When Sexting Becomes a Kind of Violence? Sexting Motivations and Dating Violence among Young Adults

With Internet, dating violence started to happen also in online context. Research showed that sexting, that is the exchange of sexual suggestive images via Internet, is related to perpetration and victimization of dating violence. This study investigated in a sample of young adults aged from 18 to 27 years which motivations for sexting could lead to victimization and perpetration of dating violence. Two hierarchical regression analyses showed that only instrumental/aggravated reasons lead to victimization, beta = .18, p = .01, and perpetration, beta = .17, p = .02, of dating violence. Results confirmed the presence of two different kind of sexting, experimental and aggravated, whose clinical and education implications are widely examined.

Keywords: Sexting, motivations, dating violence, young adults, perpetration, victimization

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Mara Morelli, Dora Bianchi, Elena Cattelino, Maria Rosaria Nappa, Roberto Baiocco, Antonio Chirumbolo, Quando il Sexting diventa una forma di violenza? Motivazioni al sexting e dating violence nei giovani adulti in "MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA" 3/2017, pp 49-68, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2017-003004