Prevalence of sexting in children and adolescents in Slovakia in the pandemic and post-pandemic period (in the context of demographic characteristics)

Abstract

The aim of the study is to identify the prevalence of sexting among children and adolescents in Slovakia in 2021 and 2022. The study sample consisted of 1423 children and adolescents in 2021, and 1194 children and adolescents in 2022. Sexting was measured with questions focusing on sending and receiving sexts, the scales were taken from the EU Kids online study. The primary results of the analysis include the finding that there was a decrease in sexting in the post-pandemic year (2022) compared to the pandemic year (2021) at both the level of receiving and sending sexts. Compared to foreign countries, Slovak children and adolescents do not differ significantly in receiving sexts, but they do differ in sending sexts, which they do less. We also observed some differences with respect to gender, age, and family type.