Sexting and the Dynamics of Emerging Adults’ Romantic Partnerships

Data from 484 emerging adults were used to explore sexting within current romantic partnerships. Drawing on recent studies and models of romantic relationship maintenance and behavioral intimacy, sexting was situated as a romantic relationship behavior with the expectation that it would be associated with partnership dynamics (i.e., positive interactions, negative interactions, and commitment). Just over half of emerging adults in the sample were sending sexts to their partners (52.9%). Similarly, 51.9% of them were receiving sexts from their partners. Finally, just under half (47.1%) of surveyed emerging adults were sending and receiving sexts. Most of the non-sexters, reported that they did not want to sext with their partners. There were small but statistically significant differences in partnership dynamics based on sexting behavior. In general, emerging adults who were sexting reported better partnership dynamics (i.e., more positive interactions and commitment) than emerging adults who were not sexting. Overall, sexting with romantic partners appears to be common, but there is a sizable minority of emerging adults who are not sexting and do not want to. Sex and relationship educators can play important roles in helping emerging adults be deliberate in their sexting decision-making, potentially increasing the likelihood that sexting will benefit emerging adults’ romantic partnerships.