Translated from Polish
Wiesław Poleszak
Abstract
An essential property of the Internet is immediate access to the content contained therein, including erotic content. Numerous studies indicate that the use of erotic websites leads to impaired development of children and adolescents. Due to the above fact, it is necessary to carry out preventive actions limiting the use of this type of problem behavior. The author of the study focuses on the search for protective factors and risk factors at the level of self-esteem of young people who use or do not use erotic websites. The aim is to look for the relationship between self-esteem and the use of erotic content on the Internet. The EPIDAL-VIII questionnaire was used in the study Z.B. Gasia and Multidimensional Self-Assessment Questionnaire MSEI E.J. O’Brien and S. Epstein. The research was carried out on a group of 3774 high school students from five provinces of central and eastern Poland. The obtained results allow to answer the questions posed research and determining what is a protective factor, and what is a factor risk at the level of self-esteem in the context of reaching for erotic content on the Internet.
As a result of the undertaken research it can be concluded that:
1. The groups studied differ in most dimensions of self-esteem (in seven out of 11 studied scales).
2. The observed differences concern both quantitative and quality measures subcontours.
3. Young people who do not have sexually explicit content on the Internet have a higher level general self-assessment than young people using this content with frequency several times a month. This translates into more confidence yourself and a better opinion about yourself and a stronger sense of your own values.
4. Students who do not use erotic sites, experience more social support, they feel more loved and accepted by relatives than their colleagues reaching for erotic content on the Internet. This translates into their more optimistic assessment of theirs future relationships.
5. Subjects who do not use erotic content have a greater sense of self-control than their peers from group three and four who use from erotic sites several times a month and more often. As a result, it translates It’s about greater control over your emotions and perseverance and discipline.
6. Youth not taking on the erotic side to a greater extent than others attaches importance to living in accordance with moral principles, refrains from immoral behavior and accepts his sexuality. Living in harmony with moral principles brings them satisfaction from oneself.
7. Test subjects shunned by erotica on the Internet are also characterized higher level of identity integration than other participants in the research. This is expressed by the more mature structures of the “I” and the greater internal structures a sense of continuity and cohesion.
8. Finally, young people who do not use sexually explicit websites they attach great importance to social norms and principles, and are ready to adoption of conventional values.
Summing up, research shows that factors that protect against use from eroticism on the Internet belong: adequate self-esteem, support in the family and the ability to build close relationships with others, strong and integrated identity and respecting social norms and seeking social approval. In turn risk factors include the occasional use of content erotic, focus on physical attractiveness and leadership aspirations
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