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It doesn't seem like rocket science, but there definitely is a link between "sexts" and sex.
Medical researchers at the University of Southern California said junior high school students who engage in sexting, or sending or receiving sexually suggestive text messages or photos on their smartphones or other digital devices, are dramatically more likely to be sexually active.
Junior high students who also received a "sext" message were six times more likely to report being sexually active. Those who sent sexually explicit tests were four times more likely to report being sexually active.
Young teens who reported receiving a sext were 23 times more likely to have also sent one, said researchers.
Teens who texted more than 100 times a day were more than twice as likely to have received a sext and more than four times more likely to have sent one.
"Our results show that excessive, unlimited or unmonitored texting seems to enable sexting," said Eric Rice, lead author of the study and an assistant professor at the USC School of Social Work.
"Parents may wish to openly monitor their young teen's cell phone, check in with them about who they are communicating with and perhaps restrict their number of texts allowed per month."
He said parents should talk to their children about sexting as soon as their child acquires a mobile phone.
The USC study published in the journal Pediatrics differed from other sexting studies that primarily focused on high school students and young adults.
"These findings call attention to the need to train health educators, pediatricians and parents on how best to communicate with young adolescents about sexting in relation to sexual behavior," said Rice.
Another study, this by from Drexel University in California, showed that more than 50 percent of surveyed teens send sexual texts to each other, and 28 percent of these sexts are photos.
