Sexual Attitudes of Classes of College Students Who Use Pornography

Abstract

Pornography is widely accepted and used as an appropriate sexual practice. Previous literature has suggested that pornography users may be best viewed through a heterogenetic lens that indicates specific classes of pornography users. Furthering this previous research, a latent profile analysis was conducted using a sample of 635 college students (mean age men 20.22 (standard deviation [SD] = 3.10); women 19.16 [SD = 2.12]) over two time points to not only identify unique classifications of pornography users, but also examine specific sexual attitudes 3 months later of each classification. When deriving types, the Pornography Consumption Inventory, frequency of pornography use, gradation of pornography acceptance, the Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale, and religiosity were used. For men, two classes of users were statistically derived based on the above variables: permissive porn explorers (n = 102) and sexual communion and dabbling porn users (n = 55). For women, two classes emerged: nonpermissive porn abstainers (n = 421) and instrumental, integrated porn users (n = 57). These results develop greater detail of different types of pornography users by exploring various sexual attitudes associated with their pornography use patterns.

Introduction

The use of pornography, sexually explicit media of genitals or sexual acts with the intent to sexually arouse, is sexually acceptable and frequently used in the United States.¹ Although pornography use is moderately acceptable to both men and women and rates are prevalent across all ages, higher rates of use exist among emerging adults (ages 18–29) and men, in general.^2,3 Frequency of pornography use is associated with other constructs such as increased comfort with sex,⁴ higher likelihood of risky sexual behavior such as uncommitted sexual encounters,¹ greater acceptance and participation in extramarital affairs,^1,5 and sexual satisfaction.^6–8 Motivation to use pornography includes assistance in real-life sexual experiences,^9,10 creating sexual experiences,¹¹ and using it as a distraction.¹²

Striving to understand pornography users as a heterogeneous population, previous research has adopted an ideographic¹³ lens through more person-centered analyses.¹⁴ This ideographic research, which focuses on individual characteristics rather than general trends of a population, has suggested different types or classes of pornography users, including those who do not view pornography, those who primarily view pornography for having individual sexual experiences, and people who view pornography for other reasons such as sexual exploration.¹⁴ These findings assist us in understanding pornography users as individually unique persons with distinct differences.

Although these different classes of pornography users have been uncovered, associated constructs of these specific classes of users have yet to be examined. For example, although previous research has indicated that general pornography use patterns have been linked with sexual values and attitudes such as infidelity and openness to new sexual practices,^1,5,11 links among sexual attitudes and specific classes or types of pornography users have yet to be examined. With an understanding of links between sexual attitudes and pornography use,^1,5,11 as well as previous research examining different types of users,¹⁴ this study uses an ideographic lens¹³ to derive unique latent classes of users based on their acceptance of pornography, frequency of pornography use, motivations for pornography use, and religiosity of a longitudinal sample of college students. This study then takes these developed classes a step further by examining various sexual attitudes of these classes 3 months later. Due to previous research highlighting stark differences between men's and women's pornography frequency and types of use,^2,3,15,16 we will estimate classes of men and women users separately.

Based on previous research,¹⁴ we expect the majority of men to be categorized into classes that are high in pornography use frequency with greater variety of motivations of their use. Conversely, we expect the majority of women to fall into classes that report lower in pornography use frequency with less variety in their motivations in viewing pornography. Furthermore, as illustrated in previous research for all classes where more pornography use is prevalent, we expect lower reports of religiosity.^17,18 With previous research regarding pornography use illustrating links with higher sexually permissive behaviors,¹ lower use of contraceptives,¹⁹ and higher sexual ideals (appearance of partner, “hotter” sex, etc.),²⁰ we expect that classes with higher pornography use and greater variety in motivations for use for men and women will also exhibit stronger permissive sexual attitudes, lesser importance of birth control, weaker views of sex being related to a communion, and stronger views of sex being more instrumental in practice 3 months later. Through running a latent profile analysis to estimate classes of pornography users, we can more clearly understand the heterogeneity of pornography use and links with various sexual attitudes 3 months later.

