Antecedents of adolescents’ exposure to different types of sexually explicit Internet material: A longitudinal study

Pornography Use and the Acceptance of Gender Norm Violation in a School Context

Although media effect studies have quite extensively investigated the association between pornography use and gendered attitudes, some questions remain. The present study aimed to address two of these questions by exploring how gendered attitudes and gender beliefs may be influenced by gender typicality and pornography use. First, the literature has not yet accounted for individual differences based on gender typicality. Second, the influence of pornography use on gender beliefs going beyond pornography's script application is understudied. This online cross-sectional study (N = 1,440, Mage = 23.86, SD = 4.79) contributes to the field by investigating the indirect association between pornography use and acceptance of gender norm violation through gendered attitudes and the moderating role of gender typicality. Acceptance of gender norm violation was measured via vignettes describing a school context in which a teacher and a student violated gender norms. Findings indicated that gendered attitudes negatively relate to the acceptance of gender norm violation. Moreover, compared to women, men's pornography use indirectly relates to lower acceptance rates through gendered attitudes. Additionally, for men, specific levels of gender typicality and atypicality form a strengthening and buffering role, respectively. This applies to the association between pornography use and gendered attitudes as well as to the indirect relationship of pornography use with acceptance of gender norm violation. These findings suggest that pornography use may also affect gender beliefs that are unrelated to the scripts present in pornography. Future studies should take into account the type of preferred pornography and unravel the specific impact of women's pornography use.

Exposure to Sexually Explicit Materials and Feelings after Exposure among Adolescents in Nine European Countries: The Role of Individual Factors and Social Characteristics

Research on adolescents' sexual exposure has mostly focused on negcative outcomes using a risk-based lens, and there is little work on the factors that may predict exposure, as well as youths' emotional responses to sexual content. Using a cross-national sample, the present study examined the associations of individual (sensation seeking and emotional problems) and social characteristics (the quality of family environment, including active and restrictive parental mediation) with adolescents' exposure to sexually explicit materials and their feelings after exposure. The survey included 8,820 11- to 16-year-olds (Mage = 13.36 years, SD = 1.62, 48.0% male) from nine European countries (Czech Republic, Finland, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland). The results revealed that although there were differences in the prevalence of youths' sexual exposure by country, there were also similarities in the characteristics underlying exposure and subsequent feelings across different country contexts. No significant relationship was found between active parental mediation and exposure in most countries, and the findings regarding restrictive parental mediation were mixed. Although the majority of the participants reported neutral feelings, there were gender differences in feeling happy and upset after exposure. Overall, the results suggest that exposure may not be as distressing to youth as prevalent risk-focused narratives have suggested.

Pornography and Its Impact on Adolescent/Teenage Sexuality

Adolescents/Teenagers are exposed to pornography due to a variety of factors and it is accepted as a process of sexual exploration/normal development of sexuality. However, early exposure to pornography and unregulated/excess exposure to pornography during the formative years of adolescence has been seen to have various long-term deleterious effects on sexual maturation, sexual behavior, Internet addiction, and overall personality development. To safeguard the growing minds of the teens from the harmful effects of pornography, few rules/regulations have been passed in India as well as banning of porn sites. However, there are very limited research on the impact of pornography on various aspects of adolescents’ growth and development. This mini-review covers the issues pertinent to the effect of pornography with regard to adolescent sexuality.

Effects of exposure to sexually explicit material on sexually violent behavior among first-year university men in Vietnam

BACKGROUND

Adolescence and emerging adulthood represent a period of heightened vulnerability to sexual violence (SV). While some research suggests that exposure to sexually explicit material (SEM) among adolescents and college students is associated with sexually violent behavior, our understanding of this relationship is limited. This study aimed to assess the relationship between prior exposure to several types of SEM and sexually violent behavior in a sample of first-year university men in Vietnam.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

A cohort of 739 first-year male university students completed three survey waves over 14 months, providing information on contact and non-contact sexually violent behavior, exposure to SEM, and other theorized confounders of the SEM-SV relationship. Controlling for these covariates, we estimated the average treatment effect of SEM on contact and non-contact SV using the propensity score method. We also conducted a dose-response analysis for the effect of violent SEM on SV based on frequency-of-exposure classes derived from latent class analysis. The majority of the sample reported exposure to SEM in the prior six months, with 41% of the sample reporting exposure to violent SEM. In propensity-adjusted models, exposure to violent SEM, but not other types, had a small but significant positive effect on contact and non-contact SV. These effects increased for frequent viewers of violent SEM. Models of contact SV showed endogeneity, warranting caution.

