (September 17, 2012,
doi:10.1542/peds.2012-0021).
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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