Method

Sample and procedure

Participants for this study were undergraduate students recruited from an introductory human development course and various sociology courses at a Mid-Western University during the fall of 2014. Students were offered extra credit to complete two waves of online surveys containing the measures used in this study. The first wave was administered early September (T1) and the second wave was offered ∼3 months later (T2). To be eligible for this study, participants were required to complete both waves. Appropriate informed consent was received online before each participant engaged with the two surveys. These surveys and this study were approved and carried out under the guidelines of the university's Institutional Review Board.

Approximately 75 percent of the 635 participants who completed the survey were women (25 percent men). Men were 20.22 years of age on average (standard deviation [SD] = 3.10) and 88.5 percent identified as white, 3.8 percent as Latino, 2.5 percent as African American, 1.9 percent as interracial, <1 percent as Native American, and <1 percent other ethnicities. Women were 19.16 years of age on average (SD = 2.12) and 84.9 percent identified as white, 6.9 percent as interracial, 3.3 percent as African American, 2.9 percent as Latino, <1 percent as Asian, <1 percent as Native American, and <1 percent as other ethnicities. Approximately, 36 percent of men and 44 percent of women reported being in some form of a romantic relationship (dating, engaged, or married).

Measures

The below measures were used as a part of the analysis; bivariate correlations for men can be found in Table 1 and for women in Table 2. Means and SDs for all men can be found in Table 3 and for all women in Table 4.

Table 1.

Bivariate Correlations of the Overall Sample of Men (n = 157)

Variables	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
1. Religiosity	—
2. Pornography use	−0.26^**	—
3. Pornography acceptance	−0.40^**	0.50^**	—
Pornography Consumption Inventory
4. Emotional avoidance	0.04	0.49^**	0.19^*	—
5. Sexual curiosity	−0.08	0.50^**	0.35^**	0.61^**	—
6. Excitement seeking	−0.12	0.57^**	0.35^**	0.74^**	0.72^**	—
7. Sexual pleasure	−0.21^*	0.72^**	0.45^**	0.52^**	0.54^**	0.67^**	—
Sexual Attitudes Scale
8. Permissiveness	−0.41^**	0.35^**	0.55^**	0.09	0.27^**	0.23^**	0.34^**	—
9. Birth control	−0.16	0.07	0.21^*	0.02	0.07	0.09	0.14	0.19^*	—
10. Communion	0.16^*	0.01	0.02	−0.04	−0.03	−0.09	0.01	−0.03	0.22^**	—
11. Instrumentality	−0.16	0.05	0.25^**	−0.08	0.08	0.06	0.05	0.58^**	0.17^*	0.08	—

Note: ^*p < 0.05.

^**p < 0.01.

Table 2.

Bivariate Correlations of the Overall Sample of Women (n = 478)

Variables	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
1. Religiosity	—
2. Pornography use	−0.16^**	—
3. Pornography acceptance	−0.33^**	0.46^**	—
Pornography Consumption Inventory
4. Emotional avoidance	−0.08	0.41^**	0.24^**	—
5. Sexual curiosity	−0.20^**	0.68^**	0.50^**	0.42^**	—
6. Excitement seeking	−0.14^**	0.57^**	0.39^**	0.77^**	0.69^**	—
7. Sexual pleasure	−0.18^**	0.77^**	0.45^**	0.55^**	0.67^**	0.69^**	—
Sexual Attitudes Scale
8. Permissiveness	−0.32^**	0.26^**	0.47^**	0.16^**	0.34^**	0.26^**	0.28^**	—
9. Birth control	−0.24^**	0.12^*	0.25^**	0.05	0.15^**	0.08	0.15^**	0.21^**	—
10. Communion	0.05	0.23	−0.02	0.01	0.12^*	0.05	0.05	−0.04	0.06	—
11. Instrumentality	−0.22^**	0.22^**	0.31^**	0.13^**	0.29^**	0.18^**	0.21^**	0.49^**	0.17^**	0.09	—

Note: ^*p < 0.05.

^**p < 0.01.

Table 3.

