Implications of Parenting Behaviour and Adolescent Attachment for Understanding Adolescent

243 Pages·2017·1.4 MB·English

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Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers
10-5-2017
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Julie Margaret Norman
University of Windsor
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IMPLICATIONS OF PARENTING BEHAVIOURS AND ADOLESCENT ATTACHMENT
FOR UNDERSTANDING ADOLESCENT SEXTING

by
Julie Norman

A Dissertation
Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies
through the Department of Psychology
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the
University of Windsor

Windsor, Ontario, Canada

2017

© 2017 Julie Norman
Implications of Parenting Behaviour and Adolescent Attachment for
Understanding Adolescent Sexting

by

Julie Norman

APPROVED BY:

__________________________________________________
S. Campbell, External Examiner
University of Michigan

__________________________________________________
D. Kane
Faculty of Nursing

__________________________________________________
K. Babb
Department of Psychology

__________________________________________________
J. Hakim-Larson
Department of Psychology

__________________________________________________
R. Menna, Advisor
Department of Psychology

18 September 2017
iii

AUTHOR’S DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY

I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this thesis and that no part of this thesis
has been published or submitted for publication.

I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, my thesis does not infringe upon
anyone’s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques,
quotations, or any other material from the work of other people included in my thesis,
published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard
referencing practices. Furthermore, to the extent that I have included copyrighted material
that surpasses the bounds of fair dealing within the meaning of the Canada Copyright Act, I
certify that I have obtained a written permission from the copyright owner(s) to include
such material(s) in my thesis and have included copies of such copyright clearances to my
appendix.

I declare that this is a true copy of my thesis, including any final revisions, as
approved by my thesis committee and the Graduate Studies office, and that this thesis has
not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution.
iv

ABSTRACT

The present study examined the nature and prevalence of adolescent sexting, and its
relation to parenting behaviours and adolescents’ attachment, in a sample of Canadian
adolescents. Participants were 305 adolescents between 14 and 18 years of age (158
females, 147 males). Adolescents completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire assessing
sexting-related behaviours and experiences, attachment, temperament, and experiences of
parental warmth, parental-psychological control, parent-child communication, and
parental monitoring. The analyses revealed that, among Canadian adolescents, sending and
receiving sexual messages and images was more common among older adolescents. There
were no gender differences in rates of sending and receiving sexual messages or images,
however, males reported forwarding sexual images, and asking others for sexual messages
and sexual images, more frequently than did females. Females reported more frequently
being asked to send sexual messages and sexual images. Sending and receiving sexual
messages and images were more common among adolescents who were in a romantic
relationship, and adolescents most commonly cited a relationship partner, or someone
with whom they hoped to begin a relationship, as the individual(s) with whom they had
sent and/or received sexual messages and images. Results also revealed that better parent-
child communication was predictive of lower frequency of adolescent sending of sexual
images, and that higher report of adolescent attachment avoidance was predictive of higher
frequency of adolescent sending of sexual images. Although parental warmth and parental
psychological control did not directly predict adolescent sending of sexual images, these
variables were found to have indirect effects on sending sexual images through attachment
avoidance. These findings suggest that parent-child communication has a relatively
v

stronger, more direct relation with adolescent sending of sexual images, but that parental
warmth and psychological control may also influence this behaviour through formation of
adolescents’ working models of relationships. A thematic analysis of participants’
responses to an open-ended question revealed that most adolescents have had passive
involvement in sexting, although many also reported use of sexting for a social purpose
(i.e., flirtation) or a negative experience with sexting. These findings help to clarify the
social and relational processes that are influential in adolescent sending of sexual images,
which provides useful information for the development of public health education
programs and directions for future research.
vi

