Research

Research papers

Here are some research papers we recommend relating to: porn content, exposure and usage; porn and racism; porn and sexual/gender attitudes, expectations and beliefs; porn and sexual aggression; porn, sexual well-being and problematic porn usage; porn and diverse sexual behaviours (choking & rough sex); porn as a sexuality educator; and building critical thinking and protective factors.

Porn content, exposure and usage

Office of Film and Literature Classification. (2018). NZ Youth and Porn: Research findings of a survey on how and why young New Zealanders view online pornography.   

Office of Film and Literature Classification. (2019). Breaking Down Porn.

Office of Film and Literature Classification. (2020). Growing Up With Porn.

Donevan, M., & Mattebo, M. (2017). The relationship between frequent pornography consumption, behaviours, and sexual preoccupancy among male adolescents in Sweden. Sexual & reproductive healthcare: official journal of the Swedish Association of Midwives, 12, 82-87.

Fritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A descriptive analysis of the types, targets, and relative frequency of aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(8), 3041-3053.

Gorman, Monk-Turner and Fish. (2010). Free adult internet web sites: How prevalent are degrading acts? Gender Issues, 27, 131-145. 

Klaassen, M. J., & Peter, J. (2015). Gender (in) equality in internet pornography: A content analysis of popular pornographic internet videos. The Journal of Sex Research, 52(7), 721-735.

Owens EW, Behun RJ, Manning JC, Reid RC. The impact of Internet pornography on adolescents: A review of the research. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity. 2012 Jan 1;19(1-2):99-122.

Pizzol, D., Bertoldo, A., & Foresta, C. (2016). Adolescents and web porn: A new era of sexuality. International journal of adolescent medicine and health, 28(2), 169-173.

Porn and Racism

Fritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2021). Worse than objects: The depiction of black women and men and their sexual relationship in pornography. Gender Issues, 38(1), 100-120.

Shor, E., & Golriz, G. (2019). Gender, race, and aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48(3), 739-751.

Porn and Sexual/Gender Attitudes, Expectations and Beliefs

Horvath, M. A., Alys, L., Massey, K., Pina, A., Scally, M., & Adler, J. R. (2013). Basically… porn is everywhere: a rapid evidence assessment on the effects that access and exposure to pornography has on children and young people.

Klaassen, M. J., & Peter, J. (2015). Gender (in) equality in internet pornography: A content analysis of popular pornographic internet videos. The Journal of Sex Research, 52(7), 721-735.

Martellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J. R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M. A. (2016). “I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it…” A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people.

Miller, D. J., McBain, K. A., & Raggatt, P. T. (2019). An experimental investigation into pornography’s effect on men’s perceptions of the likelihood of women engaging in porn-like sex. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(4), 365.

Peter and P.M Valkenburg. (2009). Adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit internet material and notions of women as sex objects: Assessing causality and underlying processes. Journal of Communication, 59, 407-433.

Smith, L. W., Liu, B., Degenhardt, L., Richters, J., Patton, G., Wand, H., Guy, R. (2016). Is sexual content in new media linked to sexual risk behaviour in young people? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sexual Health, 13(6), 501-515.

The Behavioural Architects (Joanne Upton, Alya Hazell, Rachel Abbott and Kate Pilling). (2020). The relationship between pornography use and harmful sexual attitudes and behaviours A literature review. 

Quadara, A., El-Murr, A. & Latham, J. (2017). The effects of pornography on children and young people: An evidence scan. (Research Report). Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Wright, P. J., & Tokunaga, R. S. (2016). Men’s objectifying media consumption, objectification of women, and attitudes supportive of violence against women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45(4), 955-964.

Porn and sexual aggression

Bridges, A. J., Wosnitzer, R., Scharrer, E., Sun, C., & Liberman, R. (2010). Aggression and sexual behavior in best-selling pornography videos: A content analysis update. Violence against women, 16(10), 1065-1085.

British Journal of Criminology. (2021). Sexual violence as a sexual script in mainstream online pornography. Report No. 61, Issue 5.

The Behavioural Architects (Joanne Upton, Alya Hazell, Rachel Abbott and Kate Pilling). (2020). The relationship between pornography use and harmful sexual attitudes and behaviours: A literature review. 

Donevan, M., & Mattebo, M. (2017). The relationship between frequent pornography consumption, behaviours, and sexual preoccupancy among male adolescents in Sweden. Sexual & reproductive healthcare: official journal of the Swedish Association of Midwives, 12, 82-87.

Fritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A descriptive analysis of the types, targets, and relative frequency of aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(8), 3041-3053.

Krahé B, Tomaszewska P, Schuster I. Links of Perceived Pornography Realism with Sexual Aggression via Sexual Scripts, Sexual Behavior, and Acceptance of Sexual Coercion: A Study with German University Students. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Dec 22;19(1):63. 

