Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.
VISN 1 New England MIRECC, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA; Department of Psychiatry and Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worchester, MA.
J Sex Med. 2020 Jan;17(1):163-167. doi: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2019.09.018. Epub 2019 Nov 8.
Sending sexually explicit text messages ("sexting") is prevalent among US adults; however, the mental health correlates of this behavior among adults have not been studied adequately. Furthermore, there are few studies examining the related but distinct behavior of posting sexually explicit photos or videos of oneself online (posting sexual images [PSI]) and the mental health correlates of this behavior.
To examine associations between sexting, PSI, impulsivity, hypersexuality, and measures of psychopathology.
Using a national convenience sample of 283 US post-deployment, post-9/11 military veterans, we evaluated the prevalence of 2 behaviors: sexting and PSI and the associations of these behaviors with psychopathology, suicidal ideation, sexual behaviors, hypersexuality, sexually transmitted infections, trauma history, and measures of impulsivity.
Measures of psychopathology including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia, substance dependence, hypersexuality, and suicidal ideation, as well as measures of impulsivity, sexual behavior, and trauma.
Sexting was found to be common among post-9/11 veterans (68.9%). A smaller number of veterans engaged in PSI (16.3%). PSI veterans were more likely to be younger, male, less educated, and unemployed. After adjusting for covariates, no associations were detected between PSI or sexting and the examined measures of psychopathology. However, PSI was associated with higher levels of impulsivity and hypersexuality, whereas sexting was not associated with these measures.
Results from this study suggest that not all digital sexual behaviors are associated with psychopathology. However, PSI was associated with hypersexuality and impulsivity. Those who engage with PSI may benefit from guidance on how to manage their impulsivity to prevent ego-dystonic sexual behaviors.
STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS: The strengths of this study include differentiating PSI from sexting broadly, highlighting that digital sexual behaviors are heterogeneous. Limitations include the study's cross-sectional design, which limits causal interpretations. More research is also needed in civilian populations.
PSI was less prevalent than sexting in our sample. This behavior was associated with impulsivity and hypersexuality but not with elevated levels of psychopathology. Sexting was not associated with any of these measures. Turban JL, Shirk SD, Potenza MN, et al. Posting Sexually Explicit Images or Videos of Oneself Online Is Associated with Impulsivity and Hypersexuality but Not Measures of Psychopathology in a Sample of US Veterans. J Sex Med 2020;17:163-167.
在美国成年人中，发送露骨色情短信（“色情短信”）很普遍；然而，成年人中这种行为的心理健康相关性尚未得到充分研究。此外，很少有研究探讨与发布自己的露骨色情照片或视频（发布色情图片[PSI]）相关但不同的行为，以及这种行为与心理健康的相关性。
研究色情短信、PSI、冲动性、性欲亢进和精神病理学测量之间的关联。
使用 283 名美国部署后、9/11 后退伍军人的全国便利样本，我们评估了 2 种行为的流行率：色情短信和 PSI，以及这些行为与精神病理学、自杀意念、性行为、性欲亢进、性传播感染、创伤史和冲动性测量的关联。
包括抑郁、焦虑、创伤后应激障碍、失眠、物质依赖、性欲亢进和自杀意念在内的精神病理学测量，以及冲动性、性行为和创伤的测量。
发现 9/11 后退伍军人中存在普遍的色情短信行为（68.9%）。较小比例的退伍军人从事 PSI（16.3%）。PSI 退伍军人更年轻、男性、受教育程度较低且失业。在调整了协变量后，PSI 或色情短信与所检查的精神病理学测量值之间没有关联。然而，PSI 与更高水平的冲动性和性欲亢进有关，而色情短信则与这些测量值无关。
这项研究的结果表明，并非所有数字性行为都与精神病理学有关。然而，PSI 与性欲亢进和冲动性有关。从事 PSI 的人可能受益于如何管理他们的冲动以防止自我厌恶的性行为的指导。
本研究的优势包括从广义上区分 PSI 与色情短信，突出指出数字性行为具有异质性。局限性包括研究的横断面设计，这限制了因果解释。还需要在平民人群中进行更多的研究。
在我们的样本中，PSI 的流行程度低于色情短信。这种行为与冲动性和性欲亢进有关，但与较高水平的精神病理学无关。色情短信与这些测量值均无关。Turban JL、Shirk SD、Potenza MN 等人。在美国退伍军人样本中，自我发布露骨色情图像或视频与冲动性和性欲亢进有关，但与精神病理学测量值无关。J Sex Med 2020；17：163-167。
