Studies linking porn use/sex addiction to sexual problems, lower arousal to sexual stimuli, and less sexual & relationship satisfaction

With the ubiquitous Internet accessibility cyberpornography has never been easier to access. Research findings may support potential side effects of porn on male sexual health. The aim of this study was to investigate whether prolonged time to ejaculation was associated with porn consumption.

Men, that had been sexual active in the last four weeks, were asked about the feeling of prolonged time to ejaculation with partner and could choose from the following answers; never, less than half of times, half of times, most of times or all of times. We calculated the time in minutes per week masturbating to porn and analysed if the time masturbating to porn was different in the response categories. 3,033 men completed the questionnaire of which 687 (22.7%) where excluded as they did not have sexual activity for the last four weeks and 15 men had missing data. In total, 2,331 men (76.9%), median age 31, was used for statistical analysis regarding ejaculation with partner during the last four weeks. The differences in means and medians of time masturbating to porn between men with different responses are shown in table 1.

Significant differences

The Kruksal-Wallis H test showed significant differences between the response categories with significantly more time masturbating to porn in those always having an ejaculation problem compared to those who had this feeling never, less- and half of times. A clear trend was seen in men frequently having the feeling of prolonged time to ejaculation and weekly time masturbating to porn. Men who always had the feeling of prolonged time to ejaculations with partner masturbate significantly more time to porn per week than men having this feeling; never, less- or half of times.

41) Exploring the Lived Experience of Problematic Users of Internet Pornography: A Qualitative Study (2020)

A few relevant excerpts:

The participants reported experiencing symptoms of feeling “addicted” to IP. The language of dependency, i.e., “cravings,” being “sucked in,” and “habit,” was used often. Participants also reported symptoms and experiences consistent with addictive disorders such as; an inability to reduce use of IP, increased use of IP over time or needing to use more extreme forms of IP to get the same effect…

Escalation was often described as either spending more time on IP or finding it necessary to view more extreme content in order to experience the same “high” over time, as this participant disclosed, “At first, I watched relatively soft porn, and as years passed by, I moved towards more brutal and degrading kinds of porn.”

Escalation of porn use was also linked to erectile dysfunction in some of the participants, as they found that after a time, no amount or genre of porn was able to cause them to have an erection, as described in the next subtheme.

Symptoms such as erectile dysfunction- conceptualized as an inability to gain an erection without porn or with a real-life partner- were often described: “I couldn’t get an erection with women I found attractive. And even when I did, it didn’t last long at all.” These symptoms were often lamented by the participants, with one participant declaring, “It has kept me from having sex! Lots of times! Because I can’t stay erect. Enough said.”

42) EAU 2020: More Porn, Worse Erectile Function (2020)

Conference abstract describing upcoming study. A few excerpts:

Researchers from Belgium, Denmark and the UK established an online questionnaire www.malesexualhealth.be, which was advertised mainly to men in Belgium and Denmark through social media, posters and flyers. 3267 men replied to the 118 questions, answering questions about masturbation, frequency of porn watching, and sexual activity with partners. The questionnaire concentrated on men who had had sex within the previous 4 weeks, which allowed the team to relate the effect of porn watching on sexual activity. The questionnaire incorporated questions from standard erectile function and sexual health surveys (see notes).

Head researcher, Professor Gunter de Win (University of Antwerp and University Hospital Antwerp) said:

“We found that there was a big range of responses. In our sample, men watch quite a lot of porn, on average around 70 minutes per week, normally for between 5 and 15 minutes per time, with obviously some watching very little and some watching much, much more”.

They also found that around 23% of men under-35 who responded to the survey had some level of erectile dysfunction when having sex with a partner.

Professor de Win commented:

“This figure was higher than we expected. We found that there was a highly significant relationship between time spent watching porn and increasing difficulty with erectile function with a partner, as indicated by the erectile function and sexual health scores. People who watch more porn also scored high on porn addiction scales.

We need to keep understand what this work means and doesn’t mean. It is a questionnaire rather than a clinical trial, and it could be that the people who have responded are not completely representative of the whole male population. However, the work was designed to unpick any relationship between porn and erectile dysfunction, and given the large sample size, we can be pretty confident about the findings.

We found that 90% of men fast-forward to watch the most arousing pornographic scenes. There’s no doubt that porn conditions the way we view sex; in our survey, only 65% of men felt that sex with a partner was more exciting than watching porn. In addition, 20% felt that they needed to watch more extreme porn to get the same level of arousal as previously. We believe that the erectile dysfunction problems associated with porn stem from this lack of arousal.

Our next step in this research to identify which factors lead to erectile dysfunction, and to conduct a similar study on the effects of porn on women. In the meantime, we believe that doctors dealing with erectile dysfunction should also be asking about watching pornography”.

Commenting, Professor Maarten Albersen (University of Leuven, Belgium) said:

“This is an interesting study by Prof. De Win and colleagues. The sample consisted mainly of younger men recruited via (social) media and posters, which may result in a sample biased towards higher online porn consumption rates. All-in-all, the study raises interesting insights in the fact that porn consumption by men may lead to impaired erectile function and/or sexual satisfaction or confidence during partner-sex.

As Professor De Win says, the running hypothesis is that the type of porn watched may come more explicit over time and partner-sex may not lead to the same level of arousal as the pornographic material does. The study contributes to an ongoing debate on the topic; experts have highlighted that porn may have both positive and negative effects, and could, for example, be used as an aid in the treatment of sexual dysfunctions, so this is a controversial area and the last words have not been said on this topic”.

Professor Albersen was not involved in this work, this is an independent comment.

43) The Pornography “Rebooting” Experience: A Qualitative Analysis of Abstinence Journals on an Online Pornography Abstinence Forum (2021)

Excellent paper analyzes more than 100 rebooting experiences and highlights what people are undergoing on recovery forums. Contradicts much of the propaganda about recovery forums (such as the nonsense that they’re all religious, or strict semen-retention extremists, etc.). Paper reports tolerance, habituation, withdrawal symptoms and porn-induced sexual problems in men attempting to quit porn. Relevant excerpts:

One primary self-perceived problem related to pornography use concerns addiction-related symptomatology. These symptoms generally include impaired control, preoccupation, craving, use as a dysfunctional coping mechanism, withdrawal, tolerance, distress about use, functional impairment, and continued use despite negative consequences (e.g., Bőthe et al., 2018; Kor et al., 2014).

Tolerance/Habituation:

It is interesting to note that paradoxically, close to one-third of members reported that instead of experiencing increased sexual desire, they experienced diminished sexual desire during abstinence, which they called the “flatline.” The “flatline” is a term that members used to describe a significant decrease or loss of libido during abstinence (although some appeared to have a broader definition for this to also include accompanying low mood and a sense of disengagement in general: (e.g., “I feel like I’m probably in a flatline right now as the desire to engage in any sort of sexual activity is almost nonexistent” [056, 30s]).

Sexual Problems:

Although potential associations between pornography use and sexual dysfunctions are generally inconclusive (see Dwulit & Rzymski, 2019b), self-perceived negative effects on sexual functioning have also been reported by some pornography users, including erectile difficulties, decreased desire for partnered sexual activity, decreased sexual satisfaction, and reliance on pornographic fantasies during sex with a partner (e.g., Dwulit & Rzymski, 2019a; Kohut, Fisher, & Campbell, 2017; Sniewski & Farvid, 2020). Some researchers have used terms such as “pornography-induced erectile dysfunction” (PIED) and “pornography-induced abnormally low libido” to describe specific sexual difficulties attributed to excessive pornography use (Park et al., 2016).

Second, for some members (n = 44), abstinence was motivated by a desire to relieve their sexual difficulties, based on the belief that these difficulties (erectile difficulties [n = 39]; diminished desire for partnered sex [n = 8]) were (possibly) pornography-induced. Some members believed that their problems with sexual functioning were a result of a conditioning of their sexual response predominantly to pornography-related content and activity (e.g., “I notice how I lacked enthusiasm for the body of the other…I have conditioned myself to enjoy sex with the laptop” [083, 45 years]). Of the 39 members who reported erectile difficulties as a reason for initiating abstinence, 31 were relatively certain that they were suffering from “pornography-induced erectile dysfunction” (PIED). Others (n = 8) were less certain of definitively labeling their erectile difficulties as being “pornography-induced” due to wanting to rule out other possible explanations (e.g., performance anxiety, age-related factors, etc.), but decided to initiate abstinence in case they were indeed pornography-related.

Increased sexual sensitivity and responsiveness were reported by some members. Of the 42 members who reported erectile difficulties at the outset of the abstinence attempt, half (n = 21) reported at least some improvements in erectile function after abstaining for a period of time. Some members reported partial return of erectile function (e.g., “It was only about a 60% erection, but what was important is that it was there” [076, 52 years]), while others reported a complete return of erectile function (e.g., “I had sex with my wife both Friday night and last night, and both times were 10/10 erections that lasted quite a long time” [069, 30 years]). Some members also reported that sex was more pleasurable and satisfying than before (e.g., “I had two times (Saturday and Wednesday) the best sex in four years” [062, 37 years]).

