Perceived realism moderates the relation between sexualized media consumption and permissive sexual attitudes in Dutch adolescents

The Associations of Pornography Use and Body Image Among Heterosexual and Sexual Minority Men

This study investigated the relationship between pornography use and men's body image, utilizing the social comparison theory as the theoretical framework. The research focused on a moderated mediation model, examining the role of social body comparison as a mediator between pornography use (frequency and problematic use) and men's body image. The sample consisted of 726 men aged 18-68, with 223 (30.7%) identifying as sexual minorities. Sexual minority men reported higher levels of pornography use frequency, problematic use, perceived realism, social body comparison, negative body image, and psychological distress compared to heterosexual men. Findings revealed that problematic pornography use (but not frequency of use) was related to higher levels of social body comparison, which, in turn, were related to higher levels of negative body image. The perceived realism in pornography did not moderate the examined associations. Clinicians should consider the impact of the relationship between pornography and body image among men.

The impact of Internet pornography on children and adolescents: A systematic review

OBJECTIVES

Young people's exposure to online pornographic material has increased in the past years. Its impact is a complex topic but an important issue due to growing concerns. Therefore, we reviewed the literature on Internet pornography consumption and its impact on children and adolescents. Furthermore, we examined young people's thoughts about pornography and their reasons for consumption.

METHOD

We performed a systematic literature search in the online databases ERIC, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, and PSYNDEX for peer-reviewed articles in English, published between 2000 and 2022 and additionally identified secondary references.

RESULTS

We could determine associations between pornography consumption and demographic variables (e.g., age, gender), personal characteristics (e.g., [sexual] sensation seeking, sexual interest and experience, general risk behavior), environmental variables (e.g., peers, family), attitudes (e.g., gender role attitudes, permissive sexual attitudes), behavior (e.g. sexual risk behaviour, sexting) and sexual aggression (e.g., sexual cybervictimization, grooming). Moreover, we found that girls have a more negative attitude towards pornography than boys who have an ambivalent opinion on the subject. Most adolescents are aware that the majority of pornographic material is exaggerated and unrealistic. Furthermore, pornography is not only watched out of curiosity and for sexual arousal but also used as a source of sexual information, especially by minority groups.

DISCUSSION

Many effects that impair children's development have been documented. The results found in this review are often contradictory. Therefore, further replication studies are needed. In addition, we propose several preventive measures, e.g., sexual health education at schools for both heterosexuals and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) people.

A Theory-Based Intervention to Reduce Risk and Vulnerability Factors of Sexual Aggression Perpetration and Victimization in German University Students

The current study evaluated an intervention program, designed by the authors and based on the theory of sexual scripts and social learning theory, to reduce empirically established risk and vulnerability factors of sexual aggression. A sample of 1,181 university students in Germany (762 female) were randomly assigned to an intervention and a no-intervention control group. The intervention group completed six modules addressing established antecedents of sexual aggression perpetration and victimization: risky sexual scripts, risky sexual behavior, low sexual self-esteem, low sexual assertiveness, acceptance of sexual coercion, and perceived realism of pornography. After baseline (T1), intervention effects were measured one week after the last module (T2), nine months later (T3), and another 12 months later (T4). The intervention group showed significantly less risky sexual scripts and higher sexual self-esteem at T2, T3, and T4. The intervention indirectly reduced risky sexual behavior at T3 and T4 via less risky sexual scripts at T2 and increased sexual assertiveness at T3 and T4 via higher sexual self-esteem at T2. No intervention effects were found on the acceptance of sexual coercion and pornography realism. The implications of the findings for reducing the prevalence of sexual aggression perpetration and victimization are discussed.

