Sekseverschillen in de Relatie tussen Actief en Passief Social Media Gebruik en Seksueel Riskant Gedrag bij Adolescenten

Abstract

Social media platforms are currently seen as one of the most influential places for adolescent behavior. More often a link is being made between the use of social media and the display of sexual risk behavior. However, it is not sufficiently clear what the role of the type of use, active or passive, and whether sex differences can be found in this regard. Therefore, this study focusses on the relation between active social media use (ASMU) and passive social media use (PSMU) and sexual risk behavior among adolescents between 16-18 years old, and whether these relations where different for boys or girls. To conduct the study an online questionnaire was administered in Qualtrics, consisting of the ‘Sexual Risk Survey’, and the ‘ASMU and PSMU scale’. In total, there were 34 participants who completed the questionnaires, including 20 girls and 14 boys. The age range varied from 16 to 18 years (M = 17.24, SD = 0.82). The results showed that both ASMU and PSMU were positively related to sexual risk behavior among adolescents. No gender differences were found in the relation between ASMU and sexual risk behavior. However, the relation between PSMU and sexual risk behavior was stronger for girls than for boys. It is important for both practice and future research to distinguish between how adolescents use social media and to take into account gender differences