Sex differences in sexual satisfaction and psychological symptoms in young adult pornography users

Abstract

Research indicates that men and women have different preferences and patterns of sexual behavior and the use of pornographic content. It is commonly found that men use porn more frequently. A recent study found sex differences in motivations behind porn use. Authors speculated that different motivations might lead to different outcomes. The presented study aimed to compare sex differences in the associations between pornography use, sexual satisfaction, and occurrence of psychological symptoms between high and low pornography users sampled from the general population. A sample of 179 participants between the ages of 18 to 37 completed the questionnaire containing questions about demographic data, manner, and frequency of porn use and two psychometric scales: the General Functioning Scale GFQ-58 (assessing broad psychological symptoms) and the Sexual Satisfaction Scale SSC. In general, females in the study obtained higher scores on the General Functioning Scale, presenting more psychological symptoms. Still, when considering the frequency and manner of porn use, it is men in which increased porn use was found to be associated with psychological symptoms. Presented data provide evidence that men and women might have different motivations, leading to varying outcomes of porn use. This further supports the hypothesis that it is not porn that is inherently harmful, but rather why and how you use it.