Members who persisted with abstinence typically found abstinence to be a rewarding experience and reported a range of perceived benefits which they attributed to abstaining from pornography. Perceived effects resembling pornography abstinence self-efficacy (Kraus, Rosenberg, Martino, Nich, & Potenza, 2017) or an increased sense of self-control in general (Muraven, 2010) were described by some members after successful periods of abstinence. Perceived improvements in psychological and social functioning (e.g., improved mood, increased motivation, improved relationships) and sexual functioning (e.g., increased sexual sensitivity and improved erectile function) were also described.

44) Lecture describing upcoming studies – by Urology professor Carlo Foresta, president of the Italian Society of Reproductive Pathophysiology

The lecture contains the results of longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. One study involved a survey of high school teens (pages 52-53). The study reported that sexual dysfunction doubled between 2005 and 2013, with low sexual desire increasing 600%.

• The percentage of teens that experienced alterations of their sexuality: 2004/05: 7.2%, 2012/13: 14.5%
• The percentage of teens with low sexual desire: 2004/05: 1.7%, 2012/13: 10.3% (that’s a 600% increase in 8 years)

Foresta also describes his upcoming study. It was “Sexuality media and new forms of sexual pathology sample 125 young males, 19-25 years” Its Italian name is “Sessualità mediatica e nuove forme di patologia sessuale Campione 125 giovani maschi“. The results from the study (pages 77-78), which used the International Index of Erectile Function Questionnaire, found that regular porn users scored 50% lower on sexual desire domain and 30% lower of the erectile functioning domain.

45) MedHelp article

(not peer-reviewed) Here’s an article about an extensive analysis of comments and questions posted on MedHelp concerning erectile dysfunction. What’s shocking is that 58% of the men asking for help were 24 or younger. Many suspected that internet porn could be involved as described in the results from the study –

The most common phrase is “erectile dysfunction” – which is mentioned more than three times as often as any other phrase – followed by “internet porn,” “performance anxiety,” and “watching porn.”

Clearly, porn is a frequently discussed subject: “I have been viewing internet pornography frequently (4 to 5 times a week) for the past 6 years,” one man writes. “I am in my mid-20s and have had a problem getting and maintaining an erection with sexual partners since my late teens when I first started looking at internet porn.”

Article about the latest spin campaign: Sexologists Deny Porn-induced ED by Claiming Masturbation Is the Problem (2016)

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List #2: Studies reporting links between porn use and poorer sexual or relationship satisfaction

According to researchers, those who indicate a “good performance in mating,” experience more positive emotions. They also report fewer negative emotions, and are more satisfied with their lives. Yet according to a 2018 study, one in two now face difficulties starting or keeping an intimate relationship.

As of 2020, over 80 studies have linked porn use to poorer sexual and relationship satisfaction. While a few studies correlated greater porn use in females to better (or neutral) sexual satisfaction, most have not (see this list: Porn studies involving female subjects: Negative effects on arousal, sexual satisfaction, and relationships). As far as we know all studies involving males reported more porn use linked to poorer sexual or relationship satisfaction. Below are two sections.

• In the first section, papers 1, 2 & 3 are meta-analyses/reviews, study #4 had porn users attempt to quit using porn for 3 weeks, and studies 5 through 10 are longitudinal.
• In the second section studies are listed in chronological order.

1) Pornography Consumption and Satisfaction: A Meta-Analysis (2017)

This meta-analysis of various other studies assessing sexual and relationship satisfaction reported that porn use was consistently related to lower sexual and relationship satisfaction (interpersonal satisfaction). While some studies report little negative effect of porn use on sexual and relationship satisfaction in women, it’s important to know that a relatively small percentage of coupled females (across the population) regularly consume internet porn. Nationally representative data from the largest US survey (General Social Survey) found that only 2.6% of women had visited a “pornographic website” in the last month (2002-2004). An excerpt:

However, pornography consumption was associated with lower interpersonal satisfaction outcomes in cross-sectional surveys, longitudinal surveys, and experiments. Associations between pornography consumption and reduced interpersonal satisfaction outcomes were not moderated by their year of release or their publication status. But analyses by sex indicted significant results for men only.

2) Women’s perceptions of their male partners’ pornography consumption and relational, sexual, self, and body satisfaction: toward a theoretical model (2017)

Excerpts:

This paper’s meta-analysis of quantitative studies conducted to date primarily supports the hypothesis that the majority of women are negatively impacted by the perception that their partner is a pornography consumer. In main analyses including all of the available studies, perceiving partners as pornography consumers was significantly associated with less relational, sexual, and body satisfaction. The association for self satisfaction was also negative. The results also suggested that women’s satisfaction will generally decrease in correspondence with the perception that their partners are consuming pornography more frequently.

Perceiving male partners as more frequent consumers of pornography was significantly associated with less relational and sexual satisfaction.

Finally, the possibility of a publication bias was also explored. Taken in totality, the results did not suggest that publication bias is a significant concern in this literature.

3) Pornography and Relationship Quality: Establishing the Dominant Pattern by Examining Pornography Use and 31 Measures of Relationship Quality across 30 National Surveys (2019)

Review on only 4 national surveys, including the highly suspect General Social Survey which assessed porn use with an out-of-date either/or question: “have you viewed an X-rated film this year”. Important to note: the author’s write-up was designed to give the impression that porn use is not all that bad, or that poor relationships might lead to porn use. This is not surprising as author Samuel Perry is a proud “expert” of the pro-porn website – www.realyourbrainonporn.com. RealYBOP is engaged in illegal trademark infringement and squatting, has “experts” who are being paid by the porn industry, and uses its twitter account to defame and harass those who speak about porn’s harms. Nevertheless, Perry couldn’t fully disguise the fact that poorer relationship quality is nearly always associated with porn use.

Excerpts:

Data were taken from 30 nationally-representative surveys, which together included 31 measures of relationship quality: 1973-2018 General Social Surveys (1 repeated measure); 2006 Portraits of American Life Study (13 measures); 2012 New Family Structures Study (12 measures); and 2014 Relationships in America Survey (5 measures). This allowed for 57 independent tests examining the association between pornography use and relationship outcomes for married Americans and 29 independent tests for unmarried Americans.

For married and unmarried Americans alike, pornography use was either unassociated or negatively associated with nearly all relationship outcomes. Significant associations were mostly small in magnitude. Conversely, except for one unclear exception, pornography use was never positively associated with relationship quality. Associations were only occasionally moderated by gender, but in inconsistent directions. While this study makes no claims about causality, findings clearly affirmed that, in instances where viewing pornography is associated with relationship quality at all, it is nearly always a signal of poorer relationship quality, for men and women.

4) A Love That Doesn’t Last: Pornography Consumption and Weakened Commitment to One’s Romantic Partner (2012)

The study had subjects try to abstain from porn use for 3 weeks. It then compared the two groups. Those who continued using pornography reported lower levels of commitment than those who tried to abstain. Excerpts:

Study 1 found that higher pornography consumption was related to lower commitment

Study 3 participants were randomly assigned to either refrain from viewing pornography or to a self-control task. Those who continued using pornography reported lower levels of commitment than control participants.

Study 5 found that pornography consumption was positively related to infidelity and this association was mediated by commitment. Overall, a consistent pattern of results was found using a variety of approaches including cross-sectional (Study 1), observational (Study 2), experimental (Study 3), and behavioral (Studies 4 and 5) data.

5) Internet pornography and relationship quality: A longitudinal study of within and between partner effects of adjustment, sexual satisfaction and sexually explicit internet material among newly-weds (2015)

Longitudinal study. Excerpt:

The data from a considerable sample of newlyweds showed that SEIM use has more negative than positive consequences for husbands and wives. Importantly, husbands’ adjustment decreased SEIM use over time and SEIM use decreased adjustment. Furthermore, more sexual satisfaction in husbands predicted a decrease in their wives’ SEIM use one year later, while wives’ SEIM use did not change their husbands’ sexual satisfaction.

6) Does Viewing Pornography Reduce Marital Quality Over Time? Evidence from Longitudinal Data (2016)

First longitudinal study on a representative cross-section of married couples. It found significant negative effects of porn use on marriage quality over time. Excerpt:

This study is the first to draw on nationally representative, longitudinal data (2006-2012 Portraits of American Life Study) to test whether more frequent pornography use influences marital quality later on and whether this effect is moderated by gender. In general, married persons who more frequently viewed pornography in 2006 reported significantly lower levels of marital quality in 2012, net of controls for earlier marital quality and relevant correlates. Pornography’s effect was not simply a proxy for dissatisfaction with sex life or marital decision-making in 2006. In terms of substantive influence, frequency of pornography use in 2006 was the second strongest predictor of marital quality in 2012. Interaction effects revealed, however, that the negative effect of porn use on marital quality applied to husbands, but not wives.

Note: When the author was asked privately about the raw numbers of women who reported increased satisfaction as porn use increased, he said:

I can’t remember the exact number off the top of my head, but I recall it being pretty small.

