Internal medicine

Sociology

Sexual coercion

Compliance (psychology)

Population

Poison control

Sexually active

Clinical psychology

Developmental psychology

Philosophy

Psychology

Human factors and ergonomics

Anthropology

Coercion (linguistics)

Risky sexual behavior

Linguistics

Typology

Medicine

Social psychology

Protective factor

Environmental health

Sexes

Pressure to send sexually explicit messages, or ‘sexting coercion’ is associated with adverse mental health outcomes and sexual risk behaviors. This study explores Differentiation of Self (DoS) as a potential protective factor to reduce susceptibility to sexting coercion. A convenience sample of 399 Australian participants, aged 18 to 21 years (Mage = 19.63; SD = 1.14, 68.2% women) completed an online survey measuring sexting behaviors and DoS. Women were four times more likely to send willing unwanted sexts, and seven times more likely to engage in coerced unwanted sexting than men. Participants with low DoS were four times more likely to engage in coerced unwanted sexting. DoS significantly mediated the relationship between gender and coerced unwanted sexting. Results support the proposal of a sexting coercion typology encompassing discrete sub-types of sexting coercion. Results also indicate DoS may operate as a protective factor for young people in Australia, reducing compliance with sexting when coerced.

Relationships between Coerced Sexting and Differentiation of Self: An Exploration of Protective Factors