Men’s pornography consumption in the UK: prevalence and associated problem behaviour (2016)

LINK TO ABSTRACT

Roberts, Amanda and Yang, Min and Ullrich, Simone and Zhang, Tianqiang and Coid, Jeremy and King, Robert and Murphy, Raegan (2015) Men’s pornography consumption in the UK: prevalence and associated problem behaviour. Archives of Sexual Behaviour . ISSN 0004-0002 (Submitted)

Abstract

The prevalence of pornography use and associated problem behaviour among men in the UK was measured by self-report questionnaire. Questions were included that measured the prevalence of pornography use, money and time spent on pornography, types of pornography used, problem pornography use and its relationship to high-risk behaviours in 3025 men aged 18-64 years.

Overall, two-thirds (65%) of our sample used pornography, mainly for sexual arousal and masturbation purposes. Men in younger age groups were more likely to use pornography and time spent on pornography use decreases in later life.

The results indicated that pornography use can be associated with problem behaviour. However, pornography addiction was associated with even more undesirable features/ problem behaviour. 5% of out sample had pornography addiction defined by Goodman (2001). Those who reported pornography addiction were much more likely to engage in a variety of risky antisocial behaviours, including heavy drinking, fighting, and weapon use, using illegal drugs gambling and viewing illegal images to name but a few. They also reported poorer physical and psychological health.

Those who spend a great deal of time pursuing pornography deem to have far more negative intrapersonal and interpersonal consequences than those who use it casually. Such findings opens up new opportunities for influencing policy and practice and may provide the foundation on which risk groups to target for future intervention.