CONCLUSIONS

Exposure to violent SEM is prevalent among university men in Vietnam and may be contributing to sexually violent behavior. Incorporating media literacy into SV prevention programs to mitigate these potential effects may be warranted.

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.

Adolescents' Use of Pornography: Trends over a Ten-year Period in Sweden

Using survey data from three nationally representative surveys in 2004, 2009, and 2014 among senior high school students in Sweden, this study investigates trends in adolescents' lifetime prevalence of pornography use, frequency of pornography use, and type of pornography used over time. While almost all boys and a considerable proportion of girls used pornography across the three waves, the lifetime prevalence of pornography use decreased overall for both girls and boys. The share of boys who use pornography frequently increased over the three survey cycles; those who reported using pornography daily increased from 11% in 2004 to 24% in 2014. In contrast, there was no change in girls who reported using pornography daily, while the proportion who never used pornography increased from 40% in 2004 to 51% in 2014. Adolescents appear to use a narrower range of different pornography types over the survey cycles. Multiple logistic regression models were generated to investigate factors associated with pornography use over the 10-year period. The results suggest that rule-breaking behavior, having higher economic status and higher academic achievement were related to boy's pornography use, while rule-breaking behavior, early sexual debut and victimization were associated with girls' pornography use.

Are We Losing the Most Relevant Cases First? Selective Dropout in Two Longitudinal Studies of Adolescent Pornography Use

In longitudinal studies of pornography use, selective loss of participants who may be more vulnerable to the effects of pornography than their peers is a serious concern. To explore the potential for such selective dropout, we used data from two independent large-scale panel studies of adolescents' pornography use. Of the three types of attrition-early attrition, later attrition, and gaps in participation-only the first was substantially higher among more vulnerable adolescents, compared with other participants. Panel type (online vs. classroom-based) moderated only the association between vulnerability and participation gaps, which was significant in the classroom-based but not the online panel. Overall, this study's findings point to the importance of delaying selective dropout by developing a comprehensive plan of action, for which we offer some guidelines.

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.

Sexual Behaviors and Violence in Pornography: Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis of Video Content Analyses

Background

Owing to increasing access to Web-based pornography and concerns about its impact on viewers, many researchers have attempted to systematically analyze the content of pornography.

Objective

We aimed to systematically review the results of quantitative content analyses of video-based pornography and identify the degree to which the following behaviors are depicted: (1) sexual behaviors and themes, (2) condom use during sexual behaviors, and (3) aggression and violence.

Methods

Inclusion criteria for article eligibility were (1) peer-reviewed publications, (2) articles in the English language, (3) articles describing a quantitative content analysis of video pornography, and (4) articles quantitatively examining at least one variable of interest.

Results

A total of 23 studies met the eligibility criteria. Studies varied in scope and definitions of behavioral variables. Condom use was rare, although more commonly depicted in gay male pornography (36%-64% videos) compared with heterosexual pornography (2%-3% videos). Normative sexual behaviors were most frequently depicted in pornography samples (eg, vaginal intercourse in 48%-90% and fellatio in 52%-90% of heterosexual videos; fellatio in 66%-100% and anal intercourse in 70%-80% of gay male videos). Extreme acts of violence (1%-3% videos) and rape (0%-6% videos) were relatively rare. However, more subtle forms of aggression, such as spanking (5%-75% videos), were more common, and unequal sexual relations (eg, domination) were also common. Although estimates varied by study, dominating and violent behaviors were nearly always directed toward women.

Conclusions

Condom nonuse and gender inequalities are common in pornography, which has implications for the development of healthy sexual relationships among pornography viewers. Higher quality research, including study replication and consistent methodological choices, is needed.