Means and Standard Deviations of the Overall Sample of Men as Well as Means and Standard Deviations of the Established Two Classes (n = 157)

	Overall men (n = 157)		Permissive porn explorers (n = 102)		Sexual communion and dabbling porn users (n = 55)
Observed variable	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD
A. Religiosity	2.86	1.09	2.67	1.18	3.22	1.15
B. Pornography use	3.32	1.43	4.03	1.48	2.02	1.65
C. Pornography acceptance	3.35	1.54	3.93	1.46	2.29	2.16
Pornography Consumption Inventory
D. Emotional avoidance	1.88	0.85	2.20	1.12	1.29	0.56
E. Sexual curiosity	2.09	0.95	2.50	1.19	1.33	0.79
F. Excitement seeking	2.12	0.94	2.59	1.16	1.26	0.77
G. Sexual pleasure	3.10	1.31	3.84	1.18	1.73	1.77
Sexual Attitudes Scale
H. Permissiveness	24.32	10.03	27.57	10.91	18.50	11.31
I. Birth control	12.14	2.69	12.51	3.39	11.49	3.54
J. Communion	18.93	4.32	18.74	4.75	19.27	5.05
K. Instrumentality	13.07	4.41	13.61	4.67	12.09	5.55

Note: The subscales of the Pornography Consumption Inventory used composite mean scores, while the subscales of the Sexual Attitudes Scale used composite summed scores.

SD, standard deviation.

Table 4.

Means and Standard Deviations of the Overall Sample of Women as Well as Means and Standard Deviations of the Established Two Classes (n = 478)

	Overall women (n = 478)		Nonpermissive porn abstainers (n = 421)		Instrumental, integrated porn users (n = 57)
Observed variable	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD
A. Religiosity	3.11	0.93	3.17	0.92	2.68	1.06
B. Pornography use	1.41	0.82	1.19	0.51	3.00	1.56
C. Pornography acceptance	2.50	1.32	2.30	1.29	3.93	1.25
Pornography Consumption Inventory
D. Emotional avoidance	1.11	0.43	1.03	0.16	1.74	1.22
E. Sexual curiosity	1.42	0.77	1.23	0.57	2.73	1.49
F. Excitement seeking	1.20	0.51	1.07	0.23	2.14	1.32
G. Sexual pleasure	1.36	0.84	1.09	0.55	3.30	1.34
Sexual Attitudes Scale
H. Permissiveness	16.84	7.82	16.05	7.96	22.57	8.70
I. Birth control	12.39	3.16	12.24	3.28	13.48	2.50
J. Communion	19.15	4.60	19.07	4.76	19.77	5.10
K. Instrumentality	12.59	4.52	12.25	4.47	15.06	5.38

Note: The subscales of the Pornography Consumption Inventory used composite mean scores, while the subscales of the Sexual Attitudes Scale used composite summed scores.

Pornography acceptance

A commonly used item¹⁷ asked participants to indicate their agreement with the following statement: “Viewing pornographic material (such as magazines, movies, and/or Internet sites) is an acceptable way to express one's sexuality.” Responses ranged from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 6 (very strongly agree).

Pornography use

Frequency of pornography use was assessed by asking participants, “During the past 12 months, on how many days did you view pornographic materials (such as magazines, movies, and/or Internet sites)?”¹⁷ Response options were as follows: 1 = none, 2 = once a month or less, 3 = 2 or 3 days a month, 4 = 1 or 2 days a week, 5 = 3–5 days a week, and 6 = every day or almost every day.

Pornography Consumption Inventory

The four subscales (emotional avoidance, sexual curiosity, excitement seeking, and sexual pleasure) of a modified 14-item Pornography Consumption Inventory are a reliable and valid measure of motivations for viewing pornography.²¹ Participants rated their agreement on all items on a scale from 1 (never like me) to 5 (always like me). Viewing of pornography for emotional avoidance was evaluated using the mean score of four items (e.g., “It provides an opportunity to be distracted from life's challenges”) (men: α = 0.83; women α = 0.88). Sexual curiosity was evaluated using the mean score of four items (e.g., “I use it to expand my knowledge about sexual possibilities”) (men: α = 0.89; women α = 0.92). Excitement seeking was evaluated using the mean score of three items (e.g., “I use it to provide some novelty or variety in my life”) (men: α = 0.75; women α = 0.77), and sexual pleasure was evaluated using the mean score of three items (e.g., “I use it to help me masturbate, for a physical release”) (men: α = 0.93; women α = 0.95). All subscales were coded such that a higher score indicated greater endorsement of that motivation for viewing pornography.

