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Research
Journal of Adolescent
DOI: 10.1177/0743558407306348
2008; 23; 6 Journal of Adolescent Research
Carolyn McNamara Barry and Stephanie D. Madsen
Jason S. Carroll, Laura M. Padilla-Walker, Larry J. Nelson, Chad D. Olson,
Emerging Adults
Generation XXX: Pornography Acceptance and Use Among
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Generation XXX
Pornography Acceptance and
Use Among Emerging Adults
Jason S. Carroll
Laura M. Padilla-Walker
Larry J. Nelson
Chad D. Olson
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
Carolyn McNamara Barry
Loyola College in Maryland, Baltimore
Stephanie D. Madsen
McDaniel College, Westminster, Maryland
This study examined correlates of pornography acceptance and use within a nor-
mative (nonclinical) population of emerging adults (individuals aged 18–26).
Participants included 813 university students (500 women; Mage =20 years)
recruited from six college sites across the United States. Participants completed
online questionnaires regarding their acceptance and use of pornography, as well
as their sexual values and activity, substance use, and family formation values.
Results revealed that roughly two thirds (67% ) of young men and one half (49%)
of young women agree that viewing pornography is acceptable, whereas nearly 9
out of 10 (87%) young men and nearly one third (31%) of young women reported
using pornography. Results also revealed associations between pornography
acceptance and use and emerging adults’risky sexual attitudes and behaviors, sub-
stance use patterns, and nonmarital cohabitation values. The discussion considers
the implications of pornography use during the transition to adulthood.
Keywords: pornography; emerging adulthood; sexually explicit material;
risk behaviors
Pornography is becoming a prevalent part of life in the United States and
in many countries around the world. Sex is reported to be the most
Journal of Adolescent
Research
Volume 23 Number 1
January 2008 6-30
© 2008 Sage Publications
10.1177/0743558407306348
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6
Authors’ Note: Address correspondence to Dr. Jason S. Carroll, 2057 Joseph F. Smith Building,
School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, Provo UT 84602; e-mail: jcarroll@byu.edu.
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Carroll et al. / Pornography and Emerging Adulthood 7
frequently searched topic on the Internet (Cooper, Delmonico, & Burg,
2000), with pornographic search-engine requests totaling approximately 68
million per day (25% of total search-engine requests). Although exact
figures are difficult to ascertain, recent reports estimate that approximately
40 million adults in the United States regularly visit Internet pornography
sites; in terms of economic impact, the pornography industry annually gen-
erates an estimated $100 billion dollars worldwide, with over $13 billion in
revenue from the United States (Ropelato, 2007).
The proliferation of pornography in the current lives of Americans is
undoubtedly linked to the changing technological context of modern
society. The extensive availability of personal computers (beginning in
1982–1985), the subsequent widespread access to the Internet (beginning in
1995), and the advent of pay-per-view home movies (beginning in 1990–1995)
have changed the technological context for accessing pornography (Buzzell,
2005a). Cooper and colleagues (2000) suggest that these technological
advances have created a “triple-A engine” that fuels an increased trend of
pornography consumption, referring to the increased accessibility (millions
of pornographic websites are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week), afford-
ability (competition on the Internet keeps prices low, and there are a host of
ways to get free pornography), and anonymity of sexually explicit materials
(in the privacy of one’s own home, people perceive their accessing of porno-
graphy to be anonymous). These technological changes make questions about
pornography particularly relevant to young people, who are coming of age in
a context where computers and Internet access are ubiquitous in households
and college campuses across America. Emerging adulthood (18–25 years)
may be a time of particular interest because it is a period that is characterized
by exploration in the areas of sexuality, romantic relationships, identity, and
values, as well increased participation in risk behaviors (Arnett, 2006).
