Repercusiones del sexting en la salud mental de los adolescentes

Abstract

Adolescence is characterized by profound cognitive and psychosocial changes, including significant development of the prefrontal cortex, crucial for decision-making. During this stage, selfesteem becomes a cornerstone, and its development can be influenced by social factors. Adolescents' brain plasticity makes them susceptible to external influences such as technology and social media, which, while promoting socialization, also carry risks such as sexting, involving the exchange of personal images with a sexual component. A systematic review was conducted using the PRISMA method. The search strategy was designed to identify relevant studies published in the last ten years, from 2015 to 2025. The databases consulted were PubMed, SciELO, Scopus, and ERIC. Sexting is classified as consensual when there is voluntary exchange of sexual personal images and generally is not associated with negative psychological effects, whereas non-consensual sexting is a form of sexual violence with serious emotional and social consequences for victims. Adolescent neurodevelopmenta l factors such as self-image search, external validation, immature inhibitory control, and high sensitivit y of the reward system may predispose involvement in sexting. Perpetrators of non-consensual sexting often exhibit coercion, risky sexual behaviors, emotional insensitivity, and aggression. Victims face severe psychological consequences such as stress, anxiety, depression, and self-harm. It is crucial to implement strategies that strengthen executive functions and socioemotional skills of adolescents to prevent negative consequences associated with sexting. Current research on sexting has methodological limitations and a scarcity of studies with a neurocognitive focus, so future research should include longitudinal studies and samples from Latin American populations for a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon.