Rates, Age, & Impact of Exposure to Pornography
Pornography Use and Adolescent Sexual Self-Concept: The Role of Pornography-Related Expectancies and Generalizations.
Open Access: Yes.
Abstract
While researchers have emphasized the need to investigate pornography use in relation to normative or positive aspects of adolescent sexuality and understand differential susceptibility among users, empirical studies remain sparse. In response, this study investigated the link between pornography use and adolescents’ sexual self-concept (i.e., sexual self-esteem, body-esteem, sexual anxiety, and self-efficacy). Specifically, it compared the sexual self-concept of adolescents who had used pornography with those who had not, while also examining how frequency of use, pornography-related sexual expectancies, and generalizations were linked to sexual self-concept in a subset of users. A sample of 1584 Canadian adolescents (49.3% cisgender girls; Mage = 15.53 years) completed self-report questionnaires about their sexual functioning. Significant differences in sexual self-concept were found between adolescents who had and had not used pornography, with gender-specific effects. Among those who had used pornography, higher pornography-related sexual expectancies were associated with higher sexual anxiety and lower body-esteem, while higher generalizations were associated with lower sexual self-efficacy. The findings emphasized the importance of incorporating positive and normative aspects of sexuality into adolescent pornography research while considering individual- and pornography use-related factors that could be linked to targeted outcomes.
Relevance
Results indicated that, on average, adolescents who had used pornography differed from those who had not across dimensions of their sexual self-concept. Notably, regardless of gender, adolescents who used pornography reported lower sexual body-esteem” which aligns “with the substantial body of evidence linking pornography use to body concerns and insecurities.” Many adolescent users of pornography, especially cisgender boys, reported higher sexual anxiety and lower sexual self-esteem.
“Findings showed that frequency of use was weakly associated with higher sexual anxiety, consistent with prior studies linking pornography use to greater sexual insecurity and uncertainty.”
Furthermore, “adolescents who reported forming expectations for current or future sexual encounters based on pornography also reported higher sexual anxiety and lower sexual body-esteem”, which suggests that “those who internalize the pornographic representations as a reflection of their own aspirations tend to experience higher discomfort regarding their own body and sexuality.”
Additionally, “adolescents who believed that pornography accurately depicts typical sexual desires—disregarding individual preferences—reported lower sexual self-efficacy.”
Citation
Kotiuga, J., Bőthe, B., Vaillancourt-Morel, M. P., Girouard, A., Yampolsky, M. A., & Martin, G. M. (2025). Pornography Use and Adolescent Sexual Self-Concept: The Role of Pornography-Related Expectancies and Generalizations. Archives of sexual behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03213-3