Despite the documented increase of pornography during the last decade
and its near-mainstream status in American culture, little attention has been
given to the topic in leading research journals. For example, a targeted data-
base search (using the PsychInfo database) of the top five adolescent journals,
the top five developmental journals, and the top five family journals since 1995
reveals that only one article has been published reporting on a study where
pornography was a primary focus (Cameron et al., 2005) and only two articles
where pornography was investigated as an issue of minor or secondary inter-
est (Wang, Bianchi, & Raley, 2005; Young-Ho, 2001). Given this lack of atten-
tion in leading journals, little is known about the correlates and outcomes of
pornography use in regard to individual development and family formation
patterns. There is a growing literature on pornography in specialty journals
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8 Journal of Adolescent Research
that address sexuality and the clinical treatment of sexual disorders, but
these studies typically utilize nonnormative samples and rarely address core
developmental processes and outcomes.
For this project, pornography was defined as media used or intended to
increase sexual arousal. Such material generally portrays images of nudity and
depictions of sexual behaviors. Researchers have labeled this class of media
using terms such as sexually explicit materials (Goodson, McCormick, & Evans,
2001), erotica (Zillmann, 1994), and online sexual activity (Cooper et al., 2000).
The purpose of this study was to examine levels of pornography use and
acceptance among a normative sample of emerging adults (aged 18 to 26) in
the United States and to compare usage rates across age cohorts within this
developmental period. Analyses were conducted to investigate how patterns of
pornography acceptance and use were associated with emerging adults’ sexual
attitudes and behaviors, substance use patterns, and family formation values.
These dependent variables were selected to investigate issues of importance to
current functioning during emerging adulthood and future family formation.
Pornography Literature
A review of the scholarly research addressing pornography reveals a
diverse literature that spans nearly 50 years. However, much of this litera-
ture is dated, in that it predates the current technological context of pornog-
raphy (Buzzell, 2005a). Also, much of the existing literature is of limited
use for our purposes here because it focuses on issues related to criminol-
ogy and the clinical treatment of sexual compulsions rather than use among
normative populations. Beginning as early as the 1970s and 1980s, schol-
ars have investigated potential links between pornography and criminal
behaviors such as violence and aggression (Allen, D’Alessio, & Brezgel,
1995), sexual offenses (Bauserman, 1996), and child pornography (Quayle
& Taylor, 2003). Although meta-analytic studies have frequently docu-
mented a link between pornography exposure and increased criminal and
deviant behavior (Allen et al., 1995; Oddone-Paolucci, Genuis, & Violato,
2000), inconsistent findings and limitations in the research have created
divergent perspectives and an ongoing debate among scholars about the
effects of pornography exposure on the subsequent behavior of individuals.
Clinical research on pornography has increased in recent years as mental
health professionals across disciplines have reported a marked increase
in the number of clients seeking treatment for sexually addictive prob-
lems related to pornography (Mitchell, Becker-Blease, & Finkelhor, 2005).
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Carroll et al. / Pornography and Emerging Adulthood 9
Using clinical samples, this line of research has begun to identify potential links
between pornography compulsion and individual problems (Philaretou,
Mahfouz, & Allen, 2005) and potential couple dynamics (R. M. Bergner &
Bridges, 2002). Although criminal and clinical research studies examine a
number of unique questions, they are typically based on nonnormative
samples with existing disorders and are fairly limited in scope, in that they
address only extremes of pornography addiction, psychopathology, and
criminal behavior. We focus our review here on research that has been done
with normative samples and that addresses correlates and outcomes of
pornography use and acceptance among emerging adults.
