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 full study can be accessed here.
Authors: Wright, P.J., Tokunaga, R.S., Kraus, A.
Published February 2016
Abstract
Whether pornography consumption is a reliable correlate of sexually aggressive behavior continues to be debated. Meta-analyses of experimental studies have found effects on aggressive behavior and attitudes. That pornography consumption correlates with aggressive attitudes in naturalistic studies has also been found. Yet, no meta-analysis has addressed the question motivating this body of work: Is pornography consumption correlated with committing actual acts of sexual aggression?
Methods
Fourteen of the studies included were conducted in the United States and eight studies were conducted internationally. Fifteen of these studies only sampled or reported findings from male participants, six studies sampled a mixture of males and females, while one study exclusively females. Five included studies reported that all of their participants were adolescents, while the remaining seventeen studies reported that all participants were adults. Experimental designs of each study were either longitudinal or cross-sectional.
Results
Consumption was associated with sexual aggression in the United States and internationally, among males and females, and in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Associations were stronger for verbal than physical sexual aggression, although both were significant. The general pattern of results suggested that violent content may be an exacerbating factor.