Mental Health
What Motives Drive Pornography Use?
Open Access: No.
Abstract
Pornography use has become widespread and mainstream in American society, with estimates that 60% of men and 35% of women have viewed pornography at some time in the last year. Pornography use has been associated with both positive and negative outcomes depending on the user, and some of these conflicting results may stem from problematic measurement. Using a newly validated measure that assesses frequency, duration, arousal, and deliberate or accidental exposure to seven common types of pornography, we sought to understand whether the motivations to view pornography differed depending on biological sex of the user and the type of use they engaged in. With an MTurk.com sample of 312 participants, we used a variable selection to explore the most consistent predictors of pornography use. Results found that sexually based motivations were consistent motivations to use pornography for both males and females. Educationally based motivations reliably predicted accidental exposure to pornography, while emotions like sadness and tiredness reliably predicted longer durations of pornography use. These results indicate that motivations to view pornography are similar for males and females and that sexually based reasons and emotions are primary in an individual’s decision to use pornography.
Relevance
This study found that feeling sad was a reliable predictor for when male and female pornography users deliberately turn to pornography. “These findings are useful in the context of helping individuals who may feel that their pornography use is problematic; if they can be aware of when their negative emotions arise, it may help them to lessen their pornography use. Clinicians who work with individuals with problematic pornography use may help their clients to recognize these emotional triggers and find alternative distractions when sad, tired, or bored.”
Citation
Esplin, C. R., Hatch, S. G., Hatch, H. D., Deichman, C. L., & Braithwaite, S. R. (2021). What Motives Drive Pornography Use? The Family Journal, 29(2), 161-174. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480720956640