A small number of studies have examined pornography use in the general
population (Cooper, Delmonico, Griffin-Shelly, & Mathy, 2004; Cooper et al.,
2000; Cooper, Galbreath, & Becker, 2004; Cooper, Putnam, Planchon, &
Boies, 1999) and have found that pornography use is highest among individ-
uals aged 18–25 (Buzzell, 2005b). Research conducted to date suggests that
approximately 50% of college students report viewing pornography on the
Internet (Boies, 2002; Goodson et al., 2001). Goodson and colleagues (2001)
examined Internet pornography use among 506 college students and found
that 56% of men and 35% of women reported using the Internet for sex-related
information. Boies (2002) examined Internet pornography use among 1,100
university students and found that 72% of men and 24% of women reported
using the Internet to view pornography, with 11% of users viewing sexually
explicit materials once a week or more. Furthermore, those who reported
greater exposure to pornography were more likely to be sexually experienced,
report lower sexual anxiety, and have a higher number of sexual partners
(Morrison, Harriman, Morrison, Bearden, & Ellis, 2004).
In addressing the question of what motivates college students to partici-
pate in pornography use on the Internet, Goodson et al. (2001) found that
30% of users reported accessing sexually explicit materials on the Internet
out of curiosity, 19% to become sexually aroused, and 13% as a means of
enhancing their offline sexual encounters. Boies (2002) found that a major-
ity (82%) reported that viewing sexually explicit material online was sexu-
ally arousing, 40% reported that it satisfied curiosity, and 63% reported that
they learned new sexual techniques. Although there is a disparity between
the primary motivations for pornography use between these two studies, it
is clear that becoming sexually aroused and fulfilling curiosity are salient
motivations for Internet pornography use among emerging adults. Research
also suggests that emerging adults’ use of sexually explicit materials online
is primarily a solitary activity, with 35% of users reporting the use of
Internet pornography while alone, 18% with offline partners, and 15% in a
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10 Journal of Adolescent Research
group context (Goodson et al., 2001). This finding is further supported by
research suggesting that 83% of young men and 55% of young women
reported masturbating while viewing pornography (Boies, 2002).
Although men of all ages overwhelmingly report greater pornography
use than do women, Boies (2002) found that in younger samples, women
viewed pornographic material at a higher proportion to males (3:1) than in
older samples (6:1). Furthermore, Goodson et al. (2001) examined the emo-
tional correlates of pornography use among college students and found few
gender differences in reports of arousal in response to sexually explicit
materials. Goodson and colleagues suggested that the use of sexually
explicit material on the Internet is a valued activity for women and provides
a safe medium through which women can explore their sexuality.
Focus of the Study
Existing studies provide some insight into the pornography patterns of
emerging adults and some of the reasons behind their use of pornography,
but there continue to be unanswered questions regarding how pornography
might be associated with salient developmental features of emerging adult-
hood. For example, there is little research examining correlates of pornog-
raphy use with variables other than sexual attitudes and behaviors, such as
substance use and family formation values. Given that emerging adults
appear to be using pornography as much or more than any other age group
and may also have more aspects of their lives in transition than do other age
groups (Arnett, 2006), it is important to understand how pornography use
during this developmental period might be related to other values and
behaviors that are important for positive development.
This study was designed to examine how pornography use and acceptance
are associated with emerging adults’ sexual attitudes and behaviors, substance
use patterns, and family formation values. Dependent variables were selected
to investigate issues of importance to current functioning during emerging
adulthood and future family formation. For example, family scholars have
found certain premarital behaviors, such as permissive sexuality (Heaton,
2002; Kahn & London, 1991; Larson & Holman, 1994; Teachman, 2003)
and nonmarital cohabitation (DeMaris & Rao, 1992; Dush, Cohan, &
Amato, 2003; Kline et al., 2004), to be associated with less marital stabil-
ity in future marriages. Conversely, sexuality (Lefkowitz & Gillen, 2006)
and substance use patterns (Schulenberg & Zarrett, 2006) are more
commonly examined arenas of exploration and experimentation during
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Carroll et al. / Pornography and Emerging Adulthood 11
emerging adulthood. This study was designed to address two primary
research questions:
Question 1: What are the levels of acceptance and use of pornography among
emerging adults, and how do these patterns vary across age cohorts within this
developmental period?