The association between problematic pornography use and eating disorder symptoms among heterosexual and sexual minority men

In this study, we investigated the link between problematic pornography use and eating disorder symptoms in men, with body comparison and body image as mediators, and perceived realism and anxiety and depression as moderators. We also analyzed the model for both heterosexual and sexual minority men to detect any differences. The current study included 705 Israeli men, 479 of whom identified as heterosexual and 226 as sexual minority. The majority of the sample (90.6%) identified as Jewish with a mean age of 32.5. Results showed that problematic pornography use was linked to more upward body comparison, which in turn was related to negative body image, and ultimately, increased severity of eating disorder symptoms. Anxiety and depression moderated the association between male body image and eating disorder symptoms. However, perceived realism did not moderate the link between problematic pornography use and upward body comparison. Whereas there were significant differences in the mean rank values between heterosexual and sexual minority men in all measures, the processes linking these measures were virtually the same. To reduce the risk of developing or worsening eating disorder symptoms, clinicians working with male clients should assess for problematic pornography use and body image concerns during therapy.

U.S. Parents Underestimate Their Children's Pornography Use and Learning

Research on parental knowledge and positive adolescent adjustment suggests that more accurate levels of the former increase the likelihood of the latter. Despite a significant body of literature correlating adolescent pornography use with negative adolescent adjustment, however, only a handful of studies have compared parents' beliefs about their children's pornography use with adolescents' reports and just a few of these have been carried out in the U.S. The present study employed national probability data gathered from 614 parent-adolescent dyads in the U.S. as a further step toward bolstering this important area of parent-child research. Parents were 44.78 years old on average (SD = 7.76). Mothers comprised 55.80% of parents (fathers were 44.20%). Children were 15.97 years old on average (SD = 1.38). Daughters comprised 50.20% of children (sons were 49.80%). Boys were more likely to report pornography use and learning across a range of pornography genres and sexual domains. Parents accurately estimated the direction of many of these gender differences, but still consistently underestimated both sons' and daughters' exposure to and socialization from pornography. Interestingly, although parents were more likely to believe that sons than daughters had viewed and learned from pornography, their degree of underestimation was larger for sons. Mothers' and fathers' beliefs were consistently indistinguishable at the main effect level and interacted with child gender in only one instance. Results are discussed in relation to the moral panic and risk underestimation perspectives on youth and media effects.

Teen Pornography: An Emerging Mental Health Challenge

Exposure to pornography is not an uncommon and unusual phenomenon in the digital era, with teens being no exception. Exposure to pornography among teens may happen accidentally, out of curiosity, or intentionally to derive sexual excitement. Many individuals exposed to pornography may later develop pornography addiction. Most parents who are aware that their children view pornography are often worried about such behavior and sometimes seek help from mental health professionals. So, it can be certainly said that exposure to pornography among teens may cause significant distress in them and their parents. As pornography is a major source of sex education for a large number of teens, lots of myth and misguided information are harbored from watching pornography. This article focuses on the mental health aspects of pornography exposure among teens and the possible remedial measures.

Does Pornography Misinform Consumers? The Association between Pornography Use and Porn-Congruent Sexual Health Beliefs

Pornography may contribute to sexual health illiteracy due to its often fantastical and unrealistic depictions of sex. This cross-sectional study investigated whether pornography use was associated with holding porn-congruent sexual health beliefs among a sample of 276 Australian and Singaporean university students (Mage = 23.03, SDage = 7.06, 67.9% female, 47.8% Australian). The majority of participants (95.5% of males and 58.9% of females) reported viewing pornography in the past six months. Perceived realism of pornography and prior sexual experience were tested as potential moderators of the relationship between pornography use frequency and sexual health beliefs. Pornography use frequency showed no zero-order association with sexual health beliefs in the overall sample (although a significant zero-order association was observed among female participants). However, a significant positive association between porn use and porn-congruent sexual health beliefs was found in the overall sample, after controlling for demographic variables. Neither perceived realism nor sexual experience were found to act as moderators. Interestingly, prior sexual experience showed a significant zero-order association with sexual health beliefs, such that prior sexual experience was associated with holding porn-congruent beliefs. Perceived realism was unrelated to porn-congruent sexual health beliefs. The study provides some preliminary support for pornography having a misinformation effect on the sexual health knowledge of consumers.

