Associations Between Relational Sexual Behaviour, Pornography Use, and Pornography Acceptance Among US College Students
AUTHOR(S)
PUBLISHED
2014 in Culture, Health & Sexuality, Vol. 16(9), pp. 1052–1069
KEY FINDINGS
- Pornography use was found to be linked to depression and lower self-esteem in college women.
- Pornography use was found to be linked to higher risk taking behavior in college men.
ABSTRACT
Pornography use among emerging adults in the USA has increased in recent decades, as has the acceptance of such consumption. While previous research has linked pornography use to both positive and negative outcomes in emerging adult populations, few studies have investigated how attitudes toward pornography may alter these associations, or how examining pornography use together with other sexual behaviours may offer unique insights into the outcomes associated with pornography use. Using a sample of 792 emerging adults,... READ FULL ABSTRACT
EXCERPTS
- "Results from the present study provide several important contributions to the study of pornography use and its correlates among emerging adults. First, baseline associations without controls in the present study found that greater pornography use was linked to less self-worth, more depressive symptoms and less university engagement among emerging adult women."
- "Clear links between pornography consumption and other risk-taking, particularly substance use and binge drinking, were found among men. Men who reported high levels of both relational sex and pornography use combined with high acceptance of pornography displayed the highest levels of substance use behaviour among men, replicating and extending previous findings in this area."