Question 2: To what extent are levels of pornography acceptance and use associated
with sexuality, substance use, and family formation patterns in emerging adulthood?
Furthermore, this study was designed to address five limitations that
exist in pornography research to date:
Limitation 1: Findings suggest that the use of one medium of media to access
pornography (i.e., the Internet) is highly correlated with the use of other forms
of pornography use, such as reading pornographic magazines and viewing
videotapes (Goodson et al., 2001) as well as going to offline public venues to
view pornographic entertainment (Boies, 2002). Thus, focusing solely on
Internet pornography likely results in an underestimation of the frequency of
pornography use among emerging adults, especially when considering that ado-
lescents and emerging adults report using offline pornography more frequently
than online pornography (Boies, 2002; Ybarra & Mitchell, 2005). Thus, the cur-
rent study examined overall pornography use across media in an attempt to
obtain a more accurate understanding of the frequency of pornography use.
Limitation 2: Our review of the literature revealed that results are mixed in regard
to the frequency of pornography use (ranging from 40%–90%) and the correlates
of this behavior among emerging adults. These inconsistencies are likely the
result of (a) past researchers not examining men and women separately in their
analyses and (b) their utilizing small samples, typically recruited from a single
university location. In an attempt to obtain a more representative sample, data
from the current study were gathered from six geographically diverse universi-
ties across the United States, and all analyses were separately computed for
emerging adult men and women.
Limitation 3: Scholars examining correlates of pornography use have rarely con-
trolled for other variables that may be affecting the relationship between pornog-
raphy use and other behaviors, thereby posing a threat to the validity of the
findings and to the inferences made from them. For example, although scholars
have explored links between religiosity and pornography use (Goodson,
McCormick, & Evans, 2000), studies rarely control for religiosity when investi-
gating the affects of pornography. Without these control variables, scholars
cannot rule out plausible alternative explanations for their findings. Controlled
analyses are particularly needed when examining links between pornography
use and risk behavior or sexual activity because the observed relation may be
due to a third variable, such as impulsivity (see Peter & Valkenburg, 2006) or
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12 Journal of Adolescent Research
relationship status (A. J. Bergner, Bergner, & Hesson-Mcinnis, 2003). To minimize
the likelihood of identifying spurious correlations, all analyses in this study con-
trolled for the religiosity, impulsivity, age, and relationship status of the participants.
Limitation 4: Much of the existing literature on pornography use is limited in value
because the researchers measured usage patterns with personally defined
response codes (e.g., never,seldom,sometimes,often) rather than temporally
based response codes that provide actual frequencies of use (e.g., weekly,every
other day,daily). To better ascertain frequency patterns, this study measured
pornography use with a temporally based response pattern.
Limitation 5: Finally, many pornography studies only look at patterns of pornogra-
phy use but do not simultaneously investigate rates of acceptance of pornogra-
phy, whether personally used or not. Studying values related to pornography
may be a critical addition to the literature, in that it allows scholars to look at
how widely accepted pornography use is among certain developmental cohorts
and to identify the degree to which this behavior is condoned or condemned by
one’s peers. The study of values related to pornography may be particularly ben-
eficial in the study of couple formation patterns where men’s and women’s usage
patterns may differ, but acceptance or nonacceptance of a partner’s behavior may
have implications for relationship dynamics and quality.
Method
Participants
The participants for this study were selected from an ongoing study of
emerging adults and their parents, entitled Project READY (Researching
Emerging Adults’Developmental Years). This project is a collaborative mul-
tisite study that is being conducted by a consortium of developmental and
family scholars. The sample that was utilized in the current study consisted
of 813 undergraduate and graduate students (500 women, 313 men) recruited
from six college sites across the country: a small private liberal arts college
and a medium-sized religious university on the East Coast, two large
Midwestern public universities, a large religious university in the intermoun-
tain West, and a large public university on the West Coast. Participants ranged
in age from 18 to 26, with the mean age being 20.0 years (SD =1.84).