Sexual attitudes

The four subscales (permissiveness, birth control, communion, and instrumentality) of the 23-item scale Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale are a reliable and valid measure of the above sexual attitude domains.²² Participants rated their agreement on all items on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Ten items were summed to assess attitudes of sexual permissiveness (e.g., “It is okay to have ongoing sexual relationships with more than one person at a time”) with a higher score equating to a more sexually permissive attitude (men: α = 0.94; women α = 0.92). Three items reflecting attitudes toward birth control (e.g., “Birth control is a part of responsible sexuality”) were summed with higher scores indicating greater importance of birth control (men: α = 0.85; women α = 0.89). Five items (i.e., “At its best, sex seems to be the merging of two souls”) were summed with higher scores equating to stronger attitudes that sex is a communion and idealistic (men: α = 0.86; women: α = 0.86). Five items, such as “Sex is primarily the taking of pleasure from another person,” were summed with higher scores indicating stronger attitudes that sex is instrumental in practice (men: α = 0.88; women: α = 0.84).

Religiosity

Participants rated how important, in general, their religious or spiritual beliefs were in their day-to-day life on a scale from 1 (very important) to 5 (not at all important). This single item was recoded so that higher scores indicated greater religiosity.

Data analysis

A latent profile analysis is person centered and, as such, identifies underlying classes among participants based upon specific observed characteristics. Each of these statistically derived classes through this analysis is significantly different from one another and represents groupings of participants who are statistically similar to one another. For this study, two latent profile analyses were used (men and women) where the participant characteristics used to identify the classes were as follows: pornography acceptance, pornography frequency, the four subscales of the Pornography Consumption Inventory (emotional avoidance, sexual curiosity, excitement seeking, and sexual pleasure),²¹ the four subscales of the Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale (permissiveness, birth control, communion, and instrumentality),²² and religiosity. All characteristics came from the first wave of surveys except for the associated constructs of the Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale, which were obtained 3 months later at wave two. As recommended by Acock,²³ including items assessing sexual attitudes in the latent profile analysis 3 months after initially assessing frequency of pornography use, pornography acceptance, pornography motivations, and religiosity conceptually offer a snapshot of sexual attitudes of each delineated class 3 months later. This process is encouraged to best evaluate likelihoods or outcomes of each delineated class at a future date.²³ Simply, results will illustrate what sexual attitudes of each of the classes would be 3 months after completing the first set of items at the first wave.

To identify the number of classes that best fit the data, we began first by evaluating the fit of one class to data and progressively added more classes, while assessing entropy, log likelihood, Akaike's information criterion (AIC), Bayesian information criterion (BIC), and the Lo-Mendell-Rubin (LMR) likelihood ratio test, while using Mplus 6.0.²⁴ The lower the log likelihood, AIC, and BIC, the better the fit to the data. The LMR likelihood ratio test evaluates whether the current model fits the data significantly better (i.e., p < 0.05) than the model with one fewer class. Higher values of entropy suggest clearer delineation of classes.²⁵ These fit indices were used to capture the appropriate classes in these data.

Results

Men

Results of the latent profile analysis for men indicated a two-class model of pornography users was the best statistical fit to the data as seen in Table 5. The means and SDs for variables of religiosity, pornography use frequency, pornography acceptance, Pornography Consumption Inventory,²¹ and Brief Sexual Attitudes Scales²² of the two classes of men are found in Table 3 with a visual representation in Figure 1.

FIG. 1.

Standardized visual of men's delineated two classes: permissive porn explorers (n = 102) and sexual communion and dabbling porn users (n = 55). Unstandardized mean reports of each variable on the x-axis can be found in Table 1.

Table 5.

