Sexting in High School: Teachers’ Cognitions and Response Strategies
The present study aimed to explore high school teachers’ sexting-related cognitions (awareness of sexting prevalence, attitudes toward sexting, and beliefs about sexting outcomes) and their relationship with the extent of teachers’ use of educational strategies for addressing student sexting. A total of 133 high school teachers in Croatia (102 females and 31 males), aged 25 to 65 years, completed an online survey. Results indicated that teachers had relatively low awareness of the prevalence of sexting among students and generally held negative attitudes and beliefs about sexting. The use of strategies for addressing sexting was moderate on average, most commonly involving discussions about online safety rules and privacy protection. Data analyses revealed that, among teachers’ sexting-related cognitions, awareness of sexting prevalence was positively associated with the extent of strategies used to address sexting. Strategies for addressing sexting were also positively related to years of teaching experience and negatively related to gender.
Authors
- Krešimir Prijatelj (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8056-3684)
- Marina Sokol
- Tea Milinović
- Damir Posavec
- Dalila Sinishtaj-Lekaj
- Silvana Vitez
- Maja Fabijanić
- Bruno Barać (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9067-2091)
- Arta Dodaj (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8064-6666)
- Mirjeta Nagavci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1261-7772)
- Marija Gradečak
- Kristina Sesar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2406-7114)
- Tihana Novak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4385-6653)
- Leonarda Bosilj
- Irena Užović
- Ana Horvat
- Violeta Zefi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5280-6773)
- Mirjana Škoda
- Maja Kralj-Stančec
- Iva Vidović (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1387-3364)
- Đani Škara
- Roma Faniyi
- Viktorija Hrga
- Sanja Ajman Filipčić
Institutions
- Saint-Gobain (France) (FR)
- St Bartholomew's Hospital (GB)
- Ministry of Industry and Trade (CZ)
- University of Mostar (BA)
- University of Ljubljana (SI)
- University of Rijeka (HR)
- California Maritime Academy (US)
- Hoshi University (JP)
- College of Tourism (BG)
- Electrotechnical Institute (PL)
- Vladimir Law Institute (RU)
- Opća Bolnica Varaždin (HR)
- Institute of Criminology (SI)
- Institute for Tourism (HR)
- University of Business and Technology (SA)
- University of Zadar (HR)
- University of Split (HR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- American Journal of Sexuality Education
- Published
- 2026-07-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/15546128.2026.2706561
- Primary Topic
- Gender, Feminism, and Media
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Hrvatska Zaklada za Znanost