In the past two decades, teen sexting has captured significant attention from media and scientific literature. Studies show that more teenagers are now involved in this behavior. Popular media often portray sexting as a major risk for adolescents, focusing on the negative consequences when “sexts” are shared without consent. These reports tend to be gendered, frequently presenting girls as the primary victims.

Today’s parents may thus feel prompted to adopt a variety of practices to regulate their teens’ potential involvement in sexting! In this study, led by Elliana Lamprianidou, we aim to understand how different media depictions of adolescent sexting influence parents’ attitudes and practices. Additionally, we’re exploring the influence of factors like the adolescent’s gender, parents’ pressure to live up to social parenting ideals, and parents’ adherence to traditional values.

We’re really eager to see the results for four reasons:
1. Experimental designs are still somewhat unconventional in developmental and family psychology.
2. With today’s “intensive parenting” culture, we investigate whether media depictions actually prompt more controlling or overprotective parenting.
3. Our study tackles a highly relevant issue—teen sexuality and sexting—something many parents are concerned about.
4. Once again, we’re also applying a gender lens to examine how these parenting practices play out.

Please have a look at our preregistration for more details!