Adolescent Dilemmas About Viewing Pornography and Their Efforts to Resolve Them

Concerns have been raised about how viewing Sexually Explicit Internet Material (SEIM) shapes adolescents’ understanding of sexual relationships and has potentially negative impacts. However, research frequently takes a narrow view of adolescent SEIM use and excludes their understandings. The present study explored how 13 participants, aged 14 to 15 years, made sense of their experiences with SEIM. In-depth individual interviews were conducted, and five dominant dilemmas faced by participants were abstracted using interpretive analysis. We discuss how these dilemmas were negotiated by adolescents using various strategies. The analysis provides new understandings on how adolescents interpret their SEIM experiences and highlight the limitations of understanding SEIM use solely through risk models. On a practical level, these findings can inform youth, parents and caregivers, and professionals as to how they might understand and help young people navigate the complex area of SEIM.

The pornography use and its addiction among emerging adults in Malaysia: Perceived realism as a mediator

Past studies have demonstrated a link between pornography use and addiction to pornography, the underlying mechanism of the association is still unclear. This study intended to examine the mediating role of perceived realism of pornography in the association between pornography use and addiction among emerging adults in Malaysia. This study recruited 222 self-identified pornography users (M age = 21.05; SD Age = 1.68; 75.1% male respondents) via the purposive sampling method. The correlation results indicated positive associations among pornography use, addiction to pornography, and perceived realism of pornography. Further, the perceived realism of pornography significantly mediated the association between pornography use and addiction to pornography after controlling for gender. Thus, this study has provided a fundamental understanding on the perceived realism role of pornography in explaining the association between its use and addiction. Although it is unlikely to stop illegal pornography use, the results pointed out a need to guide emerging adults in pornography use via media literacy programmes.

Sexually Explicit Internet Media Consumption and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Chinese Male Sexual Minorities: The Moderating Role of Perceived Realism

Western research has suggested that viewing sexually explicit internet media (SEIM) may result in sexual risk behaviors (SRBs) among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. This study explored the relationship between SEIM consumption and SRBs and whether perceived realism could moderate this relationship among Chinese male sexual minorities. We assessed SEIM consumption from two aspects: consumption frequency and preference for specific content (condomless and group sex). This study recruited 360 participants from various online channels. Consistent with the sexual script acquisition, activation, application model (₃AM), we found that both SEIM consumption frequency and content preference were related to SRBs, and that perceived realism moderated the relationship between SEIM consumption and SRBs. Preference for group sex SEIM was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of casual sex when perceived realism was higher. SEIM use frequency was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of unprotected anal intercourse when perceived realism was higher. These findings may be used to promote HIV prevention, which necessitates joint effort from multiple stakeholders.

Pornography Use Profiles and the Emergence of Sexual Behaviors in Adolescence

This research longitudinally explored adolescent pornography (porn) consumption and its association with sexual development in early and middle adolescence. A four-wave design with half-year intervals investigated pornography consumption and different (sexual) activities, such as masturbation, French kissing, petting, giving/receiving manual and oral sex, and intercourse, among 630 respondents (47.9% female, mean age 13.7 years; SD = 0.48) years at T1). A latent growth mixture analysis of pornography consumption revealed two groups with relatively low pornography (LP; 51.8% of the boys, 91.4% of the girls) versus high pornography (HP; 48.2% of the boys; 8.6% of the girls) consumption across time. At T1, HP boys on average watched pornography less than once a month, but more than once a year at T1. At T4, their average pornography use had increased to almost one to two times a week. LP boys never watched pornography at T1. At T4, their average pornography use was still less than once a year. At T1, HP girls never watched pornography, but consumption increased to almost one to three times a month at T4. Across waves of the study, LP girls (almost) never watched pornography. A discrete-time survival mixture analysis of sexual developmental patterning indicated that, compared to their LP peers, both girls and boys in the HP groups showed accelerated development of masturbation, petting, and receiving manual sex. Girls in the HP group were also more inclined to receive oral sex, whereas boys in the HP group also showed earlier and more frequent manual sex and intercourse. Thus, whereas the HP group of boys was substantially larger compared to that of girls, pornography consumption was related to accelerated development of sexual activities for both genders across early and middle adolescence. The discussion deliberates on pornography as a driving force in adolescent sexual development versus pornography as a medium of choice for sexually advanced adolescents.

