Child and Adolescent Pornography Exposure

Pornography, identification, alcohol, and condomless sex

Using national probability data from the 2022 National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, the present study evaluated whether moderators of the association between frequency of pornography exposure and condomless sex are consistent with the sexual script acquisition, activation, application model's (3AM) suppositions about the facilitating effects of wishful identification and decreased self-regulation and forethought capacity. Consistent with the 3AM, two-way interaction effect analysis indicated that the strength of the positive association between exposure frequency and condomless sex increased as identification intensified. Inconsistent with the 3AM, two-way interaction effect analysis indicated that the association between exposure frequency and condomless sex was not significantly different among those who had and had not consumed alcohol before their last sexual encounter. However, the three-way interaction between exposure frequency, identification, and alcohol use did suggest a role for each 3AM moderator, as the catalyzing effect of identification was operable among those who had consumed alcohol only.

Problematic Sexualized Behavior in Children: Essentials for the Pediatric Forensic Nurse

ABSTRACT

Problematic sexual behavior (PSB) in children and adolescents is a significant public health problem. PSB is defined as harmful or developmentally inappropriate behaviors involving sexual organs or regions of the body exhibited by children or adolescents. PSB may be harmful to self or others or be abusive toward another child, adolescent, or adult. Adolescents, typically defined as children 12 years old or older, engaging in PSB can be vulnerable to formal court adjudication as their behaviors may be considered a sexual offense. PSB can result in significant negative consequences for all children and adolescents involved as well as their families. This article will describe sexual behavior in children, normative and problematic, and explore implications for forensic nursing practice.

The prevalence of child sexual abuse with online sexual abuse added

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Research efforts are measuring various forms of online sexual abuse. There is a need to incorporate such measures of online sexual abuse into the calculation of overall prevalence rates for child sexual abuse.

PARTICIPANTS

A sample of 2639 respondents aged 18-to-28 was recruited from a nationally representative online panel.

METHODS

Using an online questionnaire, respondents were assessed via self-report about 9 types of online sexual abuse in childhood and were also assessed with 2 questions that have been used to assess generic child sexual abuse prevalence in previous surveys.

RESULTS

The addition of the online abuse to the generic questions about child sexual abuse raised the overall prevalence rate from 13.5 % to 21.7 %. The rate for females increased from 19.8 % to 31.6 % and for males from 6.2 % to 10.8 %. The largest independent contribution to the overall combined increase were the offenses involving non-consensual image sharing and voluntary online sexual interactions with an impermissibly older adult partner. The inclusion of the online sexual abuse exposures also increased the ability to identify the survivors with the highest levels of current psychological distress.

CONCLUSION

The study highlights the importance of counting and including online sexual abuse in efforts to estimate the overall prevalence of childhood sexual abuse. The paper proposes 2 or 3 questions that could be added to sexual abuse questionnaires to assess these online offenses efficiently.

Psychosocial determinants of adolescent romantic relationship in Malaysia: Social media use, pornography surfing, sexual and reproductive health knowledge, and depression

It is socially natural that adolescents engage in romantic relationship. However, there are negative health implications when they are not properly monitored and guided. The engagement in unsafe sexual practices has been reported to cause various adverse health and social implications affecting Malaysian adolescents. To date, why adolescents engage in romantic relationship has remained understudied. Prior studies on adolescent romantic relationship mainly focused on the western context. Hence, the reported findings are deemed not applicable for the Malaysian population. There are insufficient data on the prevalence and determinants of adolescent romantic relationship within the Malaysian context. Thus, the current study aimed to identify the prevalence and determinants of romantic relationship among adolescents in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Adopting a cross-sectional research design, this study's self-administered questionnaire survey, which was conducted from 25 May 2021 to 5 June 2021 in residential areas that were part of the "Healthy Community Empowers the Nation" programme (KOSPEN), involved 396 adolescents who fulfilled the study's selection criteria. In terms of age, the respondents were of between 14 and 19 years old, with median age (IQR) of 19 (2). Adolescent romantic relationship in this study recorded prevalence of 24.1%, which was comparatively lower than that of the western countries. The results further revealed social media use (AOR: 2.162, 95% CI: 1.202-3.888, p = 0.01), pornography website surfing (AOR 2.748, 95% CI: 1.517-4.977, p = 0.001), poor SRH knowledge (AOR: 3.885, 95% CI: 2.144-7.040, p < 0.001), and depression (AOR: 2.830, 95% CI: 1.323-6.055, p = 0.007) as significant determinants of adolescent romantic relationship. Thus, this study demonstrated the significant role of social media use, pornography website surfing, SRH knowledge, and depression on adolescent romantic relationship. Further longitudinal studies to investigate the temporal relationships between depression and romantic relationship are recommended. The highly significant association between SRH knowledge and romantic relationship in this study suggests that strategies on improving the level of SRH knowledge among adolescents should be prioritised.

