Violence
Pornography Use and Sexual Scripts Among Men Who Have Committed Sexual Offenses.
Open Access: No.
Abstract
Drawing from sexual scripting theory, the present study employed semi-structured interviews with 101 individuals incarcerated for sexual offenses in a Midwestern minimum-security prison to explore: (1) Do individuals who have committed sexual offenses report that porn scripts influenced or informed their sexual behavior? and (2) How do participants understand the norms and values inherent in porn? Through a qualitative analysis, several themes were identified which included living the porn, transforming sex, porn as grooming and offending, and porn as risk. For some individuals, porn serves as a salient factor in how they navigate their sexual behaviors and relationships, however, most did not report relying on these scripts in their offenses. We discuss treatment and supervision implications related to pornography use.
Relevance
Many of these men – who were incarcerated for sexual offenses, including against children – “disclosed that they themselves had been victimized and that porn was a part of their own sexual abuse.”
For some, pornography was “an addictive behavior which they could not control, where porn became the driving force in their sexual fantasies and behavior.”
“Participants were concerned that should they have access upon release, porn would affect their decision making and allow for future offending (n = 54). Many participants reported that the messages inherent in porn could facilitate offending.”
“Thus, many participants expressed concerns about the cultural level sexual scripts inherent in porn and how they might affect their individual level scripts involving sexual attitudes and behaviors. For these participants, the concern was that these cultural scripts could facilitate deviant cognitive processes which could lead to offending. The application of these porn as risk scripts were a way in which participants could attempt to avoid sexually abusive behavior in the future.”
Citation
Osuna, A. I., & Holt, K. (2024). Pornography Use and Sexual Scripts Among Men Who Have Committed Sexual Offenses. Crime & Delinquency, 70(3), 1005-1033. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287221115647
