Sexting among University Students: Links to Internet Addiction and Psychological Variables

Abstract

Sexting is increasingly common among university students, while levels of Internet addiction are rising in this population. This has caused students to present certain risk behaviors that are linked to the development of psychological variables that affect health such as low self-control, depression, anxiety and stress. In this paper it was proposed as objective of the study to analyze the links that are established between the practice of sexting, Internet addiction, self- control, depression, anxiety and stress. For this purpose, an online survey was applied to a sample of 1013 university students from a Spanish university, which collected four standardized instruments to measure the constructs of the study. The results showed that students who practiced sexting were associated with low self-control and higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress, as well as problematic Internet use. Furthermore, gender, living with parents, and daily Internet use were predictors of sexting. Finally, the main implications derived from the study in relation to the links of sexting and Internet addiction were collected.