Understanding and predicting classes of college students who use pornography

Abstract

Despite the widespread acceptance and use of pornography, much remains unknown about the heterogeneity among consumers of pornography. Using a sample of 457 college students from a mid-western university in the United States, a latent profile analysis was conducted to identify unique classifications of pornography users considering motivations of pornography use, level of pornography use, age of user, degree of pornography acceptance, and religiosity. Results indicated three classes of pornography users: Porn Abstainers (n = 285), Auto-Erotic Porn Users (n = 85), and Complex Porn Users (n = 87). These three classes of pornography use are carefully defined. The odds of membership in these three unique classes of pornography users was significantly distinguished by relationship status, self-esteem, and gender. These results expand what is known about pornography users by providing a more person-centered approach that is more nuanced in understanding pornography use. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.