7) Till Porn Do Us Part? Longitudinal Effects of Pornography Use on Divorce (2017)

This longitudinal study used nationally representative General Social Survey panel data collected from thousands of American adults. Respondents were interviewed three times about their pornography use and marital status — every two years from 2006-2010, 2008-2012, or 2010-2014. Excerpts:

Beginning pornography use between survey waves nearly doubled one’s likelihood of being divorced by the next survey period, from 6 percent to 11 percent, and nearly tripled it for women, from 6 percent to 16 percent. Our results suggest that viewing pornography, under certain social conditions, may have negative effects on marital stability. Conversely, discontinuing pornography use between survey waves was associated with a lower probability of divorce, but only for women.

Additionally, the researchers found that respondents’ initially reported level of marital happiness played an important role in determining the magnitude of pornography’s association with the probability of divorce. Among people who reported they were “very happy” in their marriage in the first survey wave, beginning pornography viewership before the next survey was associated with a noteworthy increase — from 3 percent to 12 percent — in the likelihood of getting divorced by the time of that next survey.

Additional analyses also showed that the association between beginning pornography use and the probability of divorce was particularly strong among younger Americans, those who were less religious, and those who reported greater initial marital happiness.

8) Pornography Use and Marital Separation: Evidence from Two-Wave Panel Data (2017)

Longitudinal study. Excerpts:

Drawing on data from the 2006 and 2012 waves of the nationally representative Portraits of American Life Study, this article examined whether married Americans who viewed pornography in 2006, either at all or in greater frequencies, were more likely to experience a marital separation by 2012. Binary logistic regression analyses showed that married Americans who viewed pornography at all in 2006 were more than twice as likely as those who did not view pornography to experience a separation by 2012, even after controlling for 2006 marital happiness and sexual satisfaction as well as relevant sociodemographic correlates. The relationship between pornography use frequency and marital separation, however, was technically curvilinear. The likelihood of marital separation by 2012 increased with 2006 pornography use to a point and then declined at the highest frequencies of pornography use.

9) Are Pornography Users More Likely to Experience A Romantic Breakup? Evidence from Longitudinal Data (2017)

Longitudinal study. Excerpts:

This study examined whether Americans who use pornography, either at all or more frequently, are more prone to report experiencing a romantic breakup over time. Longitudinal data were taken from the 2006 and 2012 waves of the nationally representative Portraits of American Life Study. Binary logistic regression analyses demonstrated that Americans who viewed pornography at all in 2006 were nearly twice as likely as those who never viewed pornography to report experiencing a romantic breakup by 2012, even after controlling for relevant factors such as 2006 relationship status and other sociodemographic correlates. This association was considerably stronger for men than for women and for unmarried Americans than for married Americans. Analyses also showed a linear relationship between how frequently Americans viewed pornography in 2006 and their odds of experiencing a breakup by 2012.

10) Pornography Use and Marriage Entry During Early Adulthood: Findings From a Panel Study of Young Americans (2018)

Longitudinal study. Excerpts:

The current study takes this research in a different direction by examining (1) whether pornography use may be associated with entrance into marriage during early adulthood and (2) whether this association is moderated by both gender and religion, two key factors strongly related to both pornography use and earlier marriage. Longitudinal data were taken from waves 1, 3, and 4 of the National Study of Youth and Religion, a nationally-representative panel study of Americans from their teenage years into early adulthood (N = 1,691). It was theorized that frequent pornography use at earlier survey waves may foster more sexually progressive attitudes that may lead to devaluing marriage as an institution, and, for religious men in particular, may disincentivize marriage as a “socially legitimate” means of sexual fulfillment.

Findings affirmed that, compared to more moderate levels of pornography use, higher levels of pornography use in emerging adulthood were associated with a lower likelihood of marriage by the final survey wave for men, but not women. This association was not moderated by religiosity for either gender.

The remaining studies are listed by date of publication:

1) Effect of Erotica on Young Men’s Aesthetic Perception of Their Female Sexual Partners (1984) – Excerpt:

Male undergraduates were exposed to (a) nature scenes or (b) beautiful versus (c) unattractive females in sexually enticing situations. Thereafter, they assessed their girl friends’ sexual appeal and evaluated their satisfaction with their mates. On pictorial measures of bodily appeal profiles of flat through hypervoluptuous breast and buttock, preexposure to beautiful females tended to suppress mates’ appeal, while preexposure to unattractive females tended to enhance it. After exposure to beautiful females, mates’ aesthetic value fell significantly below assessments made after exposure to unattractive females; this value assumed an intermediate position after control exposure. Changes in mates’ aesthetic appeal did not correspond with changes in satisfaction with mates, however.

2) Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography on Family Values (1988) – Excerpt:

Male and female students and nonstudents were exposed to videotapes featuring common, nonviolent pornography or innocuous content. Exposure was in hourly sessions in six consecutive weeks. In the seventh week, subjects participated in an ostensibly unrelated study on societal institutions and personal gratifications. Marriage, cohabitational relationships, and related issues were judged on an especially created Value-of-Marriage questionnaire. The findings showed a consistent impact of pornography consumption.

Exposure prompted, among other things, greater acceptance of pre- and extramarital sex and greater tolerance of nonexclusive sexual access to intimate partners. It enhanced the belief that male and female promiscuity are natural and that the repression of sexual inclinations poses a health risk. Exposure lowered the evaluation of marriage, making this institution appear less significant and less viable in the future. Exposure also reduced the desire to have children and promoted the acceptance of male dominance and female servitude. With few exceptions, these effects were uniform for male and female respondents as well as for students and nonstudents.

3) Pornography’s Impact on Sexual Satisfaction (1988) – Excerpt:

Male and female students and nonstudents were exposed to videotapes featuring common, nonviolent pornography or innocuous content. Exposure was in hourly sessions in six consecutive weeks. In the seventh week, subjects participated in an ostensibly unrelated study on societal institutions and personal gratifications. [Porn use] strongly impacted self-assessment of sexual experience. After consumption of pornography, subjects reported less satisfaction with their intimate partners—specifically, with these partners’ affection, physical appearance, sexual curiosity, and sexual performance proper. In addition, subjects assigned increased importance to sex without emotional involvement. These effects were uniform across gender and populations.

4) Influence of popular erotica on judgments of strangers and mates (1989) – Excerpt:

In Experiment 2, male and female subjects were exposed to opposite sex erotica. In the second study, there was an interaction of subject sex with stimulus condition upon sexual attraction ratings. Decremental effects of centerfold exposure were found only for male subjects exposed to female nudes. Males who found the Playboy-type centerfolds more pleasant rated themselves as less in love with their wives.

5) Men’s leisure and women’s lives: The impact of pornography on women (1999) – Excerpt:

The section of the interview where the women discussed their own current or past relationships with men revealed additional insight into the effect of pornography on such relationships. Fifteen of the women were in, or had been in, relationships with men who rented or bought pornography at least on an occasional basis. Of these 15 women, four expressed strong dislike of their husband’s or partner’s leisure time interest in pornography. It was clear that the husbands’ use of pornography affected the wives’ feeling about themselves, their sexual feelings, and their marital relationships in general

6) Adult Social Bonds and Use of Internet Pornography (2004) – Excerpt:

Complete data on 531 Internet users are taken from the General Social Surveys for 2000. Social bonds measures include religious, marital, and political ties. Measures of participation in sexual and drug-related deviant lifestyles, and demographic controls are included. The results of a logistic regression analysis found that among the strongest predictors of use of cyberporn were weak ties to religion and lack of a happy marriage.

7) Sex in America Online: An Exploration of Sex, Marital Status, and Sexual Identity in Internet Sex Seeking and Its Impacts (2008) – Excerpt:

This was an exploratory study of sex and relationship seeking on the Internet, based on a survey of 15,246 respondents in the United States Seventy-five percent of men and 41% of women had intentionally viewed or downloaded porn. Men and gays/lesbians were more likely to access porn or engage in other sex-seeking behaviors online compared with straights or women. A symmetrical relationship was revealed between men and women as a result of viewing pornography, with women reporting more negative consequences, including lowered body image, partner critical of their body, increased pressure to perform acts seen in pornographic films, and less actual sex, while men reported being more critical of their partners’ body and less interested in actual sex.

8) Adolescents’ Exposure to Sexually Explicit Internet Material and Sexual Satisfaction: A Longitudinal Study (2009) – Excerpt:

Between May 2006 and May 2007, we conducted a three-wave panel survey among 1,052 Dutch adolescents aged 13–20. Structural equation modeling revealed that exposure to SEIM consistently reduced adolescents’ sexual satisfaction. Lower sexual satisfaction (in Wave 2) also increased the use of SEIM (in Wave 3). The effect of exposure to SEIM on sexual satisfaction did not differ among male and female adolescents.

