The role of peer networks in adolescent pornography use and sexting in Croatia

ABSTRACT

Although communication about sexuality is a significant pathway through which peers influence adolescent sexual development, little research has examined the role of peer networks in the use of sexualized media. We applied a social network approach to assess the role of close peers in adolescent pornography use and sexting in a sample of Croatian high school students. Sexual conversation networks’ characteristics did not correlate with pornography use. In contrast, sexting was associated with the proportion of same gender peers, the proportion of older peers and the proportion of sexually experienced peers in the network – pointing to the role of peer influence. Participants’ gender did not moderate these associations. Specific mechanisms underlying the observed associations and the role of peer selection remain important tasks for future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescents
• peer networks
• pornography use
• sexting
• gender

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Croatian Science Foundation, project grant #9221.

Notes on contributors

Marko Lucić

Marko Lucić is a Consultant for the development of a statistical profiling model of long-term unemployment for the Croatian Employment Service and the World Bank. He received an MA in Sociology from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Zagreb. His research interests lie in social network analysis methodology with an emphasis on communication networks and in labour market economics.

Valerio Baćak

Valerio Baćak is an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University. His main research interest is in examining how offending and contact with the criminal justice system are related to health and wellbeing. His other lines of research include youth sexuality, health disparities, and social epidemiology of HIV/AIDS among vulnerable populations.

Aleksandar Štulhofer

Aleksandar Štulhofer is a Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Sexology Unit at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia. His research interests are sexuality and aging, epidemiology of sexual health, bio-behavioral HIV research, and the effects of sexualized media use among young people.