Watching Pornography Alone or Together: Longitudinal Associations With Romantic Relationship Quality

J Sex Marital Therap. 2020 Oct 27;1-17.

Charlie Huntington  1 , Howard Markman  1 , Galena Rhoades  1

Abstract

Pornography viewing has been cross-sectionally and longitudinally linked to poorer romantic relationship quality. However, only a few studies have looked at (1) the associations of changes in pornography viewing over time with relationship characteristics, (2) differential impacts of watching alone and watching with one’s partner, and (3) how gender moderates these associations. The current study utilizes multilevel modeling to assess for between- and within-subject effects of watching pornography alone versus together on romantic relationship quality over time. A random national sample of 1,234 individuals, who began the study in unmarried heterosexual romantic relationships of at least 2 months’ duration, completed five waves of mail-in surveys over a 20-month period. Watching pornography alone was generally associated with poorer relationship quality for men (e.g., lower relationship adjustment and commitment, less emotional intimacy), but better relationship quality for women. People who reported watching more pornography with their partner reported more relationship intimacy and increases in watching together over time were associated with increases in sexual intimacy. Both watching alone and watching together were related to higher levels of psychological aggression between partners, with few differences by gender. Implications for sex education, relationship education, and couples therapy will be discussed.

COMMENTS:

First, the couples were unmarried, so results may not apply to married couples. Results are typical in that men who watched alone had poorer relationship satisfaction while females who watch alone had better relationship quality. In past studies, men who watched alone comprised a far higher percentage than women who regularly watched alone. At odds with the findings – “Both watching alone and watching together were related to higher levels of psychological aggression between partners”.