Porn Sex versus Real Sex: Sexual Behaviors Reported by a U.S. Probability Survey Compared to Depictions of Sex in Mainstream Internet-Based Male-Female Pornography

Using data from a 2014 U.S. nationally representative probability survey and a 2014 content analysis of 2562 male-female videos from two popular pornographic websites, this study aimed to: (1) compare the prevalence of survey respondents' event-level sexual behaviors with those depicted in mainstream pornography online videos; (2) compare event-level condom use with condom use prevalence in pornographic videos; (3) compare event-level orgasm with prevalence of orgasms in pornographic videos; and (4) assess whether respondents' partnered use of pornography was associated with the sexual behaviors in which they report engaging. We found that kissing, male orgasm, female orgasm, and condom use were significantly less prevalent in the pornographic videos than in survey respondents' most recent sexual experiences. Conversely, penile-anal intercourse and fellatio were significantly more prevalent in the pornographic videos than in participants' reports of their most recent sexual experience. There were no significant differences between the prevalence of cunnilingus or sex toy use represented in the videos as compared to survey respondents' reports. Finally, we found that individuals who reported partnered pornography use during their most recent sexual experience were more likely to report having engaged in oral sex, penile-anal intercourse, and sex toy use and were also more likely to report female orgasm during their most recent sexual experience.

An Intersectional Feminist Analysis of Women's Experiences of Authenticity in Pornography

Most pornography research has examined negative consequences of use among heterosexual men. Scant research has explored the benefits of using pornography among women, though research does indicate several potential benefits, including increased sexual self-esteem, sexual knowledge, and sexual communication. Research suggests that women may maximize these benefits when they perceive pornography to be authentic. To more fully understand the importance and perceptions of authenticity in pornography, we analyzed qualitative interviews with 24 women in the U.S. who reported recent pornography use. Ages ranged from 22 to 53 (M = 30.33, SD = 6.91), 62.5% were white, and most (79.2%) reported a sexual identity other than heterosexual. Thematic analyses indicated that authenticity was important for most women's enjoyment of pornography, partially via its utility in reducing guilt and emotional labor (i.e., the work needed to enjoy or believe the content). Furthermore, women's intersectional identities, such as race and sexual orientation, influenced their experiences of guilt and emotional labor. Finally, women determined authenticity within pornography in three primary ways: analyzing appearance, performance, and intimacy. Results suggest research, clinical, and educational opportunities to support women's sexual exploration and pleasure via engagement with pornography.

Links of Perceived Pornography Realism with Sexual Aggression via Sexual Scripts, Sexual Behavior, and Acceptance of Sexual Coercion: A Study with German University Students

Exposure to pornographic material has been linked to sexual aggression perpetration and victimization in a large body of research. Based on social learning theory and ₃A theory of script learning, this study contributes to this research by testing the hypothesis that the more realistic pornography is perceived to be by young adults, the more likely they are to experience and engage in sexual aggression. Two underlying pathways were proposed: one path via scripts and patterns of sexual behavior regarding consensual sexual interactions that contain established risk factors for sexual aggression victimization and perpetration, and a second path via the acceptance of sexual coercion. In a cross-sectional study, 1181 university students in Germany (762 female; 419 male) completed measures of pornography use and perception, risky sexual scripts and sexual behavior, and acceptance of sexual coercion. As predicted, pornography realism was a positive predictor of risky sexual scripts, risky sexual behavior, and acceptance of sexual coercion. Indirect links with sexual aggression victimization and perpetration were found via both pathways. No gender differences in the associations were found. The implications for media literacy interventions addressing the realism of pornography are discussed.

Pornography Use and Perceived Gender Norms Among Young Adolescents in Urban Poor Environments: A Cross-site Study

PURPOSE

The purpose of the study is to assess the prevalence of pornography use and its association with a range of perceived gender norms among adolescents aged 10-14 years across five urban poor settings globally.

METHODS

The study includes 9,250 adolescents aged 10-14 years from Belgium, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, and Indonesia, as part of the Global Early Adolescent Study. We examined the percentage of pornography use by sex and site and conducted multivariate logistic regressions to examine the relation between gender norm perceptions and pornography use, adjusting for individual, family, peer, and media exposures.

