TY - JOUR
T1 - Sexting Behaviors Exhibited by Men Who Have Sex with Men between the Ages of 18-70 Who Live in a Socially Conservative State
AU - Currin, Joseph M.
AU - Hubach, Randolph D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
PY - 2017/7
Y1 - 2017/7
N2 - Sexting, defined as the sending and receiving of sexually suggestive or sexually explicit text or photos, has been growing in prevalence. Recent studies have demonstrated that over half of individuals sampled over 17 and regardless of gender participate in some type of sexting behavior. Most studies on sexting behaviors, including those looking at men who have sex with men (MSM) focus on emerging adult or university-based populations. The goal of the current study was to sample a nonuniversity-based MSM adult population to determine the prevalence of sexting behavior and the odds that a person engages in sexting behaviors based on certain sexual behaviors. The sample consisted of 213 MSM (mean age = 34.8 years, standard deviation [STD] = 12.1) who reside in Oklahoma. The majority of participants (133, 62.4 percent) participated in sexting behaviors. Logistic regression indicated that individuals had 10 times higher odds to engage in sexting if they had participated in a hookup (odds ratio [OR] = 10.44, 95% CI = [4.16-26.25]) and individuals who are married or in a committed relationship had 71 percent lower odds that they had sent a sext message (OR = 0.29, 95% CI = [0.12-0.71]). Sexting behaviors were not associated with condom use. Implications, including using third-party geolocation mobile application (such as Grindr) to deliver sexual health information, are discussed.
AB - Sexting, defined as the sending and receiving of sexually suggestive or sexually explicit text or photos, has been growing in prevalence. Recent studies have demonstrated that over half of individuals sampled over 17 and regardless of gender participate in some type of sexting behavior. Most studies on sexting behaviors, including those looking at men who have sex with men (MSM) focus on emerging adult or university-based populations. The goal of the current study was to sample a nonuniversity-based MSM adult population to determine the prevalence of sexting behavior and the odds that a person engages in sexting behaviors based on certain sexual behaviors. The sample consisted of 213 MSM (mean age = 34.8 years, standard deviation [STD] = 12.1) who reside in Oklahoma. The majority of participants (133, 62.4 percent) participated in sexting behaviors. Logistic regression indicated that individuals had 10 times higher odds to engage in sexting if they had participated in a hookup (odds ratio [OR] = 10.44, 95% CI = [4.16-26.25]) and individuals who are married or in a committed relationship had 71 percent lower odds that they had sent a sext message (OR = 0.29, 95% CI = [0.12-0.71]). Sexting behaviors were not associated with condom use. Implications, including using third-party geolocation mobile application (such as Grindr) to deliver sexual health information, are discussed.
KW - HIV/STI prevention
KW - Sexting
KW - sexual behaviors
KW - sexual health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85042096290&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1089/cyber.2017.0050
DO - 10.1089/cyber.2017.0050
M3 - Article
C2 - 28715262
AN - SCOPUS:85042096290
SN - 2152-2715
VL - 20
SP - 413
EP - 418
JO - Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
JF - Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
IS - 7
ER -