Abstract
Objectives
The associations between pornography consumption and sexuality are still debated in recent research. Should we consider pornography harmful or rather beneficial for relationships? The research aimed to point out the associations between the consumption of pornography in relationships and the frequency of sexual activities, sexual desire, and sexual satisfaction.
Methods
Having used an online questionnaire, we compared individuals from relationships in which pornography is consumed together, separately, by only one of the partners, or not at all. The sample for the current study included 951 males (54.6%) and 791 females (45.4%). Participants ranged in age from 18 to 68 years old. Overall, the average relationship length in the sample was 81.2 months. For data analysis, ANOVA and ANCOVA were used, followed by the Kruskal-Wallis test and the Chi-square test of independence.
On the basis of previous research, we included various factors and covariates in the elementary association between patterns of pornography consumption and partner sexual activity that could interfere with the results of the main analysis. This includes, for example, age, gender, marital status, education, religion, etc.
Results
One-way ANOVA indicated a significant main effect of the way pornography is consumed in relationships on sexual desire, F (3,1738) = 11.57, p = <.001, η2 =.020, and on sexual satisfaction, F (3,1738) = 65.18, p <.001, η2 =.101. Individuals who consume pornography together with partner and non-consumers had the highest frequency of sexual activity per month and were the most sexually satisfied compared to relationships where pornography is consumed separately or by only one of the partners. Also, partners consuming pornography together still had the highest sexual desire.
Conclusions
Overall, these findings suggest that it is preferable to consume pornography in a relationship together, or rather not at all. The significance of the results is discussed also in relation of various intervening variables entering into the relationship between patterns of pornography use and partner sexual activity.