RESULTS

Ever-use of pornography ranged from 14.5% in Ecuador to 33.0% in Belgium and was more common among boys than girls. Overall, boys who perceived greater permissiveness about romantic relations, adolescents who engaged in such relations, and adolescents who assumed that their friends were sexually active had greater pornography exposure. Pornography use did not systematically correlate with unequal gender norms. Such correlations only exist among boys in two Asian sites, where a supportive school environment, more caregiver awareness, and/or neighborhood cohesion were related to less pornography use.

CONCLUSIONS

Pornography use is a gendered experience that begins in early adolescence. Although factors of pornography use vary across the social context, the exposure to pornography has become a normative part of adolescent sexuality development. Young people, especially those from where sexuality remains taboo, need the ability to critically process information and avoid potential risks associated with pornographic gendered and sexual stereotypes, calling for comprehensive sexuality education programs to help them build the knowledge and confidence they need.

Internet pornography exposures amongst young people in Malaysia: A cross-sectional study looking into the role of gender and perceived realism versus the actual sexual activities

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High prevalence of pornography exposure among participants and mostly through internet.

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Easy accessibility to free internet especially at home facilitate pornography use among young people.

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Further evidence is needed on perceived realism as a protective factor of pornography exposure.

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Male participants had earlier exposure on pornography during early adolescence.

Despite the wide accessibility to internet, pornography activities among youths are not well described in conservative countries like Malaysia. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, elicit gender differences and identify associated factors of pornographic exposure including perceived realism among college students. This cross-sectional study was conducted among students aged 18 to 25 years from seven colleges in Penang, Malaysia. A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain data on socio-demographic characteristics, pornography exposure, pattern of use, sexual exposure and perceived realism. Among 986 participants, the prevalence of lifetime pornography exposure was 74.5%. More males (71.7%) were exposed to pornography, had started at earlier age, were frequent users and using the internet alone at home (p < 0.001). Males had higher odds of having exposure (Adjusted odds ratio, AOR = 20.44, 95% CI: 12.50 – 33.42, p < 0.001), whilst those who perceived pornography as real had lower odds of having pornographic exposure (AOR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.43–0.94, p = 0.02). There is a high prevalence of pornography exposure among Malaysian college students, especially involving males. Easy access to pornographic materials at home facilitates this activity. Gender and perceived realism determined their pornographic exposure. Thus, parental monitoring of online access and planning structured activities to occupy free time are recommended at an early age.

Preliminary Insights from a U.S. Probability Sample on Adolescents' Pornography Exposure, Media Psychology, and Sexual Aggression

Sexual aggression is now widely recognized as a public health crisis. Using the sexual script acquisition, activation, application model (₃AM) as a guide, this paper reports findings on U.S. teenagers' exposure to pornography, motivation for viewing pornography, perceptions of pornography's realism, identification with pornographic actors, and sexual aggression risk from the National Survey of Porn Use, Relationships, and Sexual Socialization (NSPRSS), a U.S. population-based probability study. Sexual aggression was operationalized as pressuring another person into having sex despite their explicit declaration of nonconsent. Having been exposed to pornography and perceiving pornography as realistic were associated with increased sexual aggression risk. A stronger level of identification with pornographic actors was associated with an increased probability of sexual aggression for males, but not females. A motivation to learn about others' sexual expectations from pornography was unrelated to sexual aggression. Results interpretation and discussion focus on the need for additional theoretical nuance and measurement specificity in the media psychology literature on pornography and sexual aggression.

Evaluating the Short-term Impact of Media Aware Parent, a Web-based Program for Parents with the Goal of Adolescent Sexual Health Promotion

