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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Associations between receiving non-consensual image and video sexts and average sleep duration among adolescents and young adults

Kyle T. Ganson https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3889-3716 A * , Carolyn O’Connor A , Jason M. Nagata B , Alexander Testa C , Dylan B. Jackson D , Nelson Pang A and Faye Mishna A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

B Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.

C Department of Management, Policy and Community Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.

D Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

* Correspondence to: kyle.ganson@utoronto.ca

Handling Editor: Cheng Wang

Sexual Health 21, SH23202 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH23202
Submitted: 15 December 2023  Accepted: 26 March 2024  Published: 16 April 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Background

Sexting is the sending and receiving of nude or partially nude images or videos. Despite it being a part of contemporary relationships, it can have adverse effects. This is particularly the case when receiving non-consensual sexts. To date, there remains a gap in the literature on whether receiving non-consensual sexts is associated with poor sleep. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the association between receiving non-consensual sexts and average sleep duration.

Methods

Data from Wave 2 (2022) of the Canadian Study of Adolescent Health Behaviours (N = 906) were analysed. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to determine the association between receiving non-consensual sexts (both image and video) in the past 12 months and average sleep duration (≤5 h, 6 h, 7 h, 8 h, and ≥9 h) in the past 2 weeks. Analyses were stratified by gender.

Results

Girls and women who received non-consensual image and video sexts, compared to those who did not, were more likely to report ≤5 h of average sleep in the past 2 weeks, relative to 8 h of average sleep. There were no significant findings among boys and men.

Conclusion

Findings underscore that receiving non-consensual image and video sexts may negatively impact sleep among girls and women, which may be contextualised by trauma responses experienced because of gender-based sexual violence. Healthcare and mental health professionals should be made aware of this association to provide effective care to girls and women.

Keywords: Canada, gender-based violence, girls and women, image sexting, relationships, sexting, sleep, video sexting.

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