9) Wives’ Experience of Husbands’ Pornography Use and Concomitant Deception as an Attachment Threat in the Adult Pair-Bond Relationship (2009) – Excerpt:

Evidence is growing that pornography use can negatively impact attachment trust in the adult pair-bond relationship. Analyses uncovered three attachment-related impacts from husbands’ pornography use and deception: (1) the development of an attachment fault line in the relationship, stemming from perceived attachment infidelity; (2) followed by a widening attachment rift arising from wives’ sense of distance and disconnection from their husbands; (3) culminating in attachment estrangement from a sense of being emotionally and psychologically unsafe in the relationship. Overall, wives reported global mistrust indicative of attachment breakdown.

10) Sexual media use and relational satisfaction in heterosexual couples (2010)

Sharing porn was better than using alone. But how many couples use porn together? Not too many. Porn use is still bad for men. Excerpt:

This study assessed how sexual media use by one or both members of a romantic dyad relates to relationship and sexual satisfaction. A total of 217 heterosexual couples completed an Internet survey that assessed sexual media use, relationship and sexual satisfaction, and demographic variables. Results revealed that a higher frequency of men’s sexual media use related to negative satisfaction in men, while a higher frequency of women’s sexual media use related to positive satisfaction in male partners. Reasons for sexual media use differed by gender: Men reported primarily using sexual media for masturbation, while women reported primarily using sexual media as part of lovemaking with their partners. Shared sexual media use was associated with higher relational satisfaction compared to solitary sexual media use.

11) Exploring actor and partner correlates of sexual satisfaction among married couples (2010) – Excerpt:

Using the Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction, we consider how infidelity, pornography consumption, marital satisfaction, sexual frequency, premarital sex, and cohabitation are associated with married couples’ sexual satisfaction. Data from 433 couples are analyzed with structural equation models to determine the contributions. Finally, some evidence suggests that pornography consumption is costly for own and spouse’s sexual satisfaction, especially when pornography is used by only one spouse.

12) Individuals who never viewed SEM reported higher relationship quality on all indices than those who viewed SEM alone (2011) – Excerpt:

As expected, individuals who did not view SEM (sexually explicit material) at all reported lower negative communication and higher dedication than individuals who viewed SEM alone or both alone and with their partner.

13) Associations between young adults’ use of sexually explicit materials and their sexual preferences, behaviors, and satisfaction (2011) – Excerpts:

Higher frequencies of sexual explicit material (SEM) use were associated with less sexual and relationship satisfaction. The frequency of SEM use and number of SEM types viewed were both associated with higher sexual preferences for the types of sexual practices typically presented in SEM. These findings suggest that SEM use can play a significant role in a variety of aspects of young adults’ sexual development processes.

Specifically, higher viewing frequency was associated with less sexual and relationship satisfaction when controlling for gender, religiosity, dating status and the number of SEM types viewed.

Because a substantial proportion of the young adults in this study reported using SEM, the potential implications are especially noteworthy, particularly for young men.

14) Viewing Sexually-Explicit Materials Alone or Together: Associations with Relationship Quality (2011) – Excerpt:

This study investigated associations between viewing sexually-explicit material (SEM) and relationship functioning in a random sample of 1291 unmarried individuals in romantic relationships. More men (76.8%) than women (31.6%) reported that they viewed SEM on their own, but nearly half of both men and women reported sometimes viewing SEM with their partner (44.8%).

Individuals who never viewed SEM reported higher relationship quality on all indices than those who viewed SEM alone. Those who viewed SEM only with their partners reported more dedication and higher sexual satisfaction than those who viewed SEM alone. The only difference between those who never viewed SEM and those who viewed it only with their partners was that those who never viewed it had lower rates of infidelity.

15) Pornography and divorce (2011) – Excerpt:

We test whether pornography causes divorce. Using state-level panel data on the divorce rate and sales of Playboy magazine, we document a strong cross-sectional and time-series relation between lagged sales of Playboy and the divorce rate. The simple correlation between divorce and sales lagged two years is 44 percent, with a T-statistic of 20. This large correlation is robust to using only the first half of the sample, adjusting for all state-level heterogeneity and for any time trends by including state and year fixed effects, and using an instrumental variable to correct for any possible endogeneity in Playboy sales. Divorce rates are also significantly correlated with sales of Penthouse but they are not correlated with sales of Time magazine. Our overall estimates suggest that pornography probably caused 10 percent of all divorces in the United States in the sixties and seventies.

16) Young Adult Women’s Reports of Their Male Romantic Partner’s Pornography Use as a Correlate of Their Self-Esteem, Relationship Quality, and Sexual Satisfaction (2012) – Excerpt:

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between men’s pornography use, both frequency and problematic use, on their heterosexual female partner’s psychological and relational well-being among 308 young adult college women. Results revealed women’s reports of their male partner’s frequency of pornography use were negatively associated with their relationship quality. More perceptions of problematic use of pornography was negatively correlated with self-esteem, relationship quality, and sexual satisfaction.

17) Pornography use: who uses it and how it is associated with couple outcomes (2013) – Excerpt:

This study examined associations among pornography use, the meaning people attach to its use, sexual quality, and relationship satisfaction. Participants were couples (N = 617 couples) who were either married or cohabiting at the time the data were gathered. Overall results from this study indicated substantial gender differences in terms of use profiles, as well as pornography’s association with relationship factors. Specifically, male pornography use was negatively associated with both male and female sexual quality, whereas female pornography use was positively associated with female sexual quality.

18) Internet Pornography Exposure and Women’s Attitude Towards Extramarital Sex: An Exploratory Study (2013) – Excerpt:

This exploratory study assessed the association between adult U.S. women’s exposure to Internet pornography and attitude towards extramarital sex using data provided by the General Social Survey (GSS). A positive association between Internet pornography viewing and more positive extramarital sex attitudes was found.

19) The use of pornography and sexual behaviour among Norwegian men and women of differing sexual orientation (2013)

Hidden away in the study: Greater pornography use in men was correlated with lower sexual satisfaction (or “greater sexual dissatisfaction”).

20) Pornography and Marriage (2014) – The abstract:

We used data on 20,000 ever-married adults in the General Social Survey to examine the relationship between watching pornographic films and various measures of marital well-being. We found that adults who had watched an X-rated movie in the past year were more likely to be divorced, more likely to have had an extramarital affair, and less likely to report being happy with their marriage or happy overall. [Our study] also found that, for men, pornography use reduced the positive relationship between frequency of sex and happiness.

Finally, we found that the negative relationship between pornography use and marital well-being has, if anything, grown stronger over time, during a period in which pornography has become both more explicit and more easily available.

21) More than a dalliance? Pornography consumption and extramarital sex attitudes among married U.S. adults (2014) – Excerpts:

This brief report used national panel data gathered from two separate samples of married U.S. adults. Data were gathered from the first sample in 2006 and in 2008. Data were gathered from the second sample in 2008 and in 2010. Consistent with a social learning perspective on media, prior pornography consumption was correlated with more positive subsequent extramarital sex attitudes in both samples, even after controlling for earlier extramarital sex attitudes and nine additional potential confounds.

In total, the results of the present study are consistent with the theoretical premise that pornography consumption leads to the acquisition and activation of sexual scripts, which are then used by many consumers to inform their sexual attitudes (Wright, 2013a; Wright et al., 2012a).

22) Korean Men’s Pornography use, Their Interest in Extreme Pornography, and Dyadic Sexual Relationships (2014) – Excerpt:

Six-hundred eighty-five heterosexual South Korean male college students participated in an online survey. The majority (84.5%) of respondents had viewed pornography, and for those who were sexually active (470 respondents), we found that higher interest in degrading or extreme pornography was associated with the experience of role-playing sexual scenes from pornography with a partner, and a preference for using pornography to achieve and maintain sexual excitement over having sex with a partner.

We found that higher interest in viewing degrading or extreme pornography … has a significant positive … association with sexual concerns.

23) Pornography and the Male Sexual Script: An Analysis of Consumption and Sexual Relations (2014) – Excerpt:

We argue pornography creates a sexual script that then guides sexual experiences. To test this, we surveyed 487 college men (ages 18-29 years) in the United States to compare their rate of pornography use with sexual preferences and concerns. Results showed the more pornography a man watches, the more likely he was to use it during sex, request particular pornographic sex acts of his partner, deliberately conjure images of pornography during sex to maintain arousal, and have concerns over his own sexual performance and body image. Further, higher pornography use was negatively associated with enjoying sexually intimate behaviors with a partner.

24) Psychological, Relational, and Sexual Correlates of Pornography Use on Young Adult Heterosexual Men in Romantic Relationships (2014) – Excerpt:

Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine theorized antecedents (i.e., gender role conflict and attachment styles) and consequences (i.e., poorer relationship quality and sexual satisfaction) of men’s pornography use among 373 young adult heterosexual men. Findings revealed that both frequency of pornography use and problematic pornography use were related to greater gender role conflict, more avoidant and anxious attachment styles, poorer relationship quality, and less sexual satisfaction. In addition, the findings provided support for a theorized mediated model in which gender role conflict was linked to relational outcomes both directly and indirectly via attachment styles and pornography use.