Model Fit Criterion for Men (Classes 1–3) and Women (Classes 1–3)

Classes	Entropy	Log likelihood	AIC	BIC	LMR
Men
1 Class	—	−3513.88	7071.76	7139.00	—
2 Class	0.88	−3331.63	6731.28	6835.18	−3513.88^***
3 Class	0.87	−3249.86	6591.72	6732.31	−3331.63
Women
1 Class	—	−9430.36	18904.72	18996.45	—
2 Class	0.98	−8654.96	17377.91	17519.68	−9430.36^*
3 Class	0.98	−8280.40	16652.79	16844.59	−8654.96

Note: ^*p < 0.05

^***p < 0.001.

AIC, Akaike's information criterion; BIC, Bayesian information criterion; LMR, Lo-Mendell-Rubin.

The largest class among men, labeled permissive porn explorers (n = 102), consisted of the highest reports of pornography acceptance and pornography use frequency. On average, this class viewed pornography approximately once to twice per week predominantly for sexual pleasure, but also various other motivations for pornography use such as using it as excitement seeking and curiosity about types of sex others are having. This class, on average, also consisted of the highest reports of sexually permissive attitudes of the two classes of men. Also of note was that this class held the highest score of importance of birth control in sexual activity, despite having higher rates of pornography use and varying pornography motives.

The much smaller class of men, labeled sexual communion and dabbling porn users (n = 55), reported much less pornography use than the permissive porn explorers, where on average they viewed it about once a month or less. They also reported lower acceptance of pornography use. This class, on average, reported notable lower scores on permissive sexual attitudes as well as slightly lower scores on the importance of birth control and viewing sex as an instrument. They represented slightly higher scores of viewing sex as an act of communion between partners.

Women

Women in this sample were best represented statistically by a two-class model of pornography users as seen in Table 5. The means and SDs for variables of pornography use frequency, pornography acceptance, Pornography Consumption Inventory,²¹ and Brief Sexual Attitudes Scales²² of the two classes of women can be seen in Table 4 with a visual representation in Figure 2.

FIG. 2.

Standardized visual of women's delineated two classes: nonpermissive porn abstainers (n = 421) and instrumental, integrated porn users (n = 57). Unstandardized mean reports of each variable on the x-axis can be found in Table 2.

The vastly larger of the two classes of women was the nonpermissive porn abstainers (n = 421), which exhibited minimal frequency of pornography use (between never and once per year) and low acceptance, as well as low reports of sexually permissive attitudes. Although this class reported minimal pornography use, when they do use pornography, they use it predominantly for sexual curiosity. This class also illustrated notably lower scores on their attitudes concerning sex as an instrument and importance of birth control compared to the second class of pornography users among women.

The substantially smaller class of women in this sample, instrumental integrated porn users (n = 57), indicated higher pornography use frequency and acceptance compared to the nonpermissive porn abstainers. They also exhibited higher reports of attitudes that sex is seen as an instrument. On average, this class used pornography twice to thrice a month and reported predominantly using pornography for sexual pleasure. They also used pornography for sexual curiosity and seeking excitement. This class also illustrated substantially higher reports, on average, of sexually permissive attitudes and slightly higher reports of attitudes regarding the importance of birth control than the larger nonpermissive porn abstainer class.

Discussion

This study builds upon previous research by broadening the understanding of characteristics and attitudes of pornography users by using a latent profile analysis. Four statistically derived classes (two men and two women) in this study offer more detailed insight into the relationship of pornography users and their sexual attitudes 3 months later. First, those classes that used pornography more frequently and with more variety also reported more sexually permissive attitudes. Previous research indicates that frequency of pornography use is associated with risky sexual behaviors, including sex with multiple partners,¹ as well as reports of flirting with relationship alternatives for those within committed relationships.⁵ Furthermore, young adults using pornography may be developing sexual scripts and attitudes informed by sexual behaviors within explicit media that are inaccurate to real-world sexual relationships.²⁶ This study incorporates frequency of pornography use, while also taking a step further by illuminating that it was those classes that viewed pornography primarily for physical pleasure that indicated highest reports of sexually permissive attitudes 3 months later.

