The Desire for Porn and Partner?: Investigating the Role of Scripts in Affectionate Communication, Sexual Desire, and Pornography Consumption and Guilt in Young Adults’ Romantic Relationships

Abstract

The present study extends affection exchange theory (AET) by examining the effects of pornography consumption and guilt on sexual desire for one’s partner and relationship satisfaction through the development of relational and sexual scripts amongst a sample of young adults in sexually active monogamous relationships. The findings of this study suggest that higher levels of trait affection are related to greater sexual desire for one’s partner, and sexual desire is a significant predictor of relationship satisfaction. The results also revealed that pornography consumption had no significant effect on sexual desire for one’s partner. However, guilt associated with pornography consumption negatively predicted sexual desire for one’s partner. The implications are discussed in terms of how sexual desire functions as affectionate communication, despite the consumption habits of pornography users in romantic relationships.