Lim, M. S., Carrotte, E. R., & Hellard, M. E. (2016). The impact of pornography on gender-based violence, sexual health and well-being: what do we know?. J Epidemiology Community Health, 70(1), 3-5.

Rodenhizer, K.A E., and K.M. Edwards. 2019. The Impacts of Sexual Media Exposure on Adolescent and Emerging Adults’ Dating and Sexual Violence Attitudes and Behaviours: A Critical Review of the Literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse 20(4): 439–52. 

Shor, E., & Seida, K. (2019). “Harder and harder”? Is mainstream pornography becoming increasingly violent and do viewers prefer violent content? The Journal of Sex Research, 56(1), 16-28.

Smith, L. W., Liu, B., Degenhardt, L., Richters, J., Patton, G., Wand, H., … & Guy, R. (2016). Is sexual content in new media linked to sexual risk behaviour in young people? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sexual Health, 13(6), 501-515.

Waterman, Emily A., Rose Wesche, Grace Morris, Katie M. Edwards, and Victoria L. Banyard. 2022. ‘Prospective Associations Between Pornography Viewing and Sexual Aggression Among Adolescents’. Journal of Research on Adolescence. 

Wright, P. J., Tokunaga, R. S., & Kraus, A. (2016). A meta-analysis of pornography consumption and actual acts of sexual aggression in general population studies. Journal of Communication, 66(1), 183-205.

Wright, P. J., & Tokunaga, R. S. (2016). Men’s objectifying media consumption, objectification of women, and attitudes supportive of violence against women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45(4), 955-964.

Ybarra, M. L., Mitchell, K. J., Hamburger, M., Diener-West, M., & Leaf, P. J. (2011). X-rated material and perpetration of sexually aggressive behavior among children and adolescents: Is there a link?. Aggressive Behavior, 37(1), 1-18.

Ybarra, M. L., & Thompson, R. E. (2018). Predicting the emergence of sexual violence in adolescence. Prevention Science, 19(4), 403-415.

PORN, SEXUAL WELL-BEING and PROBLEMATIC PORN USAGE

Aline Wéry, Adriano Schimmenti, Laurent Karila & Joel Billieux (2019) Where the Mind Cannot Dare: A Case of Addictive Use of Online Pornography and Its Relationship With Childhood Trauma. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 45:2, 114-127.

Berger JH, Kehoe JE, Doan AP, Crain DS, Klam WP, Marshall MT, Christman MS. Survey of Sexual Function and Pornography. Mil Med. 2019 Dec 1;184(11-12):731-737. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usz079. PMID: 31132108.

Chen, L., & Jiang, X. (2020). The assessment of problematic internet pornography use: A comparison of three scales with mixed methods. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(2), 488.

De Alarcón, R., de la Iglesia, J. I., Casado, N. M., & Montejo, A. L. (2019). Online porn addiction: What we know and what we don’t—A systematic review. Journal of clinical medicine, 8(1), 91.

Doornwaard SM, van Den Eijnden RJ, Baams L, Vanwesenbeeck I, Ter Bogt TF. (2016). Lower psychological well-being and excessive sexual interest predict symptoms of compulsive use of sexually explicit internet material among adolescent boys. Journal of youth and adolescence. 1;45(1):73-84.

Grubbs, J. B., Kraus, S. W., & Perry, S. L. (2019). Self-reported addiction to pornography in a nationally representative sample: The roles of use habits, religiousness, and moral incongruence. Journal of Behavioral Addictions8(1), 88-93.

Kowalewska, E., Gola, M., Kraus, S. W., & Lew-Starowicz, M. (2020). Spotlight on compulsive sexual behavior disorder: A systematic review of research on women. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 16,Article 2025-2043. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S221540.

Park, B. Y., Wilson, G., Berger, J., Christman, M., Reina, B., Bishop, F., … & Doan, A. P. (2016). Is internet pornography causing sexual dysfunctions? A review with clinical reports. Behavioural Sciences6(3), 17.

Séguin, L. J., Rodrigue, C., & Lavigne, J. (2018). Consuming ecstasy: Representations of male and female orgasm in mainstream pornography. Journal of Sex Research,55(3), 348–356.

WHO. (2022). 6C72 Compulsive sexual behaviour disorder. https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-m/en#/http%253A%252F%252Fid.who.int%252Ficd%252Fentity%252F1630268048.

Wright, P. J., Bridges, A. J., Sun, C., Ezzell, M. B., & Johnson, J. A. (2018). Personal pornography viewing and sexual satisfaction: A quadratic analysis. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy44(3), 308-315.

PORN and DIVERSE SEXUAL BEHAVIOURS (Choking & Rough sex)

Herbenick, D., Fu, T. C., Wright, P., Paul, B., Gradus, R., Bauer, J., & Jones, R. (2020). Diverse sexual behaviors and pornography use: Findings from a nationally representative probability survey of Americans aged 18 to 60 years. The Journal of Sexual Medicine17(4), 623-633.

