Sexting in Young Adults: A Normative Sexual Behavior.

With the advancement of technology, sexting has become more prominent in high school and university samples. The current study examined the rates and characteristics of sexting among an online sample of 2,828 young adults aged 18-30, primarily from the U.S. and Canada. We found that most participants sext (81%), sext often (most report ≥ 11 sexts), and start young (most by 16-17 years of age). Common reasons for sexting echoed reasons for participating in other normative sexual behaviors, including that it was sexually arousing, they were asked and wanted to reciprocate, or they wanted to flirt. Sexual coercion was a gendered phenomenon, with 1 in 10 cisgender women and 1 in 50 cisgender men reporting having sent a sext due to being threatened. The body parts captured in cisgender men's sexts were more diverse, whereas cisgender women focused on their chest, underwear/genitalia, and stomach. Sexual orientation was also found to be a relevant factor, with different patterns in sexting experiences emerging across identities. The current study adds to the mounting evidence that sexting is a normative sexual behavior. Sexual education programs should provide youth with information on consent and safe sexting practices rather than follow an abstinence approach.

Responsible Behavior With Younger Children: Results From a Pilot Randomized Evaluation of a School-Based Child Sexual Abuse Perpetration Prevention Program.

Many efforts to prevent child sexual abuse (CSA) aim to teach children strategies for recognizing, resisting, and reporting victimization. There is limited evidence that victimization-focused efforts actually prevent CSA. Moreover, these efforts often overlook the fact that many children and adolescents engage in problem sexual behavior against younger children. Responsible Behavior with Younger Children (RBYC) is a novel universal school-based perpetration-focused intervention that aims to prevent the onset of inappropriate, harmful, or illegal sexual behavior by adolescents against younger children.1 Responsible behavior with younger children was designed to provide adolescents and their parents with the knowledge and tools to help adolescents interact appropriately with younger children and avoid CSA behaviors. In this paper we describe intervention development, summarize lessons learned from implementing RBYC in four urban schools, and report results from our pilot randomized waitlist-controlled trial (RCT) with 160 6th and 7th grade students. Results indicate RBYC was associated with increased accuracy in youth knowledge about CSA and CSA-related laws, and with increased behavioral intention to avoid or prevent CSA with younger children and peer sexual harassment. Although the sample was small and the effects were relatively modest, the findings do suggest that RBYC holds promise for preventing the onset of problem sexual behavior.

Self-Esteem, Perceived Social Support, and Suicidal Ideation and Behavior Among Adults Attracted to Children.

Introduction: People who are attracted to children may be at elevated risk for suicidal ideation and behavior compared to the general population. However, factors associated with suicidal ideation and behavior in this population represent a gap in the literature.Methods: The current study used multilinear regression to explore the impact of self-esteem and perceived social support on suicidal ideation and behavior in a sample of 154 adults attracted to children. Mediation analysis was conducted to investigate the role of lifetime major depressive disorder and hopelessness in these relationships.Results: Results showed high prevalence of past-year and lifetime suicidal ideation and behavior in the sample. Both self-esteem and perceived social support demonstrated significant, inverse relationships with suicidal ideation and behavior after adjustment for covariates. Mediation analyses provided support for the role of hopelessness, but not depression, in these relationships.Conclusion: Results demonstrate high rates of suicidal ideation and behavior among adults attracted to children and highlight important opportunities for prevention and intervention. Improving self-esteem, bolstering perceived social support, reducing hopelessness, and removing barriers to help-seeking may be targets for improving mental health and preventing suicidal ideation and behavior in this population.

Impact of Child Sexual Abuse on Socioeconomic Attainment in Adulthood.

PURPOSE: While child sexual abuse (CSA) victimization is linked to adverse mental and behavioral health outcomes, few studies have examined the association between CSA and socioeconomic attainment in adulthood, particularly for men. This study assesses the impacts of CSA victimization on socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood, separately for men and women. METHODS: Analyses are based on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health restricted use dataset. Adolescent to Adult Health is a nationally representative cohort of teenagers in grades 7-12 (1994-1995; N = 20,000) followed to ages 33-44 (2016-2018; N = 12,300). These analyses were based on N = 10,119 participants. We used propensity score weighting to equate on observed confounders of those who experienced CSA victimization with those who had not. All analyses were conducted in the R statistical software. RESULTS: In this analytical sample, 25.2% of women and 9.8% of men reported of having been sexually abused as a child. Results from propensity score weighted models showed that by their late 30s, men and women who experienced CSA had lower educational attainment, lower odds of being financially stable, and a decrease in household income compared to their peers. CSA was associated with lower odds of being employed among women only. DISCUSSION: Findings from this study suggest that men and women who survive CSA, experience socioeconomic disadvantages in adulthood relative to peers who did not experience CSA. Preventive programs and treatment and other services for survivors of CSA could positively impact individuals' economic productivity over the life course, reducing the individual and societal costs associated with CSA victimization.