Source
Psychology Department, Castleton State College, Castleton, Vermont 05735, USA. [email protected]
Abstract
The current study investigated whether viewing X-rated movies, Internet access in the home, and gender of the participant would differ between age of first initiation for oral sex, age of first initiation for sexual intercourse, and number of sexual partners.
An online sample of 437 participants with an average age of 29.46 participated in the study. Each participant completed a survey that assessed early sexual behaviors and Internet and X-rated material exposure.
Results discovered males with Internet access during the ages of 12 to 17 reported significantly younger ages for first oral sex compared to males without Internet access. In addition, male and female participants with Internet access, between the ages 12 to 17, reported younger ages for first sexual intercourse compared to participants without Internet access. Study limitations and implications are discussed.
From – The Impact of Internet Pornography on Adolescents: A Review of the Research (2012)
Several years later, Kraus and Russell (2008) expanded on the research regarding exposure to sexually explicit Internet material and the age of first sexual experience, as well as the number of sexual partners. Participants (N = 437) who had Internet access reported significantly younger ages of first sexual experiences than those without Internet access; however, there was no significance when comparing the number of sexual partners. The authors argue that “the Internet, which often promotes and sells sexually explicit material, may be acting as an accelerant for earlier reported ages for first oral sex and first sexual intercourse” (p. 166).
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