In a relationship, who tends to sext first?

Abstract

Current research into sexting behaviours primarily focuses on adolescent and university student populations. Yet, recent research shows it is normative for adults older than typical college age students to sext as well. While previous studies have shown that men tend to initiate sexual behaviours with their partners, there is a paucity of research about who tends to initiate sexting behaviour first in a relationship. The current study aims to fill this gap in the literature. A logistic regression model was tested on a sample of 464 individuals who sext their relationship partners. Results indicated that discordance about sexual behaviour, age, and partner objectification predicted who sexted first. Of note was that gender was not a significant predictor, indicating that more traditional sexual initiation scripts may not apply to sexting behaviour for adults who are in a relationship.

Keywords:

• sexting
• sexual behaviour
• initiation of sexting
• relationships

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). The views and opinions expressed in this manuscript do not represent those of the United States Air Force Academy, the United States Air Force, or the Department of Defense.