25) Associations between relational sexual behaviour, pornography use, and pornography acceptance among US college students (2014) – Excerpt:

Using a sample of 792 emerging adults, the present study explored how the combined examination of pornography use, acceptance, and sexual behaviour within a relationship might offer insight into emerging adults’ development. Results suggested clear gender differences in both pornography use and acceptance patterns.

High male pornography use tended to be associated with high engagement in sex within a relationship and was associated with elevated risk-taking behaviours.

High female pornography use was not associated with engagement in sexual behaviours within a relationship and was general associated with negative mental health outcomes.

26) IASR Fortieth Annual Meeting Book of Abstracts – Dubrovnik, Hrvatska, 25.-28. lipnja, 2014

This is an abstract of a presentation given by Landripet and Stulhofer at a sexology conference. These 2 researchers published a portion of their data in this “brief communication,” which is cited as finding no relationship between porn use and sexual problems. In reality, their “brief communication” doesn’t mention a pretty important correlation mentioned in their paper: Only 40% of the Portuguese men used porn “frequently,” while the 60% of the Norwegians used porn “frequently.” The Portuguese men had far less sexual dysfunction than the Norwegians. In a shocking move, Landripet & Stulhofer omitted three other correlations between porn use and sexual problems which they presented to at the Dubrovnik conference:

However, increased pornography use was slightly but significantly associated with decreased interest for partnered sex and more prevalent sexual dysfunction among women.

Reporting a preference for specific pornographic genres were significantly associated with erectile, but not ejaculatory or desire-related male sexual dysfunction.

Omission

It’s quite telling that Landripet & Stulhofer chose to omit a significant correlation between erectile dysfunction and preferences for specific genres of porn from their “brief” paper. It’s quite common for porn users to escalate into genres that do not match their original sexual tastes. It is then common for them to experience ED when these conditioned porn preferences do not match real sexual encounters. As pointed out in this review of the literature (and this critique of Landripet & Stulhofer), it’s very important to assess the multiple variables associated with porn use – not just hours in the last month, or frequency in the last year.

27) Factors Predicting Cybersex Use and Difficulties in Forming Intimate Relationships among Male and Female Users of Cybersex (2015) – Excerpt:

This study used the Cybersex addiction test, Craving for pornography questionnaire, and a Questionnaire on intimacy among 267 participants (192 males and 75 females) mean age for males 28 and for females 25, who were recruited from special sites that are dedicated to pornography and cybersex on the Internet.

Results of regression analysis indicated that pornography, gender, and cybersex significantly predicted difficulties in intimacy and it accounted for 66.1% of the variance of rating on the intimacy questionnaire. Second, regression analysis also indicated that craving for pornography, gender, and difficulties in forming intimate relationships significantly predicted frequency of cybersex use and it accounted for 83.7% of the variance in ratings of cybersex use.

28) Male Partners’ Perceived Pornography Use and Women’s Relational and Psychological Health: The Roles of Trust, Attitudes, and Investment (2015) – Excerpt:

Results revealed that women’s reports of their male partners’ pornography use were related to less relationship satisfaction and more psychological distress. Results from the moderation analyses indicated that the direct effect of male partners’ perceived pornography use and relationship trust and the conditional indirect effects of male partners’ perceived pornography use on both relationship satisfaction and psychological distress were contingent on relationship investment.

These findings indicated that when male partners’ perceived pornography use is high, women who have low or mean levels of relationship investment have less relationship trust. Finally, our results revealed that the relationship between male partners’ perceived pornography use and relational and psychological outcomes exist regardless of women’s own attitudes toward pornography

29) Relationship of love and marital satisfaction with pornography among married university students in Birjand, Iran (2015) – Excerpts:

This descriptive-correlation study was conducted on 310 married students studying at private and public universities in Birjand, in 2012-2013 academic year using random quota sampling method. It appears that pornography has a negative impact on love and marital satisfaction.

30) From Bad to Worse? Pornography Consumption, Spousal Religiosity, Gender, and Marital Quality (2016) – Excerpts:

I test the above hypotheses using data from Wave 1 of the Portraits of American Life Study (PALS), which was fielded in 2006. PALS is a nationally representative panel survey with questions focusing on a variety of topics…. Looking at bivariate correlations, for the full sample, viewing pornography is negatively associated with overall marital satisfaction, suggesting that those who view pornography more often tend to be less satisfied in their marriage than those who view pornography less often or never

31) Sexually explicit media use and relationship satisfaction a moderating role of emotional intimacy? (2016)

The authors attempted to obfuscate their findings in the abstract by stating that once sexual and relationship variables were “controlled for,” they found no link between porn use and relationship satisfaction. Reality: The study found significant correlations between porn use and poorer relationship and sexual satisfaction in both males and females. Excerpt from discussion section:

For both men and women, significant, yet modest negative zero-order correlations between SEM use and relationship satisfaction were found, indicating that increased SEM use was associated with lower relationship satisfaction across gender.

32) Effect of soft core pornography on female sexuality (2016) – Excerpt:

An overall 51.6% of participants who were aware that their husbands were positive watchers reported experiencing negative emotions (depression, jealous), whereas 77% reported changes in their husbands’ attitude. Non-watchers watchers were more satisfied with their sexual life compared with their counterparts. Although watching soft-core pornography had a statistically significant effect on sexual desire, vaginal lubrication, ability to reach orgasm, and masturbation, it had no statistically significant effect on coital frequency. Watching soft-core pornography affects female sexual life by increasing sexual boredom in both men and women, causing relational difficulties.

32) A Common-Fate Analysis of Pornography Acceptance, Use, and Sexual Satisfaction Among Heterosexual Married Couples (2016) – Excerpt:

Results indicated that the shared variance of pornography acceptance was positively associated with both spouses’ pornography use and that spouses’ pornography use was negatively associated with their own sexual satisfaction. Wives’ pornography use was found to be positively associated with the couple’s shared variance of sexual satisfaction, but pornography use did not significantly mediate the relationship between pornography acceptance and sexual satisfaction.

34) Differences in Pornography Use Among Couples: Associations with Satisfaction, Stability, and Relationship Processes (2016) – Excerpt:

The present study utilized a sample of 1755 adult couples in heterosexual romantic relationships to examine how different patterns of pornography use between romantic partners may be associated with relationship outcomes. While pornography use has been generally associated with some negative and some positive couple outcomes, no study has yet explored how differences between partners may uniquely be associated with relationship well-being.

Results suggested that greater discrepancies between partners in pornography use were related to less relationship satisfaction, less stability, less positive communication, and more relational aggression. Mediation analyses suggested that greater pornography use discrepancies were primarily associated with elevated levels of male relational aggression, lower female sexual desire, and less positive communication for both partners which then predicted lower relational satisfaction and stability for both partners.

35) Internet Pornography Consumption and Relationship Commitment of Filipino Married Individuals (2016) – Excerpt:

Internet pornography has many adverse effects, especially to the relationship commitment. The use of pornography directly correlates to a decrease in sexual intimacy. Hence, this might lead to weakening of the relationship of their partner. To find out the relevance of the claim, the researchers aimed to explore the relationship of Internet pornography consumption to the relationship commitment of married individuals in the Philippines.

It is revealed that Internet pornography consumption has an adverse effect on the relationship commitment of married Filipino couples. Furthermore, watching porn online weakened the relationship commitment that leads to an unstable relationship. This investigation found out that internet pornography consumption has a nominal negative effect on the relationship commitment of Filipino married individuals.

36) Perceptions of relationship satisfaction and addictive behavior: Comparing pornography and marijuana use (2016) – Excerpt:

This study contributes to the broader literature on how pornography use impacts perceptions of romantic relationships. [It] examined if negative outcomes due to a romantic partner’s excessive pornography use are different than negative outcomes produced by other compulsive or addictive behaviors, specifically marijuana use. This study suggests that problematic partner pornography use and problematic partner marijuana use are perceived to similarly impact romantic relationships and contribute to a decrease in relationship satisfaction.

37) The effects of sexually explicit material use on romantic relationship dynamics (2016) – Excerpts:

More specifically, couples, where no one used, reported more relationship satisfaction than those couples that had individual users. This is consistent with the previous research (Cooper et al., 1999; Manning, 2006), demonstrating that the solitary use of sexually explicit material results in negative consequences.

With gender effects held constant, individual users reported significantly less intimacy and commitment in their relationships than non-users and shared users.

Overall, how frequently someone views sexually explicit material can have an impact on users’ consequences. Our study found that high frequency users are more likely to have lower relationship satisfaction and intimacy in their romantic relationships.

38) Cyberpornography: Time Use, Perceived Addiction, Sexual Functioning, and Sexual Satisfaction (2016) – Excerpt:

First, even when controlling for perceived addiction to cyberpornography and overall sexual functioning, cyberpornography use remained directly associated with sexual dissatisfaction. Even though this negative direct association was of small magnitude, time spent viewing cyberpornography seems to be a robust predictor of lower sexual satisfaction.