The reports of instrumental sexual attitudes were higher among classes of men and women that predominantly viewed pornography more often and primarily for sexual pleasure. The sexual attitude of instrumentality is defined as seeing sexual experiences as solely a way to receive personal fulfillment rather than a relational dynamic.²² Previous research illustrates that some pornography use may be “autoerotic sexuality” where one has a sexual experience through masturbation.²⁷ These autoerotic sexual experiences through pornography use may potentially shape an individual's attitudes that sex is primarily to extend your own pleasure and is strictly physical. In addition, displays of exerting power over women through sexual violence are common in pornography and sought after by users.²⁸ These prevalent examples within pornographic material may shape users' attitudes of instrumentality. Differently, classes with lower frequency of pornography use exhibited higher reports that sex is a communion between two partners 3 months later.

Previous research suggests that frequency of pornography use is linked to risky sexual behaviors, including unprotected sex.¹ Surprisingly, those classes that indicated more frequent pornography use patterns and a variety of motives for use, also had slightly stronger views of the importance of birth control compared to those classes that had less frequent use of pornography. With some areas of the country urging requirements that performers within pornography media be required to use condoms,²⁹ this form of birth control may become more commonplace and accepted in pornographic content. This exposure to contraception may shape viewers' beliefs concerning birth control. More specifically, when comparing men's permissive porn explorers to women's instrumental, integrated porn users, both classes viewing the most pornography for a variety of purposes, women reported greater importance of birth control than men. This notable gender difference aligns with previous literature highlighting stark gender differences where the woman accepts the primary responsibility for preventing pregnancy in sexual relationships.³⁰

Limitations

When interpreting, and applying results of this study, some limitations are worth noting. This sample is not nationally representative and may not reflect many diverse demographics found on other college campuses.³¹ Furthermore, as illustrated previously, due to the inability to accurately represent communities or societies because of age, socioeconomic status, and educational experiences,²³ findings from student samples may be best understood within that unique context. In addition, this sample was predominantly women, who traditionally have reported lesser engagement in pornographic material.¹¹

Implications

Interestingly, although the majority of women were porn abstainers, those that did engage reported curiosity as the strongest motivator. Using pornography as a form of sexual education is risky given the unrealistic portrayal of sexual behavior³² and the potential for women to adopt sexual scripts that endorse misogyny,³³ stressing the importance of comprehensive sex education and pornography literacy programs to help young adults discern between fantasy and reality, as well as understand the consequences around coercion and unprotected sex in real-life sexual experiences.²⁶ Also, congruent with previous studies,¹⁴ this study offers more credence for future research of pornography users to be completed through analyses incorporating person-centered analytic approaches such as mixture modeling used in this study. Seeing pornography users through this ideographic approach¹³ of focusing on unique classes or typologies rather than general trends may offer a clearer and more vibrant detailed understanding of the heterogeneity of pornography users' motivations, use patterns, characteristics, and linked outcomes. Future research using analytic approaches, such as growth mixture modeling, is needed to best evaluate how unique classes of pornography users may change over time regarding specific individual and relational outcomes.

Conclusion

Using a latent profile analysis of college students, this study not only indicated various frequencies and motives of pornography use for men and women but also their association with various constructs of sexual attitudes 3 months later. Notably, compared to young adults who reported low viewing of pornography, classes of young adults that used pornography more frequently also reported seeking out a greater variety of pornography and having more sexually permissive attitudes, placing a greater importance on using birth control, and viewing sex as less of a communion between two partners and more as an instrument for personal satisfaction. These findings extend this research by illustrating that pornography use frequency as well as motivations of pornography use are both associated with sexual attitudes. Considering these results, it is important to help young adults understand how media, which may not accurately portray sexuality, may shape their attitudes toward real-life sexual experiences. Knowing the different motivations for pornography use, frequency, and associated sexual attitudes can inform individualized and comprehensive sex education and communication with young adults such that their beliefs surrounding sexuality are rooted in realistic and accurate portrayals of sexuality.

Footnotes

Author Disclosure Statement

No competing financial interests exist.

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