Shaping Sexual Behaviors & Sexual Scripts
Replication of sexual practices depicted in pornography among Spanish youth: An exploratory study based on social learning theory.
Open Access: No.
Abstract
The widespread availability of pornography due to the digital shift raises concerns about its impact on adolescents and young adults’ sexual behavior. Based on Social Learning Theory, this study examined the associations among gender, pornography exposure, sexual knowledge, attitudes, and practices in Spanish youth. A sample of 263 adolescents and young adults in Barcelona completed an online questionnaire assessing these variables. Results showed males, those with lower sexual knowledge, younger age of exposure, and frequent viewers of certain content were more likely to replicate behaviors from pornography. The study emphasizes the need for early sexual and digital literacy education.
Relevance
Among the adolescents and young adults who participated in the study, almost 75% answered that they had consumed online pornography. Within this group, almost 20% were “aware of their significant volume of time watching pornography.” On average, they started watching online pornography at age 13.5.
What did they see? “14.1% had watched Bondage, Discipline, Sadism, and Masochism (BDSM) content, 13.4% had viewed scatological content (involving feces), …2.7% had watched content depicting rape and sexual violence, and 5.3% had watched content involving the representation of minors. Lastly, 31.2% of the sample had attempted to replicate sexual behaviors depicted in pornography.”
“Participants with lower sexual knowledge showed a greater likelihood of replicating behaviors previously depicted in pornography” which shows the value of comprehensive, age-appropriate, and porn-critical sexual education.
Those with “worse sexual attitudes and practices were found to be associated with higher odds of replicating pornographic content.”
Likewise, “lower age of first exposure” also increased “the odds of replicating pornographic behaviors.”
“The present study strengthens the evidence that exposure to certain pornographic content could be associated with its consequent imitation among youth, particularly among males, those with lower sexual knowledge, poorer previous sexual attitudes and practices, those whose age of first exposure was younger, and those who frequently engage with regular sex and BDSM content.”
Citation
Díaz-Moreno, A., Yupton Gómez, A., Bonilla, I., & Muro, A. (2025). Replication of sexual practices depicted in pornography among Spanish youth: An exploratory study based on social learning theory. Sexual Health & Compulsivity, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/26929953.2025.2483802
