No abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the use of pornography in Norway. How many people have used pornographic magazines and films, or watched pornography on the Internet? To what extent do those who watch pornography on the Internet also use it as an arena for erotic chatting? The data stem from a survey on sexual behavior among a random sample of 10,000 Norwegians between the age of 18 and 49. The response rate was 34%. A total of 82% reported to have read pornographic magazines, while 84% had seen pornographic films, and 34% had examined pornography on the Internet. Statistically, there were significantly more men than women who reported use of pornography. There was a 20% difference between men and women in the use of magazines and films. Among those exposed to pornography on the Internet during the past year, 14% had participated in erotic chatting on the Internet. Gay/bisexual men and lesbian/bisexual women reported higher use of pornography than straight men and women. Gender was the most significant variable for the prediction of pornography use. Level of education predicted exposure to pornography on the Internet, in magazines and in films. Younger individuals were more likely to utilize the Internet both for viewing pornographic material and to chat.

This study sought to study consumption patterns of gay-oriented sexually explicit media (SEM) by men who have sex with men (MSM); and to investigate a hypothesized relationship between gay SEM consumption and HIV risk behavior. Participants were 1391 MSM living in the US, recruited online to complete a SEM consumption and sexual risk survey. Almost all (98.5%) reported some gay SEM exposure over the last 90 days. While 41% reported a preference to watch actors perform anal sex without condoms (termed “bareback SEM”), 17% preferred to actors perform anal sex with condoms (termed “safer sex SEM”) and 42% reported no preference. Overall SEM consumption was not associated with HIV risk; however participants who watched more bareback SEM reported significantly greater odds of engaging in risk behavior. The results suggest that a preference for bareback SEM is associated with engaging in risk behavior. More research to understand how MSM develop and maintain preferences in viewing SEM, and to identify new ways to use SEM in HIV prevention, is recommended.

This study examined the use of pornography in couple relationships to enhance the sex-life. The study contained a representative sample of 398 heterosexual couples aged 22-67 years. Data collection was carried out by self-administered postal questionnaires. The majority (77%) of the couples did not report any kind of pornography use to enhance the sex-life. In 15% of the couples, both had used pornography; in 3% of the couples, only the female partner had used pornography; and, in 5% of the couples, only the male partner had used pornography for this purpose. Based on the results of a discriminant function analysis, it is suggested that couples where one or both used pornography had a more permissive erotic climate compared to the couples who did not use pornography. In couples where only one partner used pornography, we found more problems related to arousal (male) and negative (female) self-perception. These findings could be of importance for clinicians who work with couples.

The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze use of pornographic material in a representative sample of adult Norwegians. The data collection was carried out by means of a standardized questionnaire administered via personal telephone interviews. Among the 90% of participants who reported ever having examined pornography, 76% reported examining a pornographic magazine, 67% had watched a pornographic film, and 24% had examined pornography on the Internet. Significant gender differences emerged in the reporting. The percentage of men and women who reported frequent use of pornography was small. We identified three dimensions of attitudes toward pornography: pornography as a means of sexual enhancement, pornography as a moral issue, and social climate. These attitude dimensions were included in path models as intermediating variables between demographic variables (age, gender, and level of education) and frequency of reading or watching pornographic materials. These models explained 36% of the variance in frequency of watching pornographic films, 35% of the variance in frequency of reading pornographic magazines, and 21% of the variance in frequency of watching pornography on the Internet.

The aim of this article was to describe partnered and non-partnered sexual activity and sexual satisfaction in older men and women from Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and Portugal, and to explore sociodemographic correlates of sexual activity and satisfaction. Data were collected in 2016 using postal, anonymous questionnaires in probability samples of the population aged 60-75 years recruited by phone registers in Norway (676 men, 594 women), Denmark (530 men, 515 women), Belgium (318 men, 672 women), and Portugal (236 men, 273 women). In men, the percentage of sexually active participants in the past year ranged from 83% in Portugal to 91% in Norway. In women, the percentage of sexually active participants during the last year ranged from 61% in Belgium to 78% in Denmark. Regarding frequency of sexual intercourse activity during the past month, men in Norway, Denmark, and Belgium (23-24%) most often reported 2-3 times per month, whereas most men in Portugal (29%) reported 1-3 times per week. Masturbation was most commonly reported among Norwegian men (65%) and women (40%), and least commonly in Portugal. Concerning sexual satisfaction, across all countries, 40-60% of participants reported that they were sexually satisfied. Portuguese men and Danish women reported being most sexually satisfied. Having a partner was the most important positive predictor of sexual activity and sexual satisfaction in all subgroups except Portuguese men. In conclusion, partnered sexual activity was more frequent in the south of Europe, and solitary sexual activity more frequent in Northern Europe.

This research indicates that sexual problems represent a public health problem.

No abstract