Statistics have been released by the New Hampshire Crimes against Children Research Center from two studies on youth sexting.

In the first study, UNH researchers surveyed 1,560 Internet users ages 10 through 17 about their experiences with sexting -- appearing in, creating, or receiving sexual images or videos via cell phone or the Internet. The study found that 2.5 percent of youth surveyed have participated in sexting in the past year, but only 1 percent involved images that potentially violate child pornography laws -- images that showed “naked breasts, genitals or bottoms.”

The studies were carried out by researchers at UNH’s Crimes against Children Research Center, and published online today by the journal “Pediatrics.” The research is presented in the studies “Prevalence and Characteristics of Youth Sexting: A National Study” and “How Often Are Teens Arrested for Sexting? Data From a National Sample of Police Cases.”

In the second study, researchers discovered that in most sexting cases investigated by the police, no juvenile arrest occurred. There was an arrest in 36 percent of the cases where there were aggravating activities by youth, such as using the images to blackmail or harass other youth. In cases without aggravating elements, the arrest rate was 18 percent.

The second sexting study was based on a national sample of 675 sexting cases collected from a systematic survey of law enforcement agencies. The study also found that the very few teens who were subjected to sex offender registration had generally committed other serious offenses such as sexual assault.

Source: University of New Hampshire Crimes against Children Research Center

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