Pornography consumption and non-marital sexual behaviour in a sample of young Indonesian university students

Abstract

Using a sample of Indonesian university students and a cross sectional design, this study investigated prevalence rates and patterns of pornography consumption in Indonesia, a religious, sexually conservative, Muslim-majority nation with strict anti-pornography laws. Further, the association between pornography consumption and common non-marital sexual behaviours was explored. The study found that in this sample, pornography is as widely and readily consumed as in comparable international studies predominantly utilising Western background samples from more sexually liberal and less religious countries with very few laws on pornography. Gender differences in patterns of pornography consumption were pronounced and comparable with findings in international counterpart studies. For men only, pornography consumption was found to significantly predict common sexual behaviours in non-marital relations. The study is the first to provide insights into prevalence rates and patterns of pornography consumption and its association with common non-marital sexual behaviours in a sexually conservative, Muslim-majority nation with strict anti-pornography laws.

Self-Perceived Effects of Pornography Consumption in a Sample of Indonesian University Students

“…First, it may be attributed to a continuous rise of sexual permissiveness due to changes in socioeconomic conditions, modernization, and access to global media among young Indonesians in recent years. This may influence both pornography consumption rates, acceptance of pornography consumption, and the ways in which consumption of pornographic materials is perceived and assessed (Bennett, 2007;Hald & Wijaya Mulya, 2013;Ichwanny, 2010;Simon & Paxton, 2004;Supriati & Fikawati, 2009). …”

“…Accordingly, recent research utilizing Indonesian samples indicates that both attitudinal and behavioral sexual permissiveness, including premarital sexual activities, is rising (Bennett, 2007;Ichwanny, 2010;Simon & Paxton, 2004) and that pornography is widely consumed (e.g., Hald & Wijaya Mulya, 2013;Supriati & Fikawati, 2009). While the high rates of pornography consumption in Indonesia have been discussed elsewhere (Hald & Wijaya Mulya, 2013), no prior research has targeted the self-perceived and self-reported effects of such consumption. We position investigations into this as important as they may enrich the scientific and public debate on pornography consumption in Indonesia and elsewhere by bringing a consumer perspective to the debate (Blackwood, 2007;Hald, Seaman, & Linz, 2013).…”

The Role of Internet Pornography Use and Cyber Infidelity in the Associations between Personality, Attachment, and Couple and Sexual Satisfaction

“…Finally, we propose that cyber infidelity is associated with couple and sexual satisfaction. Furthermore, because women and men show distinct patterns of pornography use (e.g., Hald & Mulya [21]), we hypothesize that the model will differ according to gender.…”

The Development of the Problematic Pornography Consumption Scale (PPCS)

“…Online pornography consumption is a widespread phenomenon (Edelman, 2009;Haggstrom-Nordin, Hanson, & Tydén, 2005;Hald & Mulya, 2013;Stulhofer, Busko, & Landripet, 2010). Pornography websites are among the top 50 most visited websites worldwide (Alexa.com, 2016;Similarweb.com, 2016) and more than 90% of adults have viewed pornography in their lives (Hald, 2006;Traeen, Spitznogle, & Beverfjord, 2004).…”