Parents can significantly impact their adolescent child's sexual and relationship decision-making, yet many parents are not effectively communicating with their teens about these topics. Media are sexual socialization agents for adolescents, which can encourage early or risky sexual activity. Media Aware Parent is a web-based program for parents of adolescents that was designed to improve adolescent sexual health by providing parents with the skills to have high-quality communication with their child about sex and relationships as well as to mediate their media usage. This web-based randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2018-2019 with parent-child pairs (grades 7, 8, or 9; N = 355) from across the United States. Parent participants identified as mostly female (75%), white/Caucasian (74%); and non-Hispanic (92%). The youth sample was more balanced in terms of gender (45% female) and more diverse with respect to race (66% white) and ethnicity (86% non-Hispanic). Twenty-eight percent of the families identified as a single parent household, and 35% of the youth were eligible for free school lunch. The present study assessed the short-term effects of Media Aware Parent on parent-adolescent communication, adolescent sexual health outcomes, and media-related outcomes across a one-month timeframe. Parents were randomly assigned to the intervention (Media Aware Parent) or active control group (online access to medically-accurate information on adolescent sexual health). The intervention improved parent-adolescent communication quality as rated by both parents and youth. Youth were more likely to understand that their parent did not want them to have sex at this early age. Youth reported more agency over hook-ups, more positive attitudes about sexual health communication and contraception/protection, and more self-efficacy to use contraception/protection, if they decide to have sexual activity. The intervention improved media literacy skills in both parents and youth, and resulted in youth being more aware of family media rules. Parents gave overwhelming positive feedback about Media Aware Parent. The results from this pretest-posttest study provide evidence that Media Aware Parent is an effective web-based program for parents seeking to enhance parent-adolescent communication and media mediation, and positively impact their adolescents' sexual health outcomes.

Testing the content progression thesis: A longitudinal assessment of pornography use and preference for coercive and violent content among male adolescents

Content progression thesis (CPT), a direct application of conditioning theories to conceptualizing exposure to pornography, proposes that pornography use leads to viewing increasingly more extreme material due to the effect of satiation. To test this assumption, association between the frequency of pornography use and the preference for violent and coercive content were examined over a 24-month period using an online panel sample of male adolescents. Participants were 248 high school students who took part in at least three of five waves of the PROBIOPS study. The average baseline age was 16.1. Dual-domain latent growth curve modeling was used to test the CPT. The preference for violent/coercive pornography was found to decrease over time. Moreover, its dynamics was unrelated to latent growth in pornography use. In this first longitudinal assessment, the CPT was not found to be a useful model for understanding the patterns and potential consequences of adolescent pornography use.

The Relationship Among Online Sexually Explicit Material Exposure to, Desire for, and Participation in Rough Sex

The broad accessibility of online sexually explicit material (SEM) exposes viewers to a wide scope of sexual behaviors. Social concern tends to be heightened over SEM that incorporates highly graphic, "rough" sex. This study assessed the associations among exposure to rough sex in SEM, desire for rough sex, and participation in rough sex while accounting for gender, sexual orientation, and perceived realism of SEM. Young adults (N = 327; ages 19-30; 50.8% men) were recruited through a crowdsourcing website. They completed an anonymous online survey that assessed viewing frequency for a range of sexual behaviors in SEM, the perceived realism of SEM, desire to participate in the behaviors viewed, and if they had ever participated in those behaviors. Hair pulling, spanking, scratching, biting, bondage, fisting, and double penetration were used to create the variable of rough sex. Rough sex desire and participation were common among individuals who have been exposed to rough sex in SEM, with 91.4% desiring to engage in 1 + behaviors at least to a small degree and 81.7% having engaged in 1 + behaviors. Exposure to rough sex in SEM was positively associated with desire for and participation in rough sex, emphasizing the need to ensure that individuals can distinguish between consensual rough sex and sexual violence. This study did not parse out causal effects or directionality, but did provide some insights into the interrelatedness of viewing, desiring, and participating in rough sex.

Relational monogamy, condomless sex, and perceptions of pornography as sexual information in an English sample

Background This study assessed perceptions of pornography as a source of sexual information and condomless sex among a heterosexual sample of sexually active adult pornography consumers in England. Methods: Participants were drawn from an anonymous online survey of culture and sexuality. Results: There was no association between perceiving pornography as a source of sexual information and condomless sex among participants who were in monogamous relationships. Conversely, perceiving pornography as a source of sexual information was associated with condomless sex among participants who were not in monogamous relationships. Conclusion: The results of this study further the research literature on pornography and condomless sex in two ways. First, they suggest that studies that do not take relational monogamy into account may falsely conclude that pornography and condomless sex are unrelated. Second, they suggest that in addition to assessing the use of pornography, studies should measure the degree to which pornography is seen as a means of sexual pedagogy.

