CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 20Sexuality, Behavior, and TechnologyCrime, Deviance, and Social ControlCybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 4 of the 4 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Deviant Cyber-Sexual Activities in Young Adults: Exploring Prevalence and Predictions Using In-Person Sexual Activities and Social Learning Theory

Klein, Jennifer L., Cooper, Danielle Tolson·2019·Archives of Sexual Behavior
DOI 10.1007/s10508-018-1251-2
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Technology has shifted some human interactions to the virtual world. For many young adults, sexual encounters now occur through virtual means, as social media, picture exchanges, sexually explicit Web sites, and video chatting have become popular alternative outlets for these activities to occur. This study used the self-report responses of 812 undergraduate students (282 men and 530 women), collected from an online survey. In addition to using 10 personal demographic control variables, this study used five sexual activity/relationship characteristics (number of sexual partners, relationship status, age to first use pornography, frequency of sexual activity/intercourse, and frequency of masturbation), and the four constructs of Akers' social learning theory (identified as differential association, differential reinforcement, imitation/modeling, and definitions favorable) to predict a seven-item count of deviant cyber-sexual activities, and two measures of "sexting" behaviors. Gender, self-esteem, sexual orientation, race, and religion were strongly significant predictors in the models, but Akers' four elements of social learning performed the strongest in predicting the two measures of sexting and the overall deviant cyber-sexual activities scale. This finding indicates that peer associations and peer reinforcements have a strong influence on individuals' willingness to engage in deviant cyber-sexual activities. This study explored different avenues for young adults' engagement in sexual deviancy and the results suggest that sexual behaviors performed in-person may not be the strongest predictors of online sexual behavior.

