Correlation Found Between Sexting and Relationship Satisfaction
It seems that sexting isn’t used only by adolescents, but, instead, scientists at Drexel University’s Women’s Health Psychology Lab managed an online survey to see whether there were any benefits whatsoever in sharing sexually explicit images or texts via cell phones.
Researchers suggested that there would be a connection between sexting and relationship satisfaction.
88 percent of approximately 870 people who filled out the survey, aged 18 to 82, respectively, identifying as adults in the US, confessed to having sexted someone at least once.
It may be a bit surprising that 76.1 percent of sexting takes place in the home, but 30 percent of respondents have sent sexually evocative texts while out or at work, the survey revealed.
The American Psychological Association published a study which emphasized that 82 percent of respondents said they sexted their partners in the past year.
Sexting may have initially been labeled as illicit or having a bad reputation, claimed to be a risky behavior that would lead to sexual harassment and cyber bullying, especially among teens. But Emily C. Stasko, clinical psychology PhD student at Drexel, said the research is due to put sexting in a good light, as being a positive pattern in relationships.
Stasko said she and her team wanted to see the effects sexting had on adults, as most of the sexting data so far had been issued regarding adolescents and young adults.
The survey included questions involving sexting behaviors, motives and satisfaction to result from a juicy message. The answers would vary according to the status of each one’s relationship commitment.
Those who would be involved in a “very committed” relationship wouldn’t necessarily recur to sexting, whereas the other people who responded to the survey, who had a different status than “very committed” said they would use sexting to gain more relationship satisfaction.
The team from Drexel also stated that sexting is more commonly associated to satisfaction in men, rather than women. Stasko and the co-author of the study, psychology professor Pamela Geller said that via the online platform they found out that the majority of respondents were females and white, 57.7% and 80.6%, respectively. 74 percent of subjects said they were in a relationship, 43 percent said they weren’t currently married, while the same latter percentage was available for single people.
The approximate age of respondents was 35, said Stasko.
The questions asked in the survey were relevant and to the point, concerning how often they sent or received the following: sexually evocative photos, photos in underwear of lingerie, nude photos, sexually suggestive texts and, lastly, explicit texts proposing sexual activity.
The researchers’ conclusion was that sexting should be further investigated concerning the role it plays in romantic and sexual relationships, to better evaluate sexual health issues.
Photo Credits sheknows.com
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