Purpose: Sexting, the sending or receiving of sexually explicit or sexually suggestive images or video, isa potentially risky behavior in which many youth participate. The purpose of this study was to examinethe extent of sexting, as well as related harms including nonconsensual sharing of content and sextortion,especially when sexting with those who are not current romantic partners.
Method: Using a national sample of 3,466 adolescents aged 13—17 years in the United States, thecurrent study explored the prevalence of sexting behaviors and related negative outcomes. Differencesacross age, race, gender, and sexual orientation were assessed using Chi-square tests. Wealso used multivariate logistic regression to examine the odds of negative outcomes when sharingsexts with those who are not current romantic partners.
Results: About one-third of teens in the sample had participated in sexting by either sending (24%) orreceiving (32%) explicit content, or both. Among those, undesirable outcomes frequently occurred.Specifically, about half of the teens who sent a sext had it shared with others without their permissionor were subject to sextortion. Differences were observed across different demographic groups. Youthwho sent a sext to someone who was not a current romantic partner were 13 times more likely tohave their image shared without their permission and five times more likely to be the target ofsextortion compared to youth who only sent sexts to current romantic partners.
Discussion: The findings demonstrate that a minority of teens are participating in sexting, butwhen they do, undesirable outcomes are common. A comprehensive educational strategy forpreventing teen sexting involving harm reduction strategies, social norming, and a renewed focuson healthy and safe sexual behavior online is warranted.
Keywords: Sexting; Sextortion; Nonconsensual sharing of intimate images; Risky behavior
Patchin, J.W. & Hinduja, S. (2026). When Sexting Goes Wrong: The Extent of Nonconsensual Sharingand Sextortion Among U.S. Teens, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2025.12.253
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