Sending digital, sexually explicit material—otherwise know as sexting—is on the rise. Some general data exist on sexting among teens. But little was known about subgroups within the teen population.

University of Texas researchers thus focused on Latino and black high school students, surveying 1,034 tenth graders about their use of sexting.

They found that more than 20 percent have sent a nude or seminude photo or video or a text-only sext.  More than 30 percent reported receiving a sext. The study is in the journal of Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking.

Other studies have shown that females tend to send more sexts than males. Of the students in this study, Latina high school girls were the least likely to send sexts. Latino men were next. And black males and females were about equal with their use of sexting, with both sending more sexts than the Latinos. The authors note that black youths tend to enter puberty earlier than Latinos, and this may have some influence on their sexting trends.

The researchers say that understanding the sexting phenomenon is necessary to gain a fuller insight into adolescents—both their sexual behavior and their general health.

—Christie Nicholson

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]