Pornography Use in Adolescents and Its Clinical Implications.

Josep M Farré,Alejandro Villena,Miquel Agulló,Carlos Chiclana Actis,Fernando Fernández-Aranda,Gemma Mestre-Bach,Susana Jiménez-Murcia,Eudald Maideu,Marta Sánchez,Angel L Montejo,Roser Granero

doi:10.3390/jcm9113625

Abstract

(1) Background: The Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model (DSMM) suggests that pornography use effects are conditional and they depend on dispositional, developmental, and social differential susceptibility variables. This framework also highlights that the differential susceptibility variables act as predictors of pornography use and as moderators of the effect of pornography on criterion variables. (2) Methods: By administering a survey to n = 1500 adolescents, we tested whether these assumptions were met. (3) Results: Pornography use was related to being male and older, having a bisexual or undefined sexual orientation, higher substance use, being non-Muslim, and reporting sexual interest and the use of the media to obtain sexual information. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) showed that higher levels in the criterion variables were directly related to pornography use, older age, substance use, and being women. Some mediational links also emerged. Pornography use mediated between the age and criterion variables. Moreover, substance use mediated the association between age and gender with the criterion variables. (4) Conclusions: Our findings support the clinical applicability of the theoretical DSMM framework. Knowing adolescent pornography consumers’ profiles and the impact of pornography on this population would allow for the designing of more effective prevention and regulation proposals.

Highlights

The presence of sexually explicit materials has increased significantly both in mass media and social media [1,2]
Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) showed that higher levels in the criterion variables were directly related to pornography use, older age, substance use, and being women
We tested two of the four Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model (DSMM) propositions: (1) we explored whether dispositional, developmental, and social variables predict pornography use; (2) we evaluated whether dispositional, developmental, and social variables may predict pornography use and moderate the extent to which pornography use predicts criterion variables

Summary

Introduction

The presence of sexually explicit materials has increased significantly both in mass media and social media [1,2]. Efrati et al [7] identified that those adolescents who used pornography were usually boys, low on social intimacy, introverted and neurotic, and more overt narcissists, among other factors. In this line, Brown et al [8] identified three types of pornography users taking into account variables such as age, pornography acceptance, use, motivations for use and religiosity—porn abstainers, auto-erotic porn users and complex porn users

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Discussion

Conclusion