Porn Use Correlates with Infidelity, Prostitution, Aggression, Rape-Supportive Beliefs

The website Family Facts has gathered citations of numerous studies that find that porn consumption correlates with increased rates of infidelity, use of prostitutes, aggression and rape-supportive beliefs. We highlight a few of these studies here:

In 1992, the Journal of Interpersonal Violence reported that “Childhood exposure to pornography is significantly related to rape fantasies and rape-supportive beliefs in female adults.” [Rape-supportive beliefs include thoughts that trivialize rape as a crime, normalize rape as a behavior, and/or hold the victim partially responsible for being raped. Rape-supportive beliefs can negatively affect the reporting of rape crimes, the sentencing of rapists, and the support offered to victims.]

In 1995, the Journal of Communication reported on a meta-analysis of 24 different studies. Researchers found that “A relationship between pornography consumption and believing rape myths exists. Rape myths pertain to erroneous and potentially harmful ideas regarding rape, for example, that victims of rape are partially to blame for the crime, rapists should not get tough sentences, or rape is not a serious crime. This study found that violent pornography increased the acceptance of rape myths, and nonviolent pornography increased the acceptance of rape myths when compared to a control group.”

In 1995, Human Communication Research reported on a meta-analysis of 33 different studies. Researchers found that “Exposure to pornography increases behavioral aggression. While there are many factors that influence this effect (for example, the content of the pornography viewed), the researchers conclude that a connection between exposure to pornography and subsequent behavioral aggression exists.”

In 2000, researchers reported in Annual Review of Sex Research that “A relationship exists between frequent pornography consumption and sexually aggressive behavior. This relationship is especially strong for those with the highest “predisposing” risk level for sexual aggression. Those who are at high risk for sexual aggression and who frequently consume pornography have sexual aggression levels that are four times higher than those who do not consume pornography frequently.”

In 2002, researchers reported in Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy their findings from analyzing a sample of 100 personal letters posted to 4 different Internet message boards by spouses, fiancés, and girlfriends of men perceived to be heavily involved in pornography. The sample was taken between November 1999 and September 2000. “Analysis of women’s letters posted online revealed two themes regarding pornography consumption and its impact on sexual desire. First, many of the women believed they were no longer sexually attractive to their partners and this was the reason why sexual relations had diminished. Secondly, in relationships where sexual relations had continued despite the partner’s pornography use, women believed they were viewed more as sexual objects than real people in the relationship.”

In 2004, researchers reported in Social Science Quarterly that “People who have engaged in paid sex (i.e. used prostitution) or had extramarital affairs were three times as likely to have used cyberporn than those who did not.”

In 2004, researchers also reported in Social Science Quarterly that “Individuals who have had an extramarital affair are 3.18 times more likely to have used Internet pornography than individuals who did not have affairs.”

In 2005, a survey of 718 Swedish high school students found that “Seventy-one percent of adolescents surveyed believed pornography consumption influenced others’ behavior, and 29 percent believed it affected their own behavior.” Reported in International Journal of STD & AIDS.