Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist at the Pew Research Center in Washington, noted that the report’s findings dovetailed with Pew research released last month. In that study, which involved 800 minors between 12 and 17, only 2 percent said they had sent nude or almost nude pictures to someone they knew. In contrast, the center found that 17 percent of adults between 18 and 29 had sent sexually suggestive pictures, and that 5 percent of 30- to 49-year-olds admitted sending them.

“There’s a zeitgeist in America socially that suggests that sexting is something that’s really prevalent,” Dr. Lenhart said. “I think this research shows that it actually isn’t that prevalent. It happens, but the likelihood of it happening to any given person is pretty low.”

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