Herbenick, D., Fu, T. C., Patterson, C., Rosenstock Gonzalez, Y. R., Luetke, M., Svetina Valdivia, D., … & Rosenberg, M. (2021). Prevalence and characteristics of choking/strangulation during sex: Findings from a probability survey of undergraduate students. Journal of American College Health, 1-15.

Herbenick, D., Fu, T. C., Kawata, K., Eastman-Mueller, H., Guerra-Reyes, L., Rosenberg, M., & Valdivia, D. S. (2021). Non-fatal strangulation/choking during sex and its associations with mental health: findings from an undergraduate probability survey. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 1-13.

Herbenick, D., Fu, T. C., Valdivia, D. S., Patterson, C., Gonzalez, Y. R., Guerra-Reyes, L., … & Rosenberg, M. (2021). What is rough sex, who does it, and who likes it? Findings from a probability sample of US undergraduate students. Archives of Sexual Behavior50(3), 1183-1195.

Pornography as a sexuality educator

Hooley EM. The Relationship Between Transmission of Sexual Knowledge, Sexual Attitude, and Culture. Andrews University; 2018.

Layden, M. A. (2010). Pornography and violence: A new look at the research. The social costs of pornography: A collection of papers, 57-68.

Parker I, Institute for Public Policy Research (2014). Young people, sex and relationships: The new norms.

Rothman EF, Beckmeyer JJ, Herbenick D, Fu TC, Dodge B, Fortenberry JD. The Prevalence of Using Pornography for Information About How to Have Sex: Findings from a Nationally Representative Survey of U.S. Adolescents and Young Adults. Arch Sex Behav. 2021 Feb;50(2):629-646. 

Building critical thinking and protective factors

Basile, K.C., W.L. Rostad, R.W. Leemis, D.L. Espelage, and J.P. Davis. 2018. Protective Factors for Sexual Violence: Understanding How Trajectories Relate to Perpetration in High School. Prevention Science: The Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research 19(8): 1123–32.

Carmody, M., Ovenden, G., & Hoffmann, A. (2011). The program really gives you skills for dealing with real life situations: Results from the evaluation of the Sex+ Ethics Program with young people from Wellington, New Zealand.

Healy-Cullen, S. (2021).  ‘Porn literacy’ as pedagogy? Key stakeholder perspectives on understanding and responding to young people’s engagement with Internet pornography. (Doctoral thesis, Massey University). Massey University Library. https://hdl.handle.net/10179/17043 

Healy-Cullen, S., Taylor, J. E., Ross, K. & Morison, T. (2021). Youth encounters with Internet pornography: A survey of youth, caregiver, and educator perspectives. Sexuality and Culture. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-021-09904-y   

Healy-Cullen, S., & Morison, T. (in press). Porn literacy. In ML Rasmussen & L Allen (eds.) The Palgrave Encyclopaedia of Sexuality Education. Palgrave  

Healy-Cullen, S., Morison, T., Ross, K. & Taylor, J. E. (in press). How do youth, parents, and educators use discursive sexual scripts to make sense of youth engagement with Internet pornography? (Porn Studies].  https://doi.org/10.1080/23268743.2022.2125898

Healy-Cullen, S., Morison, T., & Taylor, K. (Forthcoming). Performing smart sexual selves: A sexual scripting analysis of youth talk about Internet pornography. [Manuscript under review at Sexualities]. 

Healy-Cullen, S., Morison, T., & Taylor, K. (Forthcoming). Exploring what it means to be ‘porn literate’ according to youth, caregivers and educators. [Manuscript under review at Culture, Health and Sexuality]. 

Kate Dawson, Saoirse Nic Gabhainn & Pádraig MacNeela (2020) Toward a Model of Porn Literacy: Core Concepts, Rationales, and Approaches. The Journal of Sex Research, 57:1, 1-15.

Rothman, E. F., Adhia, A., Christensen, T. T., Paruk, J., Alder, J., & Daley, N. (2018). A pornography literacy class for youth: Results of a feasibility and efficacy pilot study. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 13(1), 1-17.

We also recommend

Our Watch. (2015). Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS); VicHealth. Change the story: a shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia. Melbourne: Our Watch.

Our Watch. (2020). Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS); VicHealth. Background paper: Pornography, young people and preventing violence against women. Melbourne: Our Watch.

The Australian e-childhood statement of research relating to the potential harms of online pornography to children
https://www.echildhood.org/statement.

The Australian Institute of Family Studies robust research review on the potential effects of online pornography on children and young people and the messages pornography generates about gender, equality and sexuality.
https://aifs.gov.au/publications/effects-pornography-children-and-young-people-snapshot.