The present study examined how levels of sexually explicit material (SEM) use during adolescence and young adulthood were associated with sexual preferences, sexual behaviors, and sexual and relationship satisfaction. Participants included 782 heterosexual college students (326 men and 456 w omen; M age = 19.9) who completed a questionnaire online. Results revealed high frequencies and multiple types and contexts of SEM use, with men's usage rates systematically higher than women's. Regression analyses revealed that both the frequency of SEM use and number of SEM types viewed were uniquely associated with more sexual experience (a higher number of overall and casual sexual intercourse partners as well as a lower age at first intercourse). Higher frequencies of SEM use were associated with less sexual and relationship satisfaction. The frequency of SEM use and number of SEM types viewed were both associated with higher sexual preferences for the types of sexual practices typically presented in SEM. These findings suggest that SEM use can play a significant role in a variety of aspects of young adults' sexual development processes. Keywords: pornography, sexual development, media, sexual attitudesYoung adulthood is a time a sexual exploration and development (Arnett, 2004;Lefkowitz & Gillen, 2006) and many researchers have explored the role of media in this process, finding that sexual images in mainstream media outlets as well as more sexually explicit materials are important sources of information for adolescents and young adults (e.g., Brown, 2006;Peter & Valkenburg, 2007;Traeen, Sørheim-Nilsen, & Stigum, 2006;Ward, 2003). With the proliferation of available sexually explicit media in the last ten years, researchers are beginning to turn their attention to the ways in which contemporary youth are being impacted by sexually explicit media in particular (e.g., Carroll et al., 2008;Peter & Valkenburg, 2006, 2009Stulhofer, Busko & Landripet, 2010).Despite a long history of research on sexually explicit media, much of this research has become outdated as a result of significant technological shifts that have drastically changed the way people access sexually explicit materials (SEM), namely internet-based access has increased substantially in the last decade (Buzzell, 2005). Additionally, research on SEM has traditionally focused on potential links between SEM and sexual violence (e.g., Bensimon, 2007;Malamuth, Addison, & Koss, 2000;Marshall, 1988) and its associations with sexual compulsions or addiction (e.g. Cooper, Delmonico, & Burg, 2000;Delmonico, 1997) as opposed to its use among non-clinical, normative samples. While these are important areas of investigation, given that many teens and the majority of young adults report viewing sexually explicit media (e.g., Braun-Courville & Rojas, 2009;Cameron et al., 2005), it is also important to examine potential associations between SEM use and more normative sexual and romantic relationship development during young adulthood. As such, the present study seeks ...

Researchers have begun to explore and identify various gradations in sexual orientation identity, paying attention to alternative sexual identity categories and attempting to clarify potential subtypes of same-sex sexuality, particularly among women. This study utilizes both quantitative and qualitative data to explore the behavioral experiences and identity development processes among women of a particular sexual identity subtype, "mostly straight." Participants were 349 female college students whose primary sexual identities included exclusively straight, mostly straight, bisexual, and lesbian. Results indicated that, on most behavioral variables, mostly straight women fell directly between and were significantly different from exclusively straight and bisexual/lesbian women. Mostly straight women were also distinct from exclusively straight women but were similar to bisexual women and lesbians on several quantitative measures of identity. Narratives about sexual identity development for mostly straight women revealed the complexities of sexual identity exploration, uncertainty, and commitment within this population. As a whole, this study encourages researchers to begin to recognize and examine mostly straight as a distinct sexual identity subtype in young women.

Past research has revealed associations between television viewing and sexual attitudes and behaviors. We examined a burgeoning new television genre, reality dating programs (RDPs). Undergraduate students (ages 18-24) reported their overall television viewing, their RDP viewing, and their involvement with RDPs (watching in order to learn and watching in order to be entertained). They also completed measures of attitudes toward sex, dating, and relationships, and answered questions about sexual behavior. Most participants were occasional or frequent viewers of at least one RDP. Men reported using RDPs for learning more than did women; there was no gender difference in use of RDPs for entertainment. Total amount of RDP viewing was positively correlated, for both men and women, with adversarial sexual beliefs, endorsement of a sexual double standard, and the beliefs that men are sex-driven, that appearance is important in dating, and that dating is a game. In all cases, however, these relationships were partially or totally mediated through viewer involvement. Men and women who watched RDPs tended to be less sexually experienced; there were few other correlations with sexual behaviors.

This is an author-produced, peer-reviewed version of this article. © 2009, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). The final, definitive version of this document can be found online at Computers in Human Behavior, doi: 10.1016Behavior, doi: 10. /j.chb.2010 1 NOTICE: This is the author's version of a work accepted for publication by Elsevier. Changes resulting from the publishing process, including peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting and other quality control mechanisms, may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. The definitive version has been published in Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 26, Issue 6, 2010. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2010 One study found that college students reported visiting social network profiles an average of 2.4 to 4.19 times a day for an average of one to two and a half hours Raacke & Bonds-Raacke, 2008).College students report using social networking websites to make new friends, locate old friends and to keep in touch with current friends (Raacke & Bonds-Raacke, 2008). Social network profiles also provide an avenue for identity construction and representation, usually in the form of "showing" rather than "telling" (Zhao, Grasmuch, & Martin, 2008). Despite the positive outcomes of using social networking websites, such as feelings of mastery, identity exploration, and peer group interaction (Hinduja & Patchin, 2007; Schmitt, Dayanim, & Matthias, 2008), online social networking activities can also include less positive activities. Several studies have identified that as many as half of all adolescents and young adults with social networking profiles display negative health risk behaviors, including sexual behaviors and substance use (Moreno, Parks, & Richardson, 2007;Moreno, Parks, Zimmerman, Brito, & Christakis, 2009 found that 85% of young adult's publicly accessible MySpace profiles displayed substance use references.Any number of problems can result from posting images of health risk behaviors including increased risk of cyberbullying, damage to reputation, or loss of educational or vocational opportunities (Barnes, 2009;SkillStorm, 2009; Inside Higher Ed, 2009;Ybarra, et al., 2007). Additionally, the presence of these images may increase peer acceptance and interest in the risk behaviors (Bandura, 2004). Furthermore, a variety of news sources report that police use Facebook, YouTube, and other social-media sites to catch criminals who discuss or upload video recordings of their illegal acts for public viewing (Boston Globe, 2009;Fox News, 2007; New York Times, 2010). Because both photographs and video record an exact representation of real-world events and may be viewed repeatedly, when they are uploaded to a publicly accessible social networking or video-sharing site, images and video footage becomes available to a worldwide audience of Internet users. Risks for access...

Emerging adulthood presents a unique developmental milieu for sexual orientation and identity development. Over the past 10 years, a body of research has begun delineating contemporary emerging adults' understandings of their sexual orientation and processes of sexual identity development. This scholarship has increasingly recognized the complexity and multidimensional nature of sexual identity development among both heterosexual and sexual-minority individuals. This review covers current conceptualizations of sexual orientation and identity, traditional and contemporary models of sexual identity development, and recent empirical literature assessing developmental trajectories, consistency between and within dimensions of sexual orientation and identity, stability of these dimensions, and issues of sexual identity labeling and categorization. This scholarship suggests that increased attention to diversity within and between sexual identity groups is warranted but also reveals notable patterns and categories that should be considered as the field moves forward.