Overall, 79% of the participants were European American, 4% were African
American, 9% were Asian American, 3% were Latino American, and 5%
indicated that they were “mixed/biracial” or of an other ethnicity. Further-
more, 96% reported that their sexual preference was heterosexual, 2%
reported a homosexual preference, and another 2% reported a bisexual pref-
erence. Study participants reported a variety of religious affiliations: Roman
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Carroll et al. / Pornography and Emerging Adulthood 13
Catholic, 35.1%; conservative Christian, 16.6%; liberal Christian, 16.0%;
Latter-day Saint (Mormon), 2.9%; other faiths (e.g., Jewish, Greek Orthodox,
Muslim), 3.2%; atheist/agnostic, 7.9%; and no affiliation, 9.5%. All of the par-
ticipants were unmarried (6.3% cohabiting with a partner in an intimate rela-
tionship), and 90% reported living outside their parents’ home in an
apartment, house, or dormitory.
Procedure
Participants completed the Project READY questionnaire via the Internet
(see http://www.projectready.net). The use of an online data collection proto-
col facilitated unified data collection across multiple university sites and
allowed for the survey to be administered to emerging adults and their parents,
who were living in separate locations throughout the country (parent data were
not used in the current study). Participants were recruited through faculty
announcement of the study in undergraduate and graduate courses. Professors
at the various universities were provided with a handout to give to their
students that had a brief explanation of the study, as well as directions for
accessing the online survey. Interested students then accessed the study Web
site with a location-specific recruitment code. Informed consent was obtained
online, and only after consent was given could the participants begin the ques-
tionnaires. Each participant was asked to complete a survey battery of 448
items. Sections of the survey addressed areas such as background information,
family-of-origin experiences, self-perceptions, personality traits, values, risk
behaviors, dating behaviors, prosocial behaviors, and religiosity. The survey
also assessed attitudes and behaviors pertaining to couple formation, such as
cohabitation, sexuality, and interpersonal competencies. Most participants
were offered course credit or extra credit for their participation. In some cases
(approximately 5%), participants were offered small monetary compensation
(i.e., $10–$20 gift certificates) for their participation.
Measures
For the current study, we examined associations between emerging
adults’ reports of their acceptance and use of pornography and their atti-
tudes and behaviors related to potential risk behaviors (i.e., sexuality and
substance use) and family formation values.
Pornography acceptance and use. Two items were used to measure par-
ticipants’ levels of acceptance and use of pornography. Acceptance of
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14 Journal of Adolescent Research
pornography was measured by asking respondents how much they agreed
with the statement “Viewing pornographic material (such as magazines,
movies, and/or Internet sites) is an acceptable way to express one’s sexual-
ity.” Responses were recorded on a 6-point scale ranging from 1 (very
strongly disagree) to 6 (very strongly agree). To assess pornography use,
emerging adults were asked the question, “How frequently do you view
pornographic material (such as magazines, movies, and/or Internet sites)?”
Responses for this item were measured on a 6-point scale ranging from 0
to 5 (0 =none,1 =once a month or less,2 =2 or 3 days a month,3 =1 or
2 days a week,4 =3 to 5 days a week,5 =everyday or almost everyday).
Risk behaviors. Emerging adults’ sexual permissiveness was measured
using a two-item scale assessing how much participants agreed or disagreed
with sexual value statements on a 6-point scale ranging from 1 (very
strongly disagree) to 6 (very strongly agree). These statements related to
their personal sexual ethics regarding premarital sexual relations (“It is all
right for a man and woman to have sexual relations before marriage”) and
uncommitted sexual relations (“It is all right for two people to get together
for sex and not necessarily expect anything further”). Preliminary analyses
found that this scale had strong internal consistency (emerging adult men,
α=.84; emerging adult women, α=.84) and that, on average, emerging
adult men (M=3.92, SD =1.36) reported higher levels of sexual permis-
siveness than did emerging adult women (M=3.51, SD =1.35).
