Shaping Sexual Behaviors & Sexual Scripts

Academics and lay people alike have contended for decades that children view pornography and are affected by this exposure. Pornography studies that actually sample children are a new phenomenon, however. This commentary summarizes what we currently know about children’s exposure to pornography and the attitudinal and behavioral correlates of exposure. The author concludes with a call for research on factors that may moderate the effects of exposure and suggests that studies use the sexual script acquisition, activation, and application model of media sexual socialization as a theoretical guide.