Abstract
This research longitudinally explored adolescent pornography (porn) consumption and its association with sexual development in early and middle adolescence. A four-wave design with half-year intervals investigated pornography consumption and different (sexual) activities, such as masturbation, French kissing, petting, giving/receiving manual and oral sex, and intercourse, among 630 respondents (47.9% female, mean age 13.7 years; SD = 0.48) years at T1). A latent growth mixture analysis of pornography consumption revealed two groups with relatively low pornography (LP; 51.8% of the boys, 91.4% of the girls) versus high pornography (HP; 48.2% of the boys; 8.6% of the girls) consumption across time. At T1, HP boys on average watched pornography less than once a month, but more than once a year at T1. At T4, their average pornography use had increased to almost one to two times a week. LP boys never watched pornography at T1. At T4, their average pornography use was still less than once a year. At T1, HP girls never watched pornography, but consumption increased to almost one to three times a month at T4. Across waves of the study, LP girls (almost) never watched pornography. A discrete-time survival mixture analysis of sexual developmental patterning indicated that, compared to their LP peers, both girls and boys in the HP groups showed accelerated development of masturbation, petting, and receiving manual sex. Girls in the HP group were also more inclined to receive oral sex, whereas boys in the HP group also showed earlier and more frequent manual sex and intercourse. Thus, whereas the HP group of boys was substantially larger compared to that of girls, pornography consumption was related to accelerated development of sexual activities for both genders across early and middle adolescence. The discussion deliberates on pornography as a driving force in adolescent sexual development versus pornography as a medium of choice for sexually advanced adolescents.
Highlights
IntroductionPornography has become an integral part of contemporary popular culture
In recent decades, pornography has become an integral part of contemporary popular culture
The Vuong–Lo–Mendell–Rubin test (VLMR), Lo–Mendell–Rubin test (LMR), and bootstrap likelihood ratio test (BLRT) p-values all preferred fewer than three classes; the two-class solution was selected with the additional advantage over a three-class solution that it would be easier to interpret once the distal mixtures were added to the model
Summary
Pornography has become an integral part of contemporary popular culture. Sexual development across adolescence advances from less to more sexually intimate behavior, following a specific trajectory (Cowart-Steckler, 1984; Feldman et al, 1999; Jakobsen, 1997; Lam et al, 2002). Sexy media consumption may accelerate the transition to more intimate sexual behaviors, such as some forms of noncoital sex and intercourse No study has detailed the relations between, in particular, exposure to pornography and this stepwise development of activities across sexual trajectories. As a medium relevant to a substantial number of adolescents, can affect adolescents’ beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, the study of its consumption in relation to sexual trajectories is timely
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