A Prototype Willingness Approach to the Relation Between Geo-social Dating Apps and Willingness to Sext with Dating App Matches

Despite voiced concerns about sexual online risk behaviors related to mobile dating, little is known about the relation between mobile dating and sexting. The current cross-sectional study (N = 286) examined the relations between the use of geo-social dating apps and emerging adults' willingness to sext with a dating app match. By drawing on the prototype willingness model, both a reasoned path and a social reaction path are proposed to explain this link. As for the reasoned path, a structural equation model showed that more frequent dating app usage is positively related to norm beliefs about peers' sexting behaviors with unknown dating app matches (i.e., descriptive norms), norm beliefs about peers' approval of sexting with matches (i.e., subjective norms), and negatively related to perceptions of danger to sext with matches (i.e., risk attitude). In turn, descriptive norms were positively and risk attitudes were negatively associated with individuals' own willingness to sext with someone they had met through a dating app. As for the social reaction path, it was found that more frequent dating app usage was positively related to emerging adults' favorable evaluations of a prototype person who sexts with unknown dating app matches (i.e., prototype perceptions). The analyses further revealed that such prototype perceptions positively linked with emerging adults' own willingness to sext with a match. These results were similar among women and men and help explain why individuals may be willing to engage in sexting behavior with unknown others.

Online Pornography Seeking Behavior and Its Relation to Literacy Rate and Financial Status of Indian States

Background: Pornography has become widely accessible due to the popularization of smartphones and internet connectivity. Consuming pornography has multiple effects on an individual and on society. Our research question was if pornography-seeking behavior has any correlation with education and financial status in Indian states.

Objective: To find the online pornography-seeking behavior of Indian internet users according to states and find its correlation with the literacy level and per capita net state domestic product (NSDP).

Methods: Trends of internet search about pornography-related keywords (namely, porn, XXX, Xvideos, and sex) were obtained from a public domain https://trends.google.com/trends . State-wise relative search volumes were compared with the literacy rate and NSDP of the state. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated with the help of GraphPad Prism 6.01 (GraphPad Software, Inc., California, USA). A P < .05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Northeastern states showed a higher volume of overall online pornography searches. There was no significant correlation between the literacy rate and relative search volumes of pornography-related keywords. Overall pornography-related search volume showed a significant negative ( r = –0.49, P = .003) correlation with NSDP.

Conclusion: Online pornography seeking behaviors in Indian states are not related to the literacy rate of the state. A higher volume of searches is from states with lower NSDP. The underlying factors for this finding should be explored in a future study.

Pornography Consumption, Modality and Function in a Large Internet Sample

Pornography consumption research often contains measurement inconsistencies that make the literature difficult to integrate. We investigated measurement issues relating to four key areas of pornography research simultaneously in a single data set: (a) differential endorsement across commonly used pornography consumption measures; (b) common modalities of pornography use (e.g., pictures, videos); (c) function of pornography use; and (d) association of age and gender with the above. The sample (n = 1,392) of adults in the United States was collected using Amazon Mechanical Turk and included a much wider age range (ages 18-73) than in typical pornography research. Using all modalities of pornography, 91.5% of men and 60.2% of women herein reported having consumed pornography in the past month. The three primary modalities of pornography consumed were written pornography, pictures, and videos. Videos were consumed most often, but women were much more likely to consume written pornography than men. The primary function of viewing pornography was to enhance masturbation, but notably there was endorsement of many other uses. Cross-sectional age trends and gender differences are discussed with suggestions for future research. Empirical concerns for research in pornography are addressed, with special attention to considerations for estimates of pornography consumption rates and research definitions of pornography.

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.

Explaining the Relationship Between Sexually Explicit Internet Material and Casual Sex: A Two-Step Mediation Model

Despite increasing interest in the implications of adolescents' use of sexually explicit Internet material (SEIM), we still know little about the relationship between SEIM use and adolescents' casual sexual activities. Based on a three-wave online panel survey study among Dutch adolescents (N = 1079; 53.1% boys; 93.5% with an exclusively heterosexual orientation; M_age = 15.11; SD = 1.39), we found that watching SEIM predicted engagement in casual sex over time. In turn, casual sexual activities partially predicted adolescents' use of SEIM. A two-step mediation model was tested to explain the relationship between watching SEIM and casual sex. It was partially confirmed. First, watching SEIM predicted adolescents' perceptions of SEIM as a relevant information source from Wave 2 to Wave 3, but not from Wave 1 to Wave 2. Next, such perceived utility of SEIM was positively related to stronger instrumental attitudes toward sex and thus their views about sex as a core instrument for sexual gratification. Lastly, adolescents' instrumental attitudes toward sex predicted adolescents' engagement in casual sex activities consistently across waves. Partial support emerged for a reciprocal relationship between watching SEIM and perceived utility. We did not find a reverse relationship between casual sex activities and instrumental attitudes toward sex. No significant gender differences emerged.