Participants’ agreement with extramarital sexuality was assessed with a sin-
gle item (“It is all right for a married person to have sexual relations with
someone other than his/her spouse”): emerging adult men, M=1.36, SD =
.78; emerging adult women, M=1.22, SD =.67. Two items were used to
assess participants’ sexual behavior.Open-response questions asked emerg-
ing adults to report the number of sexual partners that they have had in their
lifetime (emerging adult men, M=3.10, SD =6.17; emerging adult women,
M=2.51, SD =4.01) and within the last 12 months (emerging adult men,
M=1.19, SD =1.70; emerging adult women, M=.97, SD =1.29).
Emerging adults reported their frequency of substance use using a five-
item scale assessing alcohol consumption, binge drinking (i.e., drinking 4
or 5 drinks or more in one occasion), cigarette smoking, marijuana use, and
their use of other illegal drugs (e.g., cocaine, heroin, crystal meth, mush-
rooms). Responses were reported using a 6-point scale ranging from 0 to 5
(0 =none,1 =once a month or less,2 =2 or 3 days a month,3 =1 or 2
days a week,4 =3 to 5 days a week,5 =everyday or almost everyday).
Preliminary analyses found that this scale had good internal consistency
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Carroll et al. / Pornography and Emerging Adulthood 15
(emerging adult men, α=.76; emerging adult women, α=.76) and that, on
average, emerging adult men (M=1.19, SD =.96) reported higher levels of
substance use than did emerging adult women (M=.86, SD =.76).
Family formation values. Emerging adults’ values regarding family forma-
tion practices were assessed in the areas of nonmarital cohabitation and child-
bearing, marriage ideals, and views of parenting. Participants’ endorsement of
cohabitation was measured using a six-item scale measured on a 6-point scale
ranging from 1 (very strongly disagree) to 6 (very strongly agree). Value state-
ments included in this scale included “It is all right for a couple to live together
without planning to get married,” “It is all right for an unmarried couple to live
together as long as they have plans to marry,” “Living together before marriage
will improve a couple’s chances of remaining happily married,” “A couple will
likely be happier in their marriage if they live together first,” “It is a good idea
for a couple to live together before getting married as a way of ‘trying out’their
relationship,” and “Living together first is a good way of testing how workable
a couple’s marriage would be.” Preliminary analyses found that this scale had
very strong internal consistency (emerging adult men, α=.94; emerging adult
women, α=.93) and that, on average, emerging adult men (M=3.75, SD =
1.21) reported higher levels of endorsement of cohabitation than did emerging
adult women (M=3.39, SD =1.17). Participant’s agreement with out-of-wed-
lock childbirth was assessed with a single item (“I would personally consider
having a child out-of-wedlock”) measured on a 6-point scale ranging from 1
(very strongly disagree) to 6 (very strongly agree). Preliminary analyses found
that, on average, emerging adult men (M=2.24, SD =1.23) and women (M=
2.13, SD =1.20) hold similar views on this approach to family formation.
