Description :
More than two-thirds of men (76%) and almost half of women (41%) reported regular pornography use in the past year, demonstrating that pornography is an important part of couples’ sexuality and may play an important role in sexual well-being. Although the number of studies dealing with pornography is growing, knowledge about its effects on sexual well-being is still in its infancy due to methodological (e.g., cross-sectional designs) and conceptual (e.g., study of pornography use in individuals and not in couples) weaknesses. The present study aimed to address these shortcomings by examining longitudinal associations between pornography use (frequency of use, motivations for use and problematic use – characteristics termed “domains”) and sexual wellbeing (sexual distress and satisfaction) in couples.
Three hundred and twenty-eight adult couples completed three online surveys over a one-year period (once every six months) to identify the potential consequences of different domains of pornography use on sexual well-being, taking into account gender differences and the moderating role of sexual mentality (i.e., beliefs about the malleability of one’s sex life).
The aim of this study was to document the longitudinal dynamics between pornography use and sexual well-being in couples over time, in order to contribute to the development of targeted sex and couple therapy interventions.
This project is approved by the Université de Montréal’s Education and Psychology Research Ethics Board (CEREP-19-098-D) and is funded by the Canada Research Chair in Intimate Relationships and Sexual Wellbeing.
