Effect of pornography use on the sexual satisfaction: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective Dissatisfaction with an inividual’s sex life is underlying factor that can lead to pornography addiction. The current research aims to understand the relationship between pornography use and sexual satisfaction. Methods The pooled correlation coefficient with 95% confidence interval was calculated using random effects. The meta-regression method was used to examine factors affecting heterogeneity between studies and Egger’s test was used to evaluate of publication bias. Results 41 studies with a total sample size of 70541 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled estimate for the correlation coefficient in total, in male and in female −0.06 (95% CI: −0.09 to −0.02), −0.07 (95% CI: −0.16 to 0.02) and −0.04 (95% CI: −0.08 to −0.01). The pooled estimate of correlation coefficient was −0.04 (95% CI: −0.07 to −0.02) in cross-sectional, −0.12 (95% CI: −0.19 to −0.05) in cohort, 0.00 (95% CI: −0.15 to 0.15) in studies that used self-report questionnaire and −0.06 (95% CI: −0.08 to −0.03) in studies that used online survey. Based on the results of the meta-regression, the publication year was found to have a significant effect on heterogeneity among studies (B = 0.013, p = 0.018). However, study design, age, data collection method, quality score and sample size did not have a significant effect. Conclusions There was a significant negative correlation between pornography and sexual satisfaction and the disaggregation of results by gender also indicated this negative correlation among women. However, the relationship between pornography and sexual satisfaction was not significant in men.