39) Relationship quality predicts online sexual activities among Chinese heterosexual men and women in committed relationships (2016) – Excerpt:

In this study, we examined the online sexual activities (OSAs) of Chinese men and women in committed relationships, with a focus on the characteristics of OSAs and the factors prompting men and women with steady partners to engage in OSAs. Almost 89% of the participants reported OSA experiences in the past 12 months even when they had a real-life partner. As predicted, individuals with lower relationship quality in real life, including low relationship satisfaction, insecure attachment, and negative communication patterns, engaged in OSAs more frequently. Overall, our results suggest that variables influencing offline infidelity may also influence online infidelity.

40) The Role of Internet Pornography Use and Cyber Infidelity in the Associations between Personality, Attachment, and Couple and Sexual Satisfaction (2017) – Excerpts:

Our results indicated that pornography use is associated with couple and sexual difficulties through increased cyber infidelity.

Pornography use was negatively related to sexual satisfaction for men, but positively for women. In men, pornography use is associated with higher sexual desire, stimulation, and gratification. However, these effects may lead to decreased sexual desire their partner and decreased sexual satisfaction within the couple.

41) The Development of the Problematic Pornography Consumption Scale (PPCS) (2017)

This paper’s goal was the creation of a problematic porn use questionnaire. In the process included validating the instruments. The researchers found that higher scores on the porn use questionnaire were related to lower sexual satisfaction. An excerpt:

Satisfaction with sexual life was weakly and negatively correlated with PPCS scores.

42) Explicit Sexual Movie Viewing in the United States According to Selected Marriage and Lifestyle, Work and Financial, Religion and Political Factors (2017) – Excerpts:

Analyses involved 11,372 adults who responded to questions about demographics and explicitly sexual movie use in the General Social Survey (GSS) from 2000 to 2014. Viewing such movies was related to less happiness in marriage, multiple sex partners in past year, less satisfaction with one’s financial situation, no religious preference, and a more liberal political orientation.

Explicit sexual movie viewing is associated with factors from diverse domains, including poorer relationship quality, more liberal sexual views and practices, poorer economic conditions, lower religious orientation or commitment, and more liberal political views.

43) Associative pathways between pornography consumption and reduced sexual satisfaction (2017) – Excerpt:

Guided by sexual script theory, social comparison theory, and informed by prior research on pornography, socialization, and sexual satisfaction, the present survey study of heterosexual adults tested a conceptual model linking more frequent pornography consumption to reduced sexual satisfaction via the perception that pornography is a primary source of sexual information, a preference for pornographic over partnered sexual excitement, and the devaluation of sexual communication. The model was supported by the data for both men and women.

Pornography consumption frequency was associated with perceiving pornography as a primary source of sexual information, which was associated with a preference for pornographic over partnered sexual excitement and the devaluation of sexual communication. Preferring pornographic to partnered sexual excitement and devaluing sexual communication were both associated with less sexual satisfaction.

44) The pervasive role of sex mindset: Beliefs about the malleability of sexual life is linked to higher levels of relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction and lower levels of problematic pornography use (2017) – Excerpt:

The examined model showed that growth sex mindset had moderate positive association with sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction while problematic pornography use only showed a negative, but weak one.

45) He’s Just Not That Into Anyone: the Impact of Sex Fantasy on Attraction (2017)

This “extended abstract” discusses 4 experiments that involved fantasizing about sexual stimuli. All results suggested that sexual fantasy reduces desire for romantic relationships. Excerpt:

Engaging in sexual fantasy increases attraction to sexual targets, but decreases attraction to romantic targets. This research adds to the literature on sex fantasy, attraction, and offers practical implications on porn watching, sex in advertising, and relationships.

46) Is the Relationship Between Pornography Consumption Frequency and Lower Sexual Satisfaction Curvilinear? Results From England and Germany (2017) – Excerpts:

Several studies using different methods have found that pornography consumption is associated with lower sexual satisfaction. The language used by media-effects scholars in discussions of this association implies an expectation that lowered satisfaction is primarily due to frequent-but not infrequent-consumption. Actual analyses, however, have assumed linearity. Linear analyses presuppose that for each increase in the frequency of pornography consumption there is a correspondingly equivalent decrease in sexual satisfaction.

Survey data from two studies of heterosexual adults, one conducted in England and the other in Germany, were employed. Results were parallel in each country and were not moderated by gender. Simple slope analyses suggested that when the frequency of consumption reaches once a month, sexual satisfaction begins to decrease, and that the magnitude of the decrease becomes larger with each increase in the frequency of consumption.

47) Personal Pornography Viewing and Sexual Satisfaction: A Quadratic Analysis (2017) – Excerpts

This article presents results from a survey of approximately 1,500 U.S. adults. Quadratic analyses indicated a curvilinear relationship between personal pornography viewing and sexual satisfaction in the form of a predominately negative, concave downward curve. The nature of the curvilinearity did not differ as a function of participants’ gender, relationship status, or religiosity.

For all groups, negative simple slopes were present when viewing reached once a month or more. These results are correlational only. However, if an effects perspective were adopted, they would suggest that consuming pornography less than once a month has little or no impact on satisfaction, that reductions in satisfaction tend to initiate once viewing reaches once a month, and that additional increases in the frequency of viewing lead to disproportionately larger decrements in satisfaction.

48) The Survey of Sexual Health and Pornography among Divorce-Asking Women in West Azerbaijan-Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study (2017) – Excerpts:

One of the factors affecting the incidence of divorce and relationship problems between couples is the sexual and marital behaviors. There are several different reasons to suspect that pornography might affect divorce in either a positive or a negative way. Therefore this study evaluated the sexual health of divorce-asking in Urmia, Iran.

Conclusions: The results of the study indicated that who had low sexual satisfaction score, had higher rate of watching pornography clips. Based on current study, paying attention to family education and counseling programs especially in the sexual field will be more fruitful.

49) Pornography consumption of young adults in the context of gender stereotypes and sexual behaviour (2017) – Excerpts:

In the empirical study an online questionnaire about consumption habits and sexual behaviour was filled in by 130 young adults between 18 and 30 years. While there are less accurate coherences of female pornography consumption habits, males could feel possible influences in their sex-life, because of an higher pornography consumption frequency. The pornography consumption habits of men are correlating negatively with the reported frequency of sexual intercourse and ratings of their sexual life.

50) Pornography consumption and its association with sexual concerns and expectations among young men and women (2017) – Excerpts:

Multivariate regression analyses revealed that visual pornography viewership was uniquely associated with higher partner performance expectations among women. Among men, visual pornography viewership was uniquely associated with body- and performance-related cognitive distractions during sexual activity. Literary pornography use was not uniquely associated with these variables among men or women. The results of this investigation suggest that individuals who consume visual pornography may experience some forms of sexual insecurity and sexual expectations related to their pornography use.

51) The Role of Internet Pornography Use and Cyber Infidelity in the Associations between Personality, Attachment, and Couple and Sexual Satisfaction (2017)

In addition to increased fidelity, porn use was also correlated with poorer sexual & relationship satisfaction. Excerpts:

Many researchers and clinicians have attempted to identify variables related to couple and sexual satisfaction. Some have focused on personality [26] [27] , others on attachment [33] , sexuality [34] , conflicts, violence, lack of commitment [73] , and many other variables. New behaviors surrounding computer technologies, specifically pornography use and cyber infidelity, are social, cultural, and relational issues, and need to be included in new explanatory models. Our results indicated that pornography use is associated with couple and sexual difficulties through increased cyber infidelity. These original findings confirm the existence of “modern” forms of infidelity. While previous studies have suggested that these virtual relationships do not represent a “real” physical transgression of couple norms or a betrayal of one’s partner [55] , our empirical data is evidence to the contrary.

52) Pornography Use: Its Impact On Heterosexual Men’s Lives & Romantic Relationship (2018) – Excerpts:

180 males aged 18 – 29 years responded to the Pornography Use Scale, Pornography Consumption Effect Scale (PCES), and Investment Model Scale. Our study demonstrates that the more pornography males used, the more problems it created in their lives. Similarly, the men’s perception of negative effects of pornography increased and their perception of the positive effects of pornography decreased with increased use of pornography.

As pornography use in males increase, their commitment, satisfaction and investment in their romantic relationships decrease, while their perception of attractive alternatives outside their relationship increases.

53) Pornography use, marital status and sexual satisfaction in a non-clinical sample (2018) – Excerpts:

In the present study, the association between sexual satisfaction and frequency of pornography use was examined, as well as the effect of marital status and its interaction with frequency of pornography use. A sample of 204 people completed an online survey. Results suggest that sexual satisfaction is negatively associated with frequency of pornography use. Marital status also correlated significantly with sexual satisfaction, but the effect of the interaction between both independent variables was not significant.