"Secrets From the Children's Room": New Understandings of Inappropriate and Abusive Sexual Behavior Among Siblings after the COVID-19 Crisis in Israel

This article discusses the COVID-19 crisis's impact on inappropriate and abusive sexual behavior among siblings (IASBAS) and how perceptions of this phenomenon affect construction of the post-crisis reality in Israel. Sibling sexual abuse, the most frequent type of sexual assault against children, does not occur in a vacuum; it is affected by the environment in which children live and develop. The pandemic created situational risk factors and a "germination substrate" for risk of abuse in "normative" families and escalation in families in which it had previously occurred. The first part of the article, based on research data and reports, reviews the objective reality that emerged in Israel and worldwide due to the pandemic. Part two describes situational risk factors converging to a new dangerous situation for children's abuse and victimization that resulted from this crisis: domestic violence (direct, indirect, and sexual), at-risk children returning and staying at home, increased exposure to online sexual content, parental dysfunction, and lack of formal and informal support sources. These risk factors are mutually reinforcing, thus exacerbating the risk of sexual assault among siblings. Part three describes the etiology characterizing the complex phenomenon of IASBAS. Part four discusses the significance of the risk factors at various stages and conditions for its development, identification, prevention or preventing escalation, and providing professional support, all of which affect the post-crisis reality. Part five offers recommendations for prevention, detection, and intervention that help deal with the reality "the day after."

Exposure to sexual content and problematic sexual behaviors in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Exposure to sexual content, such as online pornography or live sexual content, has been posited in the literature as a risk factor for problematic sexual behaviors (PSBs) in children and adolescents, and has been identified as an important avenue for research and intervention, particularly given the ubiquitous access to technology among children.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association between live/violent and non-violent sexual content exposure and PSB among children and adolescents. Objectives also include informing future research on sexual content exposure as a risk factor for PSB, and providing clinical recommendations related to prevention and intervention.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Results are based on 16,200 participants (28.65 % female; Mage = 14.26; range = 4.74-17.92) and 27 studies conducted in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted of available literature published up to September 2021. Abstract and full-text review were conducted to assess whether studies met inclusion criteria. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted on included studies.

RESULTS

Significant associations were found between exposure to non-violent sexual content and likelihood of engaging in PSB (OR = 1.82; p < .001; 95 % CI: 1.50-2.21), and between exposure to violent/live sexual content and PSB (OR = 2.52; p < .001; 95 % CI: 1.75-3.61). Sex emerged as a moderator of the association between exposure to non-violent sexual content and PSB, such that the association was stronger in studies with a greater proportion of females.

CONCLUSIONS

Results support the need for future research on risk factors and mechanisms implicated in PSB. Prevention and intervention programs for children with PSB and their families could benefit from incorporating education on sexual content exposure.

Pornography use among adolescents and the role of primary care

Given the increase in pornography use among adolescents over the years, we discuss the impact of its use on sexual health development as well as the role of primary care providers (PCPs) in assessing use and providing sexual health education. While pornography use is often viewed negatively, it is important to develop unbiased understanding of the use in order to provide non-judgemental, adolescent-focused and educational care. As PCPs are often the first point of contact when adolescents experience medical and behavioural health concerns, it is essential for them to be equipped to screen for pornography use effectively, create a confidential and comfortable environment to talk about pornography use and sexuality, and be informed of ways to promote open discussion between youth and parents. In addition to PCP involvement, parental collaboration, knowledge and comfortability with discussing pornography use with their child are powerful tools in understanding and navigating pornography use in this population. This special communication seeks to provide an objective view of adolescents' pornography use, guidelines for screening of pornography use and ways to facilitate conversations about the use between adolescents and caregivers.

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.

Prospective Associations Between Pornography Viewing and Sexual Aggression Among Adolescents

Adolescence is a critical period for sexuality development; this study examined prospective associations between pornography use and sexual aggression using a longitudinal study of middle and high school students surveyed five times across 3 years (mean age = 13.7 years at baseline; 53.2% female; 76.5% White; 21.0% Native American; 88.9% heterosexual). Across waves, 15.7%-29.0% of adolescents had viewed pornography in the past 6 months. Results indicated significant, reciprocal associations between pornography and sexual harassment perpetration that were stronger for male adolescents, and some significant associations between pornography use and subsequent sexual assault perpetration. Findings underscore the need to consider multiple theories of the link between pornography viewing and aggression and need for media literacy sexual education beginning in middle school.

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.

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.

The Prevalence of Using Pornography for Information About How to Have Sex: Findings from a Nationally Representative Survey of U.S. Adolescents and Young Adults

We analyzed cross-sectional data collected from a U.S. nationally representative survey of individuals ages 14-24 years old on what sources of information from the past year they considered to be the most helpful about how to have sex (n = 600 adolescents ages 14-17 years old, and n = 666 young adults ages 18-24 years old). Among the 324 adolescents who indicated that they had been helped by at least one source of information, helpful information was most likely to have come from parents (31.0%) and friends (21.6%). Only 8.4% of adolescents said pornography was helpful. However, for those in the 18-24-year-old age group, pornography was the most commonly endorsed helpful source (24.5%), as compared to other possible options such as sexual partners, friends, media, and health care professionals. Multivariable regression analyses revealed that indicating that pornography was the most helpful source of information about how to have sex, compared to the other sources, was inversely associated with being female (OR = 0.32, p = .001), inversely associated with identifying as bisexual compared to heterosexual (OR = 0.15, p = .038), positively associated with being Black compared to being white non-Hispanic (OR = 4.26, p = .021), inversely associated with reporting a household income of either $25 K to $49,999 (OR = 0.31, p = .010) or $50 K to $74,999 (OR = 0.36, p = .019) compared to more than $75 K, and positively associated with having masturbated (OR = 13.20, p = .005). Subsequent research should investigate the role of pornography in both adolescent and adult sexual development, including why one-quarter of U.S. young adults say that pornography is a helpful source of information about how to have sex and what they think that they are learning from it.