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20 Percent of Seventh Graders Have 'Sexted'

MONDAY, Jan. 6, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- More than 20 percent of at-risk seventh graders have "sexted" and those middle schoolers were much more likely to also have engaged in some type of sexual behavior, a new study finds.

Sexting is when someone sends sexually explicit messages and/or pictures by cellphone. Seventeen percent of the children surveyed said they had sent a sexually explicit message during the past six months. Five percent of the seventh graders admitted to sending sexual photos via cellphone.

Teens who sexted were almost three times more likely to have oral sex and more than twice as likely to have vaginal sex, according to the study.

"Sexting behavior was not uncommon among middle school youth and co-occurred with sexual behavior. These data suggest that phone behaviors, even flirtatious messages, may be an indicator of risk. Clinicians, parents and health programs should discuss sexting with early adolescents," the study authors wrote.