54) Pornography Consumption and Sexual Satisfaction in a Korean Sample (2018) – Excerpts:

This research report assessed pornography consumption and sexual satisfaction in a heterosexual sample of Korean adults. Consistent with prior studies, the linear association between pornography consumption and satisfaction was negative and significant. However, the addition of a quadratic term to the equation increased model fit. Interaction effect analyses revealed an inverted U relationship for both men and women, such that occasional pornography consumption was associated with higher satisfaction, while consumption with any degree of regularity was associated with lower satisfaction. Further assessments showed that the negative relationship between more regular pornography consumption and lower satisfaction was slightly more marked for women, while the positive relationship between intermittent pornography consumption and higher satisfaction was slightly more marked for men. The nature of the relationship between pornography consumption and satisfaction was similar for religious and nonreligious people and for people in a relationship and not in a relationship.

55) Is Women’s Problematic Pornography Viewing Related to Body Image or Relationship Satisfaction? (2018) – Excerpts:

We specifically examined the relationships between viewing frequency and problematic viewing constructs on body image and relationship satisfaction in women….. Also regarding H1, viewing frequency was significantly negatively associated with women’s relationship satisfaction at the bivariate level.

56) Behind Closed Doors: Individual and Joint Pornography Use Among Romantic Couples (2018)

Note: The % of women in relationships that regularly use porn is not very high. So findings that higher porn use for females is related to greater sexual desire is based on a tiny percentage of females who regularly use porn. Cross-sectional data from the largest nationally representative US survey (General Social Survey) reported that only 2.6% of married women had visited a “pornographic website” in the last month. Data from 2000, 2002, 2004 (for more see Pornography and Marriage, 2014).

Excerpts:

Using a dyadic data set of 240 committed heterosexual couples from the United States, we explored actor and partner associations between pornography use, sexual dynamics, and relational well-being. We also explored how couple pornography use and partner knowledge of pornography use were associated with well-being. Results suggested that female pornography use was associated with higher female sexual desire but no other dependent variables. Male pornography use was associated with a wide array of negative well-being indicators, including less male and female relationship satisfaction, lower female sexual desire, and lower male positive communication. Couple pornography use was associated with higher reported sexual satisfaction for both partners but no other well-being indicators.

57) Influences of Sociosexuality and Commitment on Online Sexual Activities: The Mediating Effect of Perceptions of Infidelity (2019) – Excerpt:

The perceived infidelity of online sexual activity (OSA) has been noted as an important factor contributing to individual differences in OSA among people in romantic relationships. OSAs were classified as viewing sexually explicit material, seeking sexual partners, cybersex, and flirting. Participants were 313 heterosexuals in romantic relationships who completed measures of OSA experience, sociosexuality, commitment, and perceptions of infidelity. The results showed that more unrestricted sociosexuality and less commitment were associated with more frequent engagement in OSAs.

58) Pornography, preference for porn‐like sex, masturbation, and men’s sexual and relationship satisfaction (2019)

Questionable write-up, and playing games with the data, obscures the actual findings: Both studies (not just study 2) reported more porn use related to less sexual and relationship satisfaction. This paper attempts to blame masturbation, not porn, for relationship dissatisfaction. However, there is no legitimate method to tease masturbation apart from porn use. Excerpts:

Frequent pornography use was associated with sexual dissatisfaction, greater preference for porn‐like sex, and more frequent masturbation in both studies. Pornography use was associated with relationship dissatisfaction in Study 2 only (not true)…

59) Examining sexual motivation profiles and their correlates using latent profile analysis (2019)

The write-up of this 2019 study leaves a lot to be desired. That said this figure #4 from the full paper reveals a lot. Problematic porn use is strongly related to poorer scores on four factors. They were harmonious sexual passion (HSP); obsessive sexual passion (OSP); sexual satisfaction (SEXSAT); life ​satisfaction (LIFESAT). Simply put, problematic porn use was linked to far lower scores on lower sexual passion, sexual satisfaction & life satisfaction (group to the right). In comparison, the group that scored highest on all these measures had the least problematic porn use (group to left).

60) Pornography and Heterosexual Women’s Intimate Experiences with a Partner (2019) – Excerpts:

We surveyed 706 heterosexual women (18-29 years of age) in the United States, associating consumption of pornography with sexual preferences, experiences, and concerns. Among female consumers who were sexually active, higher rates of consumption for masturbation were associated with increased mental activation of the pornographic script during sex-heightened recall of pornographic images during sex with a partner, heightened reliance on pornography for achieving and maintaining arousal, and a preference for pornography consumption over sex with a partner. Furthermore, higher activation of the pornographic script during sex, rather than simply viewing pornographic material, was also associated with higher rates of insecurities about their appearance and diminished enjoyment of intimate acts such as kissing or caressing during sex with a partner.

61) Affection substitution: The effect of pornography consumption on close relationships (2019)

The abstract attempts to obfuscate the basic correlations , which were pretty straightforward: More porn use was related to greater depression & loneliness/less relationship satisfaction & closeness. Excerpts:

In this study, 357 adults reported their level of affection deprivation, their weekly pornography consumption, their goals for using pornography (including life satisfaction and loneliness reduction), and indicators of their individual and relational wellness…. As predicted, affection deprivation and pornography consumption were inversely related to relational satisfaction and closeness, while being positively related to loneliness and depression.

62) Underlying Mechanisms Affecting the Relationship Between Sexually Explicit Material Consumption and Relationship Satisfaction in Long-term Relationships (2019) – Excerpt:

However, SEM consumption was negatively related to relationship satisfaction among heterosexual, but not gay or lesbian individuals. This study explored the processes underlying the relationship between SEM and relationship satisfaction by applying evolutionary mechanisms relevant to human mating.

63) Prevalence, Patterns and Self-Perceived Effects of Pornography Consumption in Polish University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study (2019)

Large study (n = 6463) on male & female college students (median age 22) reports relatively high levels of porn addiction (15%), escalation of porn use (tolerance), withdrawal symptoms, and porn-related sexual & relationship problems. Relevant excerpts:

The most common self-perceived adverse​ effects of pornography use included: the need for longer stimulation (12.0%) and more sexual stimuli​ (17.6%) to reach orgasm, and a decrease in sexual satisfaction (24.5%)…

Age of first exposure was significantly associated with reported need for longer stimulation and more sexual stimuli to reach orgasm when using pornography, decrease in sexual satisfaction, and quality of romantic relationship…

In the opinion of the majority of the surveyed students, pornography use may have a negative effect on the quality of social relationships (58.7%), mental health (63.9%) and sexual performance (67.7%)….

64) Sexual and reproductive health and rights in Sweden 2017 (2019)

A 2017 survey by The Swedish Public Health Authority contains a section discussing their findings on pornography. This study is in the previous section, also. Greater pornography use was related to poorer sexual health and decreased sexual dissatisfaction. Excerpts:

Forty-one percent of men aged 16 to 29 are frequent users of pornography, i.e. they consume pornography on a daily basis or almost on a daily basis. The corresponding percent among women is 3 percent. Our results also show an association between frequent pornography consumption and poorer sexual health, and an association with transactional sex, too high expectations of one’s sexual performance, and dissatisfaction with one’s sex life. Almost half of the population state that their pornography consumption does not affect their sex life, while a third do not know if it affects it or not. A small percentage of both women and men say their pornography use has a negative effect on their sex life. It was more common among men with higher education to regularly use pornography compared to men with lower education.

There is a need for more knowledge on the link between pornography consumption and health. An important preventive piece is to discuss the negative consequences of pornography with boys and young men, and school is a natural place to do this.

65) Which Dimensions of Human Sexuality Are Related to Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD)? Study Using a Multidimensional Sexuality Questionnaire on a Sample of Polish Males (2019)

The study compared a group of treatment-seeking male porn users to a control group of males from the general population. The treatment-seeking men reported significantly higher rates of porn use (though most of the controls used porn). Higher rates of porn use were related to:

• feeling more depressed about one’s sex life
• less satisfaction with one’s sex life
• greater fear of sexual relationships
• greater sexual anxiety
• lower sexual esteem
• less sexual motivation

66) Effect of pornography on married couples (2019)

A rare Egyptian study. While the study reports porn use increasing parameters of arousal, the long-term effects don’t match porn’s short-term effects.

The study shows that watching pornography has a statistically positive correlation with years of marriage. This was in agreement with Goldberg et al. ¹⁴ who stated that pornography is highly addictive.

There is a highly negative correlation between satisfaction of sexual life and watching pornography as 68.5% of positive watchers are not satisfied with their sexual life.

Pornography increases masturbation among 74.6% of watchers, but it could not help to reach orgasm among 61.5% of them. Pornography watching increases the incidence of divorce (33.8%) (P = 0.001).

Conclusion: Pornography has a negative effect on marital relation.

Table from the study:

67) A Psychological Perspective of Craving Towards Pornography and Its Effect on Relationship Satisfaction and Sexual Attitude (2020) – Excerpts:

The results indicate that there exists an insignificant relationship between pornography craving among dating and non-dating males. Hence, the hypothesis was not supported. The reason for no significant relationship found between dating and non-dating males might be due to the dearth of sample size. Though, there is a slight difference in the mean of dating scores and non-dating scores i.e. dating mean score is lower than non-dating scores. This indicates that both the groups watch such content on nearly equal level. The present study found that there was a negative correlation (-0.303) between pornography craving and couple satisfaction. This indicates that higher is crave for pornography, lower will be the relationship satisfaction.

