Sexting and intimate partner relationships among adults

Sexting, defined as "sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, images, or photos through electronic means, particularly between cell phones" (Klettke, Hallford, & Mellor, 2014), should be viewed within the framework of sexual health promotion which requires the recognition of the value of sexual pleasure and the promotion of sexual relationships that are safe, consensual, honest, and mutually pleasurable (World Health Organization, 2006). Past research has approached sexting as a risky activity (Drouin & Landgraff, 2012; Drouin, Vogel, Surbey, & Stills, 2013; Gordon-Messer, Bauermeister, Grodzinski, & Zimmerman, 2013; Henderson & Morgan, 2011; Rice et al., 2012). This approach fails to account for the possible positive effects of open sexual communication with a partner. This study attempted to determine whether attitudes towards and motives for sexting moderate the relationship between sexting and relationship and sexual satisfaction among an adult population, in order to determine under what circumstances sexting is a risk factor and under what circumstances might it be a protective factor. Participants (N = 870) were recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk and completed measures concerning demographics, relationship status, attachment style, gender roles, sexting behaviors, sexting motives and wantedness, perceived outcomes of sexting, and relationship and sexual satisfaction. Respondents were aged 18- 82 years (M = 35.30; SD = 10.02), predominantly female (57.70%), white (80.6%), and in a relationship (74.0%). The majority (87.80%) of the sample reported having sexted in their lifetime. Results showed that attachment was not significantly related to past sexting behavior. Hostile sexism, but not benevolent sexism, was positively related to past sexting behavior. Sexting was positively related to sexual satisfaction and did not vary by frequency of "unwanted but consensual sexting" or motives for sexting. Sexting was positively related to relationship satisfaction for individuals who did not report being in "very committed relationships" but not for individuals who did. If individuals reported never or rarely engaging in unwanted sexting, higher levels of sexting were related to higher levels of relationship satisfaction; however, for individuals in committed relationships who reported higher frequencies of unwanted sexting, higher levels of sexting were related to lower levels of relationship satisfaction. Lower levels of intimacy and hedonism were associated with stronger relationships between sexting and relationship satisfaction. For those in very committed relationships, at high levels of these motives, more sexting was related to lower relationship satisfaction. Although individuals in very committed relationships had generally higher levels of relationship satisfaction than those not in very committed relationships, the relationships between sexting and relationship satisfaction did not very by relationship commitment for selfaffirmation, coping, or partner-approval motives. At low levels of any of these motives, sexting and relationship satisfaction are positively related, but at high levels, more sexting is related to lower satisfaction. More sexting behavior was related to higher attitudes of relational expectations regarding sexting and of sexting as "fun and carefree". Individuals who reported more sexting reported fewer perceived risks of sexting. Increasing levels of self-affirmation motives for sexting were found to attenuate the positive relationship between sexting behavior and "fun and carefree" attitudes such that individuals with the highest levels of self-affirmation motives exhibited an inverse relationship between the two variables. Strengths and limitations of the study are discussed. Taken together, the data indicate that not all sexting is equal. While sexting appears to be generally good for sexual satisfaction, wantedness of and motives for sexting matter within the context of a relationship. Unwanted sexting is bad for relationship satisfaction. Wanted sexting is good for sexual and relationship satisfaction among heterosexuals. This is an important and novel study with exciting clinical implications.