Wheeler, David Lanson.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between pornography usage and child molesting in men. A sample of 150 child molesters involved in treatment programs and 122 non-molesting men from southern states volunteered to participate in the study. These groups were compared on their responses to an instrument designed for this study, the Pornography Usage Questionnaire. This instrument measured different aspects of pornography usage, including different ages of exposure and different types of pornography used. Statistically significant differences between the groups were demonstrated on almost every scale, with the child molesters scoring higher than the non-molesters.
Portions of the Sex Fantasy Questionnaire were also administered to the child molesters to determine the relationship between sexual fantasies of children and exposure to pornography. Approximately 93 percent of the child molesters reported having some fantasies about committing sexual offenses against children. The fantasies typically involved a female victim. Fantasies of incest with one”s daughter were related to usage of sexual materials in which physical force was used to obtain sex. A small subset of the subjects reported having fantasies about sex with their sons. These subjects were more likely to have used child pornography.
The child molesters were far more likely to have used more pornography in adulthood and the most common type of materials were “soft-core” materials, which involved nudity or consenting sexual activities between adults. Some child molesters reported a cathartic effect of viewing pornography, but this perception was not supported by other results of this study in that over one third of the child molesters reported using pornographic materials shortly before committing a sexual offense. Child molesters also tended to report the perception of a negative effect of pornographic materials on their lives. Over one half of the subjects reported being influenced to commit an illegal sexual act by viewing pornography, although they tended to report that this had seldom occured.
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