Associations Between Croatian Adolescents' Use of Sexually Explicit Material and Sexual Behavior: Does Parental Monitoring Play a Role?

The use of sexually explicit material (SEM) has become a part of adolescent sexual socialization, at least in the Western world. Adolescent and young people's SEM use has been associated with risky sexual behaviors, which has recently resulted in policy debates about restricting access to SEM. Such development seems to suggest a crisis of the preventive role of parental oversight. Based on the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model, this study assessed the role of parental monitoring in the context of adolescent vulnerability to SEM-associated risky or potentially adverse outcomes (sexual activity, sexual aggressiveness, and sexting). Using an online sample of Croatian 16-year-olds (N = 1265) and structural equation modeling approach, parental monitoring was found consistently and negatively related to the problematic behavioral outcomes, regardless of participants' gender. While SEM use was related to sexual experience and sexting, higher levels of parental monitoring were associated with less frequent SEM use and lower acceptance of sexual permissiveness. Despite parents' fears about losing the ability to monitor their adolescent children's lives in the Internet era, there is evidence that parental engagement remains an important protective factor.

Buffer or Brake? The Role of Sexuality-Specific Parenting in Adolescents' Sexualized Media Consumption and Sexual Development

One main source of sexual socialization lies within family interactions. Especially sexuality-specific parenting may determine adolescents’ sexual development—adolescents’ sexual behavior and sexual risk behavior, sexualized media consumption and permissive sexual attitudes—to a significant extent, but different ideas exist about how this works. In this longitudinal study, we examined two hypotheses on how sexuality-specific parenting—parenting aimed specifically at children’s sexual attitudes and behaviors—relates to adolescents’ sexual development. A first buffer hypothesis states that parents’ instructive media discussions with their children—called instructive mediation—buffers the effect of sexualized media consumption on adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behavior and, vice versa, the effect of adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behavior on sexualized media consumption. A second brake hypothesis states that parents, by communicating love-and-respect oriented sexual norms, slow down adolescents’ development toward increased sexualized media use, permissive sexual attitudes, and sexual behavior and sexual risk behavior. Using four-wave longitudinal data from 514 Dutch adolescents aged 13–16 years (49.8% female), we found evidence to support a brake effect. More frequent parental communication of love-and-respect oriented sexual norms was associated with less permissive sexual attitudes and, for boys, with less advanced sexual behavior and a less rapid increase in sexual risk behavior. Parents’ instructive mediation regarding adolescents’ sexualized media consumption was associated with less permissive sexual attitudes at baseline, but only for girls. No systematic evidence emerged for a buffer effect of parents’ instructive mediation. In conclusion, although our data seem to suggest that parent–child communication about sex is oftentimes “after the fact”, we also find that more directive parental communication that conveys love-and-respect oriented sexual norms brake adolescents’ move toward sexual maturity.

Understanding the unique role of media message processing in predicting adolescent sexual behavior intentions in the United States

This study investigated the role that media message processing variables stemming from the Message Interpretation Process (MIP) model play in adolescents' intentions to engage in sexual activity. Data collected from 873 adolescents in the United States were examined in an ordered logistic regression model containing demographic variables; attitudes; self-efficacy; parent and peer normative beliefs; and media message processing variables. The analyses revealed that media message processing variables have a unique influence on adolescent sexual intentions above and beyond the influence of all the other predictors. Specifically, higher levels of perceived realism of, perceived similarity to, and identification with media messages were related to higher levels of adolescent sexual intent. These findings support the relevance of logical processing of media messages for adolescent intentions for sexual activity and suggest that this may be a possible cognitive mechanism to address in media literacy education programs focusing on promoting healthy decision-making.

Pornography Use and Sexual Behavior Among Polish and German University Students

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between pornography use and sexual behavior in young adults from two culturally different countries. Data were collected in an online survey among German (n = 1,303; G) and Polish (n = 1,135; P) university students aged 18 to 26 years. Pornography use was associated with engaging in a greater variety of sexual activities (e.g., sexual role playing, using sex toys; G > P) rather than with a high number of sex partners or condom use consistency. The differences between the samples were found primarily for females (in anal sex experience and age at the first sexual intercourse; G > P).