Decades of studies from respected academic institutions, have demonstrated significant impacts of porn consumption for individuals, relationships, and society. "What’s the Research" aims to shed light on the expanding field of academic resources that showcase porn’s harms in a variety of ways. Below are selected excerpts from published studies on this issue.
The Association Between Exposure to Violent Pornography and Teen Dating Violence in Grade 10 High School Students
Authors: Whitney L. Rostad, Daniel Gittins-Stone, Charlie Huntington, Christie J. Rizzo, Deborah Pearlman, Lindsay Orchowski
Published: July 2019
Peer-Reviewed Journal: Archives of Sexual Behavior
Abstract
In general, researchers have linked exposure to pornography with adolescent dating violence and sexual aggression. However, researchers know less about specific exposure to violent pornography.
The current study examined the association of violent pornography exposure with different forms of teen dating violence (TDV) using baseline survey data from a sample of Grade 10 high school students who reported being in a dating relationship in the past year (n = 1694). Gender-stratified logistic regression models generated odds ratios adjusted for demographics, substance use, history of suspension/expulsion, gender-equitable attitudes, and tolerance of rape myths to identify significant associations between violent pornography exposure and self-reported physical, sexual, and threatening TDV perpetration and victimization.
Exposure to violent pornography showed links with all types of TDV, though patterns varied by gender. Boys exposed to violent pornography were 2–3 times more likely to report sexual TDV perpetration and victimization, as well as physical TDV victimization. In contrast, girls exposed to violent pornography were over 1.5 times more likely to perpetrate threatening TDV compared to their non-exposed counterparts.
Comprehensive prevention strategies for TDV may consider the potential risks associated with exposure to violent pornography, particularly for boys, and provide an alternative source of education about healthy sexual behavior and relationships.
Background
Teen dating violence (TDV) is a significant public health problem among adolescents in the U.S. (Kann et al., 2016).
In 2015, among U.S. high school students who dated during the past year, 9.6% experienced physical TDV victimization (hit, slammed into something, or injured with object/weapon) and 10.6% experienced sexual TDV (being kissed, touched, or physically forced to have sexual intercourse) (Kann et al., 2016).
Males have been found to perpetrate more sexual TDV than females, while females perpetrate more physical and psychological TDV, though many are both perpetrators and victims and involved in multiple forms of TDV over time (Ybarra, Espelage, Langhinrichsen-Rohling, Korchmaros, & Boyd, 2016).
Indeed, mutual TDV is prevalent in adolescent relationships, which has been documented in multiple studies (Haynie et al., 2013; O’Leary & Smith Slep, 2003; Swahn, Alemdar, & Whitaker, 2010). Accordingly, identifying modifiable risk factors for TDV is critical to informing prevention efforts. One potential risk factor receiving increased attention in the literature is exposure to pornography.
Methods
The data came from a baseline survey conducted in a randomized clinical trial of a school-based sexual assault prevention program for high school youth. The study included 2,830 Grade 10 students from 27 high schools in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
School mailings informed parents and guardians, allowing them to opt their child out. Adolescents provided assent before completing the survey. Eighty-two parents opted their child out of the study. Unfortunately, there is no record of the number of students who did not provide their assent. Adolescents typically completed surveys on mini-laptops equipped with DatSTAT software or a pencil and paper survey during their health class.
The hospital-based IRB approved this study. We obtained a Certificate of Confidentiality from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Demographics | Participants provided information regarding their age, gender, and eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch. Participants also reported whether they had a dating relationship in the past year (yes/no).
Dating Violence | The Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory (CADRI) (Wolfe et al., 2001) was administered to assess three types of dating abuse perpetration and victimization over the past year: threatening (three items for each perpetration and victimization), physical (four items for each), and sexual (four items for each). Example items of perpetration and victimization, respectively, included “I threatened to hurt him/her” and “He/she threatened to hurt me” (threatening); “I pushed, shoved, or shook him/her” and “He/she pushed, shoved, or shook me” (physical), and “I forced him/her to have sex when he/she didn’t want to” and He/she forced me to have sex when I didn’t want to” (sexual). Response options included “Never,” “Seldom,” “Sometimes,” and “Often.” Summed scores were computed for each of the separate subscales. The CADRI has shown adequate internal consistency across several studies (Wolfe et al., 2001) and was adequate in the current sample (reliabilities ranged from .65 for sexual TDV perpetration to .85 for physical TDV victimization).
Violent Pornography Exposure | Three items from the Social Norms Measure (Boeringer, Shehan, & Akers, 1991) assessed the consumption of violent sexually explicit media. Participants reported the number of times they had ever consumed magazines, videos, films, or written books depicting a female or females being forced to engage in sexual acts. Response options ranged from 0 (“Never”) to 4 (“More than 20 times.“) Responses across different types of exposure were aggregated to produce a sum of overall exposure to violent pornography. Internal reliability was calculated at .64, which may be somewhat lower because of restricted variability and/or because adolescents may only be exposed to pornography through one type of medium (e.g., video exposure only).
Results
Female adolescents exposed to violent pornography were 1.5 times more likely to perpetrate physical and threatening TDV. In contrast, male adolescents exposed to such content were three times more likely to perpetrate sexual TDV.
Interestingly, exposure to violent pornography was only marginally related to sexual TDV victimization for female participants, but male participants who were exposed to violent pornography were over two times as likely to experience physical and sexual TDV victimization than their male counterparts.
Our findings reveal significant associations, even after accounting for known demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral risk factors. These factors include substance use, history of suspension/expulsion, rigid attitudes about masculinity and gender, and tolerance of rape myths.
Our findings indicate a significant correlation between exposure to violent pornography and all types of TDV perpetration and victimization. Male adolescents show a particularly pronounced association with this phenomenon.
