Motives for pornography use and women’s sexual wellbeing: Insights from a 42-country study
Motives for pornography use and women’s sexual wellbeing: Insights from a 42-country study
Author(s): Ateret Gewirtz-Meydan, HAGIT FEDER, Léna Nagy, Mónika Koós, Shane W. Kraus, Zsolt Demetrovics, Marc N. Potenza, Rafael Ballester-Arnal, Dominik Batthyány, Sophie Bergeron, Joël Billieux, Peer Briken, Julius Burkauskas, Georgina Cárdenas-López, Joana Carvalho, Jesús Castro-Calvo, Lijun Chen, Giacomo Ciocca, Ornela Corazza, Rita Csako, David P. Fernandez, Elaine F. Fernandez, Hironobu Fujiwara, Johannes Fuss, Roman Gabrhelík, Biljana Gjoneska, Mateusz Gola, Joshua B. Grubbs, Hashim T. Hashim, SAIFUL ISLAM, Mustapha Ismail , Martha C. Jiménez-Martínez, Tanja Jurin, Ondrej Kalina, Verena Klein, András Költő, Chih-Ting Lee, Sang-Kyu Lee, Karol Lewczuk, Chung-Ying Lin, Christine Lochner, Silvia López-Alvarado, Kateřina Lukavská, Percy Mayta-Tristán, Dan J. Miller, Oľga Orosová, Gábor Orosz, Fernando P. Ponce, Gonzalo R. Quintana, Gabriel C. Quintero Garzola, Jano Ramos-Diaz, Kevin Rigaud, Ann Rousseau, Marco De Tubino Scanavino, Marion K. Schulmeyer, Pratap Sharan, Mami Shibata, Sheikh Shoib, VERA SIGRE-LEIRÓS, Luke Sniewski, Ognen Spasovski, Vesta Steibliene, Dan J. Stein, Julian Strizek, Aleksandar Štulhofer, BERK C. ÜNSAL, MARIE-PIER VAILLANCOURT-MOREL, MARIE CLAIRE VAN HOUT, Beáta BötheSubject(s): Gender Studies, Individual Psychology, Neuropsychology, Clinical psychology, Behaviorism, Substance abuse and addiction
Published by: Akadémiai Kiadó
Keywords: pornography; motivations; women; sexual wellbeing; cultural differences;
Summary/Abstract: Background and aims: Despite a growing body of research on pornography use among women, there is a lack of understanding of the problematic versus non-problematic nature. The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between women’s motivations for pornography use and sexual wellbeing using a cross-sectional, self-report survey design among participants from 42 countries. Methods: The total sample included 82,243 participants, of whom 46,874 (57.0%) identified as women and were analyzed. The participants’ age averaged at M 5 29.67 years, with a standard deviation of SD 5 10.11. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their motivations for pornography use, as well as measures of sexual functioning, sexual desire, and sexual satisfaction. Results: Study results suggest that across cultures, women’s motivations for pornography use are associated with their sexual wellbeing. Specifically, when women reported using pornography for their own pleasure or sexual curiosity, it was associated with fewer sexual functioning problems and higher sexual desire. Conversely, when women reported using pornography due to a lack of sexual satisfaction in their relationships, it was associated with more sexual functioning problems. Discussion and conclusions: These findings highlight the need to consider the multifaceted nature of pornography use among women, including the usage motives, to fully understand associations with sexual wellbeing. Additionally, the study emphasizes the importance of conducting further research utilizing longitudinal designs, to establish the directionality between pornography use motivations and sexual wellbeing among women.
Journal: Journal of Behavioral Addictions
- Issue Year: 14/2025
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 114-130
- Page Count: 17
- Language: English