68) Are Playboy (and girl) Norms Behind the Relationship Problems Associated with Pornography Viewing in Men and Women?

The basic correlations: higher frequency of porn use (and problematic porn use) correlated with poorer relationship satisfaction and less commitment for both men & women. Excerpts:

Furthermore, we controlled for the role of sexual orientation. Our results were partially consistent with our hypotheses. Consistent with H1, pornography viewing frequency was modestly negatively correlated with relationship satisfaction for men (and women) when playboy norms were not entered in the model. The size of the correlations was also roughly commensurate with metanalytic findings from Wright and colleagues’ (2017). Moreover, problematic pornography viewing was also modestly inversely related to relationship satisfaction in men (and women). Similarly, partially consistent with H2, pornography viewing frequency was modestly negatively correlated with relationship commitment in men (and women) when playboy norms were not entered in the model.

I find studies like this annoying. Seems like the authors injected a variable (“Playboy Norms”) that cannot be teased apart from porn use. We know that porn shapes sexual norms. I tweeted about this attempt to downplay the study’s basic correlations. How can behaviors/attitudes be factored out when porn use shapes sexual attitudes & behaviors. This includes “Playboy Norms”, or any other sexual assessment one might choose to employ. Employing variables to downplay relevant correlations is called an “Everest regression”. The Everest Regression is what happens when you “control” for a fundamental variable when comparing two populations. For example after controlling for height, Mount Everest is room temperature. Porn studies often employ this strategy to obfuscate findings that place porn in a negative light.

69) Does Low-Cost Sexual Gratification Make Men Less Eager to Marry? Pornography Use, Masturbation, Hookup Sex, and Desire to Be Married Among Single Men (2020)

By RealYBOP member Samuel Perry. Oddly, the results of more porn use correlating with wanting to be married is being spun as porn use being beneficial to relationships (Huh?). Following this logic, alcohol is beneficial to relationships because drinking alone at a bar is correlated with wanting to be married, or wanting a girlfriend, or wanting to get laid. No matter, the study reported that more porn use was correlated with poorer sexual contentment:

70) Watching Pornography Alone or Together: Longitudinal Associations With Romantic Relationship Quality (2020)

A few comments. First, the couples were unmarried, so it may tell us little about long-term relationships. Somewhat typical results: men who watch alone had poorer relationship satisfaction while females who watch alone had better relationship quality. In past studies, men who watched alone comprised the vast majority of study participants, while women who watched alone were usually a small percentage of the sample (and watched far less frequently that their male counterparts). In this study, only 2.9% of the women reported “often viewing”, so the finding involves outlier couples. While watching porn together was related to some measures of higher relationship quality, only 3.2% indicated “often” viewing together. The findings apply to a relatively small percentage of unmarried couples in their 20’s (average age 26). Interesting finding – Both watching alone and watching together were related to higher levels of psychological aggression between partners. Excerpts:

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Note – excerpts from a 2018 review of the literature (Pornography, Pleasure, and Sexuality: Towards a Hedonic Reinforcement Model of Sexually Explicit Internet Media Use, summarizing porn’s effects on sexual satisfaction:

Sexual Satisfaction:

Another domain in which the present model may also have implications is sexual satisfaction. As hedonic sexual motives are often focused on obtaining sexual satisfaction, one would expect an increase in such motives to be associated with sexual satisfaction outcomes. However, given the immense number of factors that contribute to sexual satisfaction (e.g., relational intimacy, commitment, self-confidence, self-esteem), it also likely that these relationships between IPU and satisfaction will be complex.

For some individuals, an increase in hedonic sexual motives may be associated with actual decreases in sexual satisfaction, as high levels of desire may be met with frustration, particularly if such increases are not met with increases in the satisfaction associated with partnered sexual activity (Santtila et al., 2007). Alternatively, if one were to start with low levels of hedonic sexual motivation, an increase in such motivation may be associated with greater sexual satisfaction as the individual becomes more focused on obtaining pleasure in a sexual encounter.

IPU and sexual satisfaction

In contrast to many of the previously discussed domains related to IPU and motivations, in which research is still burgeoning, the relationships between IPU and sexual satisfaction have been extensively studied, with dozens of publications addressing the topic. Rather than exhaustively review the list of studies examining IPU and sexual satisfaction, the findings of these studies are summarized in Table 1. [This paper is open access and Table 1 is available from the link above]

In general, as indicated in Table 1, the relationships between IPU and personal sexual satisfaction are complex, but consistent with the supposition that IP may promote more hedonic sexual motivations, particularly as use increases. Among couples, there is limited support for the idea that IPU may enhance sexual satisfaction, but only when it is incorporated into partnered sexual activities. On an individual level, there is consistent evidence that IPU is predictive of lower sexual satisfaction in men, with both cross-sectional and longitudinal works pointing to the associations of such use with diminished satisfaction for men. Regarding women, scattered evidence suggests that IPU may enhance sexual satisfaction, have no effect on satisfaction, or diminish satisfaction over time. Despite these mixed findings, the conclusion of no significant effect of IPU on sexual satisfaction in women is the most common finding.

Meta-analysis

These results have also been confirmed by a recent meta-analysis (Wright, Tokunaga, Kraus, & Klann, 2017). Reviewing 50 studies of pornography consumption and various satisfaction outcomes (e.g., life satisfaction, personal satisfaction, relational satisfaction, sexual satisfaction), this meta-analysis found that pornography consumption (not internet-specific) was consistently related to and predictive of lower interpersonal satisfaction variables, including sexual satisfaction, but for men only. No significant findings were found for women. Collectively, such mixed results preclude definitive conclusions about the role of IP in influencing satisfaction for women.

One of the most important findings of recent works examining IPU and sexual satisfaction is that there appears to be a curvilinear relationship between use and satisfaction, so that satisfaction decreases more sharply as IPU becomes more common (e.g., Wright, Steffen, & Sun, 2017; Wright, Brigdes, Sun, Ezzell, & Johnson, 2017). The details of these studies are reflected in Table 1. Given clear evidence across multiple international samples, it seems reasonable to accept the conclusion that as IPU increases to more than once per month, sexual satisfaction decreases.

Furthermore, although these studies (Wright, Steffen, et al., 2017; Wright, Bridges et al., 2017) were cross-sectional, given the number of longitudinal studies (e.g., Peter & Valkenburg, 2009) linking IPU to lower sexual satisfaction, it is reasonable to infer that these associations are causal in nature. As IPU increases, interpersonal sexual satisfaction appears to decrease, which is consistent with the present model’s contention that IPU is associated with more hedonic and self-focused sexual motivation.

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Anomalous study

Finally, this anomalous Taylor Kohut study is often cited as evidence that porn use offers primarily benefits to couples: Perceived Effects of Pornography on the Couple Relationship: Initial Findings of Open-Ended, Participant-Informed, “Bottom-Up” Research. (Kohut et al., 2017). Click on the link to read more.

Two glaring methodical flaws produce meaningless results:

1) The study does not rest on a representative sample.

Whereas most studies show that a tiny minority of porn users’ female partners use porn, in this study 95% of the women used porn on their own. And 85% of the women had used porn since the beginning of the relationship (in some cases for years). Those rates are higher than in college-aged men! In other words, the researchers appear to have skewed their sample to produce the results they were seeking. Reality: Cross-sectional data from the largest US survey (General Social Survey) reported that only 2.6% of women had visited a “pornographic website” in the last month. Data from 2000, 2002, 2004. For more see – Pornography and Marriage (2014)

2) The study used “open ended” questions where the subject could ramble on and on about porn.

Then the researchers read the ramblings and decided, after the fact, what answers were “important”. And then they decide how to present (spin?) them in their paper. Then the researchers then had the gall to suggest that all the other studies on porn and relationships were flawed. These were studies which employed more established, scientific methodology and straightforward questions about porn’s effects. How is this method justified?

Despite these fatal flaws several couples reported significant negative effects from porn use, such as:

• Pornography is easier, more interesting, more arousing, more desirable, or more gratifying than sex with a partner
• Pornography use is desensitizing, decreases the ability to achieve or maintain sexual arousal, or to achieve orgasm.
• Some said that specifically described desensitization as the effect of pornography use
• Some were concerned a loss of intimacy or love.
• It was suggested that pornography makes real sex more boring, more routine, less exiting, or less enjoyable

For some reason these negative effects did not appear in articles about the study. The lead author’s new website and his attempt at fundraising raise more than a few questions.

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Thousands of recovery stories consistent with the above research can be found on these pages:

Browse thousands of recovery self-reports to learn what those who’ve recovered from porn-induced sexual dysfunctions have experienced: Rebooting Accounts Page 1, Rebooting Accounts Page 2 and Rebooting Accounts page 3. In addition, the following eight pages contain shorter stories describing recovery from porn-induced sexual dysfunctions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

• Guys Who Gave Up Porn: On Sex and Romance.
• Why Do I Find Porn More Exciting Than A Partner?
• The Other Porn Experiment

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