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1007/s10508-018-1251-2

Cites

4 of 4 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Citations

Cites

Show all 4 references

Research works printed but not linked: 40

  1. Akers, R. (1973). Deviant behavior: A social learning approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
  2. Akers, R. L. (1985). Deviant behavior: A social learning approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
  3. Akers, R. L. (1996). Is differential association/social learning cultural deviance theory? Criminology, 34, 229–247. · DOI
  4. Akers, R. L. (1998). Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance. Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press.
  5. Akers, R. L., & Lee, G. (1999). Age, social learning, and social bonding in adolescent substance use. Deviant Behavior, 19, 1–25. · DOI
  6. Akers, R. L., & Sellers, C. S. (2009). Criminological theories: Introduction, evaluation and application (5th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
  7. Andrews, D. A., & Bonta, J. (2010). The psychology of criminal conduct (5th ed.). Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis.
  8. Boies, S. C. (2002). University students’ uses of and recreations to online sexual information and entertainment: Links to online and offline sexual behavior. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 11, 77–89.
  9. Burgess, R., & Akers, R. L. (1966). A differential association-reinforcement theory of criminal behavior. Social Problems, 14, 128–147. · DOI
  10. DeLisi, M., Jones-Johnson, G., Johnson, W. R., & Hochstetler, A. (2010). The aftermath of criminal victimization: Race, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. Crime & Delinquency, 60, 85–105. · DOI
  11. Dowdell, E. B., Burgess, A. W., & Flores, J. R. (2011). Online social networking patterns among adolescents, young adults and sexual offenders. American Journal of Nursing, 111, 28–36. · DOI
  12. Downing, M. J., Schrimshaw, E. W., Scheinmann, R., Antebi-Gruszka, N., & Hirschfield, S. (2016). Sexually explicit media use by sexual identity: A comparative analysis of gay, bisexual, and heterosexual men in the United States. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46, 1763–1776. · DOI
  13. Ferris, D. L., Brown, D. J., Lian, H., & Keeping, L. M. (2009). When does self-esteem relate to deviant behavior? The role of contingencies of self-worth. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 1345–1353. · DOI
  14. Fox, K. A., Nobles, M. R., & Akers, R. L. (2011). Is stalking a learned phenomenon? An empirical test of social learning theory. Journal of Criminal Justice, 39, 39–47. · DOI
  15. Gagnon, J. H., & Simon, W. (1967). Sexual deviance. New York: Harper and Row.
  16. Goodson, P., McCormick, D., & Evans, A. (2001). Searching for sexually explicit material on the internet: An exploratory study of college students’ behavior and attitudes. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 30, 101–117. · DOI
  17. Higgins, G. E., Fell, B. D., & Wilson, A. L. (2007). Digital piracy: Assessing the contributions of an integrated self-control theory using social learning theory using structural equation modeling. Criminal Justice Studies, 19, 3–22. · DOI
  18. Higgins, G. E., & Wilson, A. L. (2006). Low self-control, moral beliefs, and social learning theory in university students’ intentions to pirate software. Security Journal, 19, 75–92. · DOI
  19. Holt, T. J., Burruss, G. W., & Bossier, A. M. (2010). Social learning and cyber-deviance: Examining the importance of a full social learning model in the virtual world. Journal of Crime & Justice, 33, 31–61. · DOI
  20. Jung, J. H. (2016). A cross-national analysis of religion and attitudes toward premarital sex: Do economic contexts matter? Sociological Perspectives, 59, 798–817. · DOI
  21. Lansford, J. E., Dodge, K. A., Fontaine, R. G., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. S. (2014). Peer rejection, affiliation with deviant peers, delinquency, and risky sexual behavior. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 43, 1742–1751. · DOI
  22. Lanza-Kaduce, L., Capece, M., & Alden, H. (2006). Liquor is quicker: Gender and social learning among college students. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 17, 127–143. · DOI
  23. Lapidot-Lefler, N., & Barak, A. (2012). Effects of anonymity, invisibility, and lack of eye-contact on toxic online disinhibition. Computers in Human Behavior, 28, 434–443. · DOI
  24. Maskaly, J., & Donner, C. M. (2015). A theoretical integration of social learning theory with terror management theory: Towards an explanation of police shootings of unarmed suspects. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 40, 205–224. · DOI
  25. Morgan, E. M. (2011). Associations between young adults’ use of sexually explicit materials and their sexual preferences, behaviors, and satisfaction. Journal of Sex Research, 48, 520–530. · DOI
  26. Morrison, T. G., Harriman, R., Morrison, M. A., Bearden, A., & Ellis, S. R. (2004). Correlates of exposure to sexually explicit material among Canadian post-secondary students. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 13, 143–156.
  27. Mruk, C. (2006). Self-esteem research, theory, and practice: Toward a positive psychology of self-esteem (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
  28. Pascarella, T., & Terrenzini, P. (2005). How college affects students. Vol. 2: A third generation of research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  29. Patterson, R., & Price, J. (2012). Pornography, religion, and the happiness gap: Does pornography impact the actively religious differently? Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 51, 79–89. · DOI
  30. Pedersen, W. (2014). Forbidden fruit? A longitudinal study of Christianity, sex, and marriage. Journal of Sex Research, 51, 542–550. · DOI
  31. Pratt, T. C., Cullen, F. T., Sellers, C. S., Winfree, T. L., Madensen, T. D., Daigle, L. E., & Gau, J. M. (2010). The empirical status of social learning theory: A meta-analysis. Justice Quarterly, 27, 765–802. · DOI
  32. Prohaska, A. (2014). Help me get fat! Feederism as communal deviance on the Internet. Deviant Behavior, 35, 263–274. · DOI
  33. Quinn, J. F., & Forsyth, C. J. (2005). Describing sexual behavior in the era of the Internet: A typology for empirical research. Deviant Behavior, 26, 191–207. · DOI
  34. Regnerus, M., Gordon, D., & Price, J. (2016). Documenting pornography use in America: A comparative analysis of methodological approaches. Journal of Sex Research, 53, 873–881. · DOI
  35. Rothman, E. F., Kaczmarsky, C., Burke, N., Jansen, E., & Baughman, A. (2015). “Without porn… I wouldn’t know half the things I know now”: A qualitative study of pornography use among a sample of urban, low-income, black and Hispanic youth. Journal of Sex Research, 52, 736–746. · DOI
  36. Silvera, R. J., Grov, C., Stein, D. J., Hagarty, R., & Marmor, M. (2014). Level of ‘outness’ and pornography use among men who have sex with men: Results from an online survey. Psychology & Sexuality, 6, 44–58. · DOI
  37. Sutherland, E. (1947). Principles of criminology. Chicago, IL: J.B. Lippincott Co.
  38. Tittle, C. R., & Welch, M. R. (1983). Religiosity and deviance: Toward a contingency theory of constraining effects. Social Forces, 61, 653–682. · DOI
  39. Tornello, S. L., Riskind, R. G., & Patterson, C. J. (2014). Sexual orientation and sexual and reproductive health among adolescent young women in the United States. Journal of Adolescent Health, 54, 160–168. · DOI
  40. Weinrich, J. D. (2014). Notes on the Kinsey scale. Journal of Bisexuality, 14, 333–340. · DOI

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Metadata

Authors
Klein, J. L., & Cooper, D. T.
Affiliations
  • The University of Texas at Tyler (US)
  • University of New Haven (US)
Corresponding author
Klein, Jennifer L.
ORCID
Venue
Archives of Sexual Behavior
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2018-07-09
Volume
48
Issue
2
Pages
619-630
ISSN
  • 0004-0002 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-2800
DOI
10.1007/s10508-018-1251-2
OpenAlex
W2823931315
Cited by
20
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1
FWCI
2.35
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • Archives of Sexual Behavior (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime, Deviance, and Social Control
  • Social Sciences › Law › Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies
Keywords
sexting, social learning theory, young adults, online sexual behavior, peer influence, differential association, differential reinforcement, self-esteem, sexual orientation, pornography use, masturbation, sexual partners
MeSH terms
Adult, Conditioning, Psychological, Erotica, Female, Humans, Male, Paraphilic Disorders, Sexual Behavior, Prevalence, Internet, Young Adult

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review