What Behaviors Do Young Heterosexual Australians See in Pornography? A Cross-Sectional Study

This study investigated how frequently a group of young heterosexual Australians (ages 15 to 29) saw a range of behaviors represented in pornography over the previous 12 months. Participants were recruited to an anonymous online survey. Those who reported having viewed pornography in the past 12 months (n = 517) indicated how frequently they saw each of a list of 17 behaviors when they watched pornography in the past 12 months. Men's pleasure (83%) was seen frequently by the highest proportion of young people surveyed, followed by a man being portrayed as dominant (70%). Women were more likely to report frequently seeing violence toward a woman (p < 0.01). Men were more likely to report frequently seeing heterosexual anal sex (p < 0.01), ejaculation onto a woman's face (p < 0.01), women portrayed as dominant (p < 0.01), a man being called names or slurs (p < 0.01), and violence toward a man that appears consensual (p < 0.01). Younger age was significantly associated with frequently seeing women's pleasure (p < 0.05), violence toward women which appeared consensual, and all types of violence (p < 0.01). Older age was associated with frequently seeing men's pleasure (p < 0.01) and heterosexual anal sex (p < 0.05). Our findings draw attention to the gendered ways that behaviors in pornography are seen and identified by young heterosexual audiences.

Longitudinal associations between the use of sexually explicit material and adolescents' attitudes and behaviors: A narrative review of studies

This review analyzed longitudinal studies examining the effects of sexually explicit material on adolescents' attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. The review also aimed to provide an analysis of the limitations of the existing studies, as well as recommendations for future research. To be included, publications had to employ repeated measurements, include a measure of sexually explicit material use and participants aged 18 years or under. A total of 20 papers from nine different research projects were reviewed. The results show that sexually explicit material is associated with sexual behavior, sexual norms and attitudes, gender attitudes, self-esteem, sexual satisfaction, uncertainty and preoccupancy. In addition, the studies reported developmental effects on adolescents' behavioral, cognitive and emotional well-being. Because experimental studies among adolescents are not feasible, more methodologically rigorous longitudinal studies-followed by a meta-analysis-are needed to further our understanding of the effects of sexually explicit material in this population.

Men's and Women's Use and Creation of Online Sexually Explicit Materials Including Fandom-Related Works

The Internet and mobile computing have been highly influential in shaping the modern technological era and subsequently the production of and access to online sexually explicit materials (SEM). Fandom-the realm of fans sharing a common interest-has also adapted to the Internet, which has changed how fans access and distribute fanworks (i.e., material created by fans such as stories and art), many of which contain SEM. The current study examined gender differences in the use and creation of online SEM by surveying 468 men and 347 women (ages 18 or older; mean age = 33.8 years) residing in North America. Participants completed anonymous measures assessing demographic information, experiences using and creating online SEM, and measures of related sexual attitudes. Use of online SEM was widely reported by participants, with men (87.8 %) indicating more use than with women (67.4 %). As expected, few participants reported creating online SEM (3.6 % of men, 4.9 % of women). Men and women reported similar levels of preferred sexual explicitness in the online SEM that they used. There were no significant gender differences in the use of fanworks reported by men (14.3 %) and women (14.7 %) or in the creation of fanworks (1.5 % of men, 3.2 % of women). Fandom-related online SEM use was predicted only by more permissive sexual attitudes (one of eight predictors). Although there were many similarities between men's and women's use of online SEM, some gender differences were found in their motives for online SEM use. Findings are discussed in terms of the context in which men and women experience online SEM.

Adolescents and Pornography: A Review of 20 Years of Research

The goal of this review was to systematize empirical research that was published in peer-reviewed English-language journals between 1995 and 2015 on the prevalence, predictors, and implications of adolescents' use of pornography. This research showed that adolescents use pornography, but prevalence rates varied greatly. Adolescents who used pornography more frequently were male, at a more advanced pubertal stage, sensation seekers, and had weak or troubled family relations. Pornography use was associated with more permissive sexual attitudes and tended to be linked with stronger gender-stereotypical sexual beliefs. It also seemed to be related to the occurrence of sexual intercourse, greater experience with casual sex behavior, and more sexual aggression, both in terms of perpetration and victimization. The findings of this review need to be seen against the background of various methodological and theoretical shortcomings, as well as several biases in the literature, which currently precludes internally valid causal conclusions about effects of pornography on adolescents.