DEDICATION

To my parents: despite what Freud might say about a psychologist who studies
parenting, I am so lucky to have parents who raised me with the unconditional love and
support necessary to follow my dreams.
You are both wonderful examples of what it means to love your work, and I can only
hope to one day have a career as long, fulfilling, and respected as each of yours. Thank you
for instilling in me confidence, curiosity, persistence, an analytical mind, and a sense of
humour, which have served me so well during this journey (I'll let you decide who each of
those qualities can be attributed to!).
vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to my research advisor, Dr. Rosanne Menna, for her encouragement,
support, and guidance on this project, and throughout my graduate career. Thank you also
to my committee members, Dr. Kimberley Babb, Dr. Julie Hakim-Larson, and Dr. Debbie
Kane, whose contributions to this project have improved it immensely. I am also very
grateful to my external examiner, Dr. Scott Campbell, for his thoughtful feedback and
suggestions.
I am thankful to all of the research assistants who gave their time to assist with this
project, and to my labmates for their input. Thank you also to the adolescents who shared
their experiences with us, and the school principals who allowed us to work with their
students.
It truly takes a village, and I am so grateful to all of the friends and family who
supported me on this journey: Carmel, Kristen, Sabrina, Shawna, Cass, Emily J., Emily K.,
Megan, Martin, Chrisandra, Ris, Jenn, Pat, Sylvia, Amanda, Shannon, and Lisa (my ‘other-
other-half’!). Your friendship, encouragement, and cheerleading have been instrumental in
my success. We did it!
And finally, to my patient, kind, and loving husband: thank you for coming on this
adventure with me and helping me follow my dreams (I'm sorry about all the Starbucks
bills). This would not have been possible without you. In the immortal words of Drake,
"you da best". And yes, now we can get a puppy!
viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AUTHOR’S DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY ............................................................................................. iii
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................................. iv
DEDICATION .............................................................................................................................................................. vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................................................... vii
LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................................................... xi
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................................... xii
CHAPTER I ................................................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 1
Review of the Literature ........................................................................................................................................ 4
Review of Research on Adolescent Sexting .............................................................................................. 4
Research Concerning Sexting and Risk ................................................................................................... 15
Sexting, Parental Behaviours, and Attachment Status ...................................................................... 23
Links between parental behaviours and adolescent sexting. ................................................... 23
Links between parental behaviours and attachment patterns ................................................ 39
Links between attachment patterns and sexting ........................................................................... 49
Rationale for the Present Study ....................................................................................................................... 56
Research Questions and Hypotheses ............................................................................................................ 66
Research Question 1 ........................................................................................................................................ 66
Hypothesis 1: Sending, receiving, and forwarding sexual messages and sexual images
.............................................................................................................................................................................. 66
Research Question 2 ........................................................................................................................................ 67
Hypothesis 2: Parental behaviours and adolescent engagement in sexting ...................... 67
Hypothesis 3. Adolescent attachment and engagement in sexting ........................................ 69
Hypothesis 4. Adolescent attachment as a mediator between parental behaviour and
adolescent sexting ....................................................................................................................................... 69
CHAPTER II ............................................................................................................................................................... 71
Method ........................................................................................................................................................................ 71
Participants ......................................................................................................................................................... 71
Recruitment and Procedure ......................................................................................................................... 74
WECDSB method #1 ................................................................................................................................... 75
WECDSB method #2 ................................................................................................................................... 75
Measures ............................................................................................................................................................... 76
Background information ......................................................................................................................... 76
Sexting and related behaviour ............................................................................................................... 76
Attachment ..................................................................................................................................................... 81
Parental warmth .......................................................................................................................................... 83
Parental psychological control ............................................................................................................... 85
Parent-child communication .................................................................................................................. 86
Parental monitoring .................................................................................................................................... 86
Adolescent temperament ......................................................................................................................... 88
Coding ............................................................................................................................................................... 90
CHAPTER III ............................................................................................................................................................. 97
Results ........................................................................................................................................................................ 97
Overview ............................................................................................................................................................... 97
ix

Data Preparation ............................................................................................................................................... 98
Missing data .................................................................................................................................................... 98
Data Screening ................................................................................................................................................ 100
Preliminary Analyses ................................................................................................................................... 102
Research Question #1: Nature and Context of Sexting Among Canadian Adolescents ... 104
Hypothesis 1A: Associations between sexting and adolescent age .................................... 104
Hypothesis 1B: Associations between sexting and gender ..................................................... 105
Hypothesis 1C: Gender differences in asking for/being asked for sexual
messages/images ...................................................................................................................................... 105
Hypothesis 1D: Associations between sexting and adolescents’ relationship status . 105
Exploratory analysis of whom adolescents have sent and received sexual
messages/images with and actual/perceived motivation for engaging in sexting ...... 107
Regression and Mediation Analyses ...................................................................................................... 111
Preliminary analyses ............................................................................................................................... 111
Research Question #2: Relations Between Parental Warmth, Parent-Child
Communication, Parental Psychological Control, Parental Monitoring, and Adolescent
Sexting ................................................................................................................................................................ 121
Hypothesis 2A: Associations between parenting practices and adolescent sending of
sexual images .............................................................................................................................................. 121
Hypothesis 2B: Interaction between warmth and communication in predicting sending
of sexual images ......................................................................................................................................... 124
Hypothesis 2C: Mediation of relation between youth disclosure and adolescent
engagement in sexting by parental knowledge ........................................................................... 125
Research Question #3: Relations Between Parental Warmth, Parent-Child
Communication, Parental Psychological Control, Adolescent Attachment, and Adolescent
Sexting ................................................................................................................................................................ 127
Hypothesis 3: Associations between attachment anxiety and avoidance and adolescent
sending of sexual images ....................................................................................................................... 127
Hypothesis 4A: Mediation of relation between parental warmth and adolescent
engagement in sexting by attachment anxiety and avoidance .............................................. 128
Hypothesis 4B: Mediation of relation between parental psychological control and
adolescent engagement in sexting by attachment anxiety and avoidance ...................... 132
Hypothesis 4C: Mediation of the relation between parent-child communication and
adolescent engagement in sexting by attachment anxiety and avoidance ...................... 134
Qualitative Analysis Results ...................................................................................................................... 137
Uninvited involvement in sexting ...................................................................................................... 140
Negative outcomes ................................................................................................................................... 141
Sexting for specific social and/or relational purposes ............................................................. 142
Other ............................................................................................................................................................... 143
Summary of Results ...................................................................................................................................... 144
Additional Analyses ...................................................................................................................................... 148
CHAPTER IV .......................................................................................................................................................... 153
Discussion .............................................................................................................................................................. 153
Nature and Context of Sexting Among Canadian Adolescents ................................................... 154
Qualitative findings .................................................................................................................................. 163