Adolescents' sexual media use and willingness to engage in casual sex : differential relations and underlying processes

The present study investigated the relationship between different types of sexual media use (i.e., sexually explicit internet material, sexually oriented reality TV and sexy self-presentations on social network sites) and adolescents’ willingness to engage in casual sex, as well as underlying social-cognitive processes of this relationship. Drawing on a longitudinal three-wave panel study among 1,467 adolescents (aged 13-17, 50% female), we found that exposure to sexually explicit internet material directly predicted adolescents’ willingness to engage in casual sex. Exposure to sexy self-presentations of others on social network sites and sexually oriented reality TV predicted adolescents’ willingness to engage in casual sex indirectly through descriptive peer norms on casual sex.status: publishe

The Importance of Adolescents' Sexually Outgoing Self-Concept : Differential Roles of Self- and Other-Generated Sexy Self-Presentations in Social Media

The present study investigated the relationships between (exposure to) sexy self-presentations on social network sites (SNSs) and adolescents' sexual self-concept over time. Results from a three-wave panel study among 1,288 Dutch adolescents (aged 13-17 years) showed that more frequent engagement in sexy self-presentation, rather than exposure to sexy self-presentations of others, on SNSs positively predicted the importance of being sexually outgoing (e.g., sexy, seductive, and wild) in adolescents' self-concept 6 months later

Gender roles on social networking sites: Investigating reciprocal relationships between Dutch adolescents' hypermasculinity and hyperfemininity and sexy online self-presentations

Previous research has suggested that adolescents play out stereotypical gender roles in their self-presentations in social media. However, longitudinal research on the relationships between (sexy) online self-presentation and adolescents' gender role orientation is lacking. The present study investigated whether endorsing a stereotypical gender role orientation (i.e., hypermasculinity for boys, hyperfemininity for girls) predisposes adolescents to engage in sexy self-presentation or to look at others' sexy self-presentations in social media. In addition, we investigated whether engaging in sexy self-presentation and looking at others' sexy self-presentation predicted an increased hypergender orientation over time. Using a three-wave short-term longitudinal panel survey among 1467 Dutch adolescents with six-month time intervals between waves, we found that adolescents' hypergender orientation predicted more frequent sexy self-presentation and exposure to others' sexy self-presentations in social me..

Explaining the Relationship Between Sexually Explicit Internet Material and Casual Sex: A Two-Step Mediation Model

Despite increasing interest in the implications of adolescents’ use of sexually explicit Internet material (SEIM), we still know little about the relationship between SEIM use and adolescents’ casual sexual activities. Based on a three-wave online panel survey study among Dutch adolescents (N = 1079; 53.1% boys; 93.5% with an exclusively heterosexual orientation; Mage = 15.11; SD = 1.39), we found that watching SEIM predicted engagement in casual sex over time. In turn, casual sexual activities partially predicted adolescents’ use of SEIM. A two-step mediation model was tested to explain the relationship between watching SEIM and casual sex. It was partially confirmed. First, watching SEIM predicted adolescents’ perceptions of SEIM as a relevant information source from Wave 2 to Wave 3, but not from Wave 1 to Wave 2. Next, such perceived utility of SEIM was positively related to stronger instrumental attitudes toward sex and thus their views about sex as a core instrument for sexual gratification. Lastly, adolescents’ instrumental attitudes toward sex predicted adolescents’ engagement in casual sex activities consistently across waves. Partial support emerged for a reciprocal relationship between watching SEIM and perceived utility. We did not find a reverse relationship between casual sex activities and instrumental attitudes toward sex. No significant gender differences emerged