Active bystanders in the forwarding of sexting messages: Applying a theory of planned behavior in youth

This study explored youth’s intention to engage in active bystander behavior in response to non-consensual forwarding of sexts (NCFS). The study paid attention to the possible conditional boundaries of these suggested dynamics based on youth’s empathy levels and sex. An online survey was conducted among 1337 Belgian respondents, of which 78.4% were female ( M age = 21.64 years, SD = 3.57 years). Structural equation modeling showed that positive attitude and injunctive norms, higher descriptive norms, and greater perceived behavioral control regarding active bystander behaviors in the context of NCFS were related to youth’s intention to engage in such active bystander behaviors, which in turn was related to actual active bystander behavior. Differences were found based on youth’s empathy levels, though no sex differences were found. The findings provide a critical foundation for highly needed intervention approaches and educational curricula seeking to diminish the occurrence of NCFS in youth.