08/14/2024
By Karen Mullins
The School of Criminology and Justice Studies is proud to announce a Dissertation Proposal Defense by Katie L. Greer entitled "Adolescent Sexting Behaviors in the United States, Understanding Educational Stakeholders’ & Caregivers’ Perspectives: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Approach."
Date: Thursday, Aug. 29
Time: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST
Location: Health and Social Sciences Building Room 431 and via Zoom
Committee:
- Andrew J. Harris, Chair, School of Criminology and Justice Studies, UML
- Wilson R. Palacios, School of Criminology and Justice Studies, UML
- Claire S. Lee, School of Criminology and Justice Studies, UML
- Hilary Lustick, School of Education, UML
ABSTRACT:
With the advent of smartphone technology, sexting behaviors have become part of many adolescent relationship cultures, sending adults scrambling to understand them and how to respond. With limited interventions available and the ever-changing nature of technology, little is known about how adults currently view and understand adolescent sexting behaviors in the United States. This research aims to explore how educational stakeholders and caregivers perceive and respond to adolescent sexting behaviors.
To date, there is a limited understanding of how adults perceive such behaviors, and a limited set of interventions is aligned with both the adult and adolescent in mind. Adults are typically responsible for creating and maintaining research-backed policies and interventions to help adolescents navigate these issues as they arise and shift; however, interventions can be harmful if they are not informed or are inconsistent. To create and maintain adequate policies and meaningful interventions to address adolescent sexting behaviors, it is essential to learn how adults – caregivers and educational stakeholders – view, perceive, and respond to these behaviors.