title: Sexting among Peruvian adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sexting (sexual messaging via mobile devices) among adolescents may result in increased risky sexual practices, psychological distress and in some cases, suicide. There is very little research on sexting in developing nations, such as Peru. In particular, little is known about gender differences in the correlates of sexting. The purpose of this study was to determine the sexting prevalence and correlates of sexting among adolescent boys and girls in Cusco, Peru.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study sample comprised 949 high school aged adolescents from Cusco, Peru. Adolescents responded to questions about demographics, sexting behavior, and risk/protective factors. Separate regression models were constructed to compare correlates of sexting for boys and sexting for girls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty percent of the sample reported engaging in at least one instance of sexting. Boys reported higher rates of sexting than girls (35.17% vs. 13.19%, p = 0.000). Significant correlates for girls' sexting included having been cyberbullied and parental factors. For boys, hypertexting, fighting, parental factors, and parental rules about sexting were significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Peruvian health officials with an interest in reducing the effects of sexting among adolescents may choose to target boys differently than girls. These efforts may include advising parents to set clear rules and expectations about sexting and the appropriate use of mobile devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Science, Brigham Young University, 229-D Richards Building, Provo, Utah 84602, USA. josh.west@byu.edu.
authors.forename: Joshua H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: Cameron E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Lister
authors.forename: P Cougar
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Benjamin T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Crookston
authors.forename: Paola Rivera
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Snow
authors.forename: Maria Elena
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Zvietcovich
authors.forename: Richard P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: West
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D016497:Adolescent Health Services; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010568:Peru / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D060145:Text Messaging; D055815:Young Adult
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