Mental Health
Early Exposure and Emerging Risk: A Latent Profile Analysis of Pornography Use Trajectories and Their Psychological Correlates.
Open Access: No.
Abstract
Pornography use is a common and accessible sexual behavior. Early initiation of a behavior is often linked to greater risk of problematic use later on; however, few studies have examined how age of pornography use (PU) onset relates to current use patterns or mental health outcomes. This study aims to identify distinct latent profiles of pornography users using two indicators: age of first exposure and initial age of regular PU. Additionally, this study aims to examine other PU, mental health, and sociodemographic characteristics of the identified profiles of pornography users through ANOVAs and multinomial logistic regression analysis. Participants included 1316 US adults, collected from a 2023 YouGov survey matched to US norms, who reported viewing pornography at least once in their life. Three distinct profiles of pornography users were identified: 1) Early Engager, 2) Casual Engager, and 3) Late Engager. Early Engagers were characterized by early initial pornography use, high frequency and duration of pornography use, and higher endorsement of symptoms on mental health measures. Casual Engagers were characterized by a moderate age of pornography use, low frequency and duration of PU, as well as high religiosity. Late Engagers were characterized by a late initiation of PU, but high frequency and duration of PU. Earlier use of pornography is related to increased frequency and duration of PU, potential problematic PU, and other mental health concerns. Clinicians should be asking clients about their history of PU, including their first use of pornography and the ways their PU have changed overtime.
Relevance
Early engagers of pornography had the highest frequency of pornography use, the longest durations of use, more symptoms of problematic pornography use (PPU), and “significantly more symptoms on all mental health measures” (depression, anxiety, suicidality, alcohol, cannabis, gambling). They also “used the most nonmainstream pornography” (sadomasochism, fetishes, violence, bondage/dominance, and bizarre/extreme content).
Citation
Way, B.M., Jennings, T.L., Grubbs, J.B., Gunawan, K., & Kraus, S.W. (2026). Early Exposure and Emerging Risk: A Latent Profile Analysis of Pornography Use Trajectories and Their Psychological Correlates. Computers in Human Behavior, 178, Article 108905.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2026.108905
