Sexting behaviors and cyber pornography addiction among adolescents. The moderating role of alcohol consumption

Sexting is defined as the exchange of provocative or sexually explicit content via smartphone, Internet, or social networks. Previous studies found a relationship between cyber pornography and sexting. The present study aimed to investigate the relationships between sexting, cyber pornography, and alcohol consumption. Previous evidence underlined the disinhibitory effect of alcohol on sexual responsiveness. Therefore, the possible moderating role of alcohol consumption was investigated in the relationship between cyber pornography addiction and sexting. The Sexting Behaviors Questionnaire, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and the Cyber Pornography Use Inventory were administered to 610 adolescents (63 % females; mean age = 16.8). Boys reported significantly more sexting, alcohol consumption, and cyber pornography addiction than girls. As expected, sexting was robustly correlated with alcohol consumption and cyber pornography. In line with these expectations, we found that the relationship between cyber pornography and sexting was moderated by different level of alcohol consumption. In those who reported low levels of alcohol consumption, the relationship between cyber pornography and sexting was not significant. On the contrary, in those who reported high alcohol consumption, this relationship was stronger and significant. Thus, the results suggest that alcohol restraint could represent a protective factor against engaging in sexting, even in the presence of high cyber pornography addiction