Abstract
The current study addressed students’ risk perceptions regarding the phenomena of sexting, by considering its association with time spent online, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, at-risk behaviors, and school attainment. Gender differences were analyzed. Participants were 137 Italian teenagers (58% female; mean age = 12.63 years, SD = .48 years). Self-esteem (Questionario di Autostima; Tressoldi & Vio, 1996), depressive symptoms (SAFA-D; Cianchetti & Fancello, 2001), and study specific measures of sexting and behavioral risks were measured. Results showed a negative and significant association between students’ risk perception of sexting phenomena and their at-risk behaviors. Time spent online was the strongest variable negatively associated with protective factors as well as being positively associated with risk factors. Girls showed higherrisk perception of sexting than boys. Finally, risk perception was predicted by adolescent’s gender, self-esteem dimension (i.e., behaviour evaluation) and at-risk behavior (i.e., drugs use, at-risk sexual behavior). Educational implications are discussed.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