Carroll and colleagues (2007) have proposed that emerging adults develop
a marital horizon, or marriage philosophy, that comprises at least three inter-
connected factors—marital importance, desired marital timing, and criteria for
marriage readiness. Three items measured on a 6-point scale ranging from 1
(very strongly disagree) to 6 (very strongly agree) were used to measure par-
ticipants’ ideals for marriage in these three domains. One measured partici-
pants’ agreement to value statements regarding marital importance (“Being
married is a very important goal for me”), emerging adult men, M=3.77,
SD =1.31; emerging adult women, M=3.44, SD =1.35. The next assessed
participant’s desired age for marriage (“What is the ideal age (in years) for an
individual to get married?”), emerging adult men, M=25.4 years old, SD =
2.12; emerging adult women, M=24.8 years old, SD =1.83. A third item
assessed desires for spousal independence in marital finances (“In marriage,
it is a good idea for each spouse to maintain control over his/her personal
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16 Journal of Adolescent Research
finances”), emerging adult men, M=3.78, SD =1.36; emerging adult
women, M=3.65, SD =1.35. A three-item scale using the agreement
responses mentioned previously was used to measure participants’ degree
of child-centeredness, or positive appraisal of becoming a parent in the
future. The three items were “Having children is a very important goal for
me,” “Being a father and raising children is one of the most fulfilling expe-
riences a man can have,” and “Being a mother and raising children is one
of the most fulfilling experiences a woman can have.” Preliminary analyses
found that this scale had strong internal consistency (emerging adult men,
α=.86; emerging adult women, α=.84) and that, on average, emerging
adult men (M=4.83, SD =1.08) and emerging adult women (M=4.89,
SD =.91) had similarly high levels of child-centeredness.
Results
The analyses for this study were conducted in a sequential format to test
the two research questions detailed previously. Because of historical gender
differences in the several variables measured—including average median
age at marriage, sexual behaviors, and substance use—analyses were run
separately for emerging adult men and women.
Question 1: What are the levels of acceptance and use of pornography among
emerging adults, and how do these patterns vary across age cohorts within this
developmental period?
Frequency levels of emerging adults’acceptance and use of pornography
were calculated for men and women (see Table 1). These analyses revealed
that emerging adult men accepted and used pornography more frequently
than did emerging adult women, although these differences were more pro-
nounced in usage patterns. Two thirds (66.5%) of emerging adult men
reported that they agreed, at some level, that viewing pornography is
acceptable, whereas emerging adult women were evenly split (48.7% agree,
51.3% disagree) on whether viewing pornography was an acceptable way
to express one’s sexuality. With regard to actual usage rates of pornography,
87% of emerging adult men reported using pornography at some level, with
approximately one fifth reporting daily or every-other-day use (i.e., 3 to 5
times a week) and nearly half (48.4%) reporting a weekly or more frequent
use pattern. Women’s usage patterns were markedly different, with about
one third (31%) reporting pornography use at some level. However, the
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Carroll et al. / Pornography and Emerging Adulthood 17
majority of emerging adult women using pornography reported a once a
month or less pattern of usage, and only 3.2% of women reported a use pat-
tern of weekly or more. An intriguing pattern surfaced when the data on
pornography acceptance were transposed on emerging adults’ reported
usage rates of pornography. For emerging adult men, approximately 1 in 5
reported that they used pornography but did not believe that it is an accept-
able behavior, whereas among emerging adult women, approximately 1 in
5 reported that pornography is acceptable, but they did not personally use
pornography.
In the absence of longitudinal data, the best way to ascertain if pornogra-
phy usage and acceptance rates vary across emerging adulthood is to compare
usage rates across age cohorts within the developmental period. As such, our
sample was divided into three age cohorts (18- and 19-year-olds, n=397; 20-
to 22-year-olds, n=337; and 23- to 26-year-olds, n=79), and MANCOVA
(multiple analysis of covariance) comparisons were computed on emerging
adult men’s and women’s usage and acceptance rates of pornography. Because
previous research has found that risk behaviors typically peak at about age 22
(Arnett, 2006; Schulenberg & Zarrett, 2006), we included a measure of binge
drinking (i.e., the item from the Substance Use Scale) in these age compar-
isons to investigate if pornography use followed a similar pattern.
These analyses revealed that for emerging adult men, there were significant
differences between the age cohorts on binge-drinking rates but not on
pornography use or acceptance (MANCOVA: emerging adult men, F=3.50,
df =3, p<.05). In particular, emerging adult men followed the expected
pattern, with men aged 23 to 26 reporting significantly less (p<.01) binge
drinking (M=1.21, SD =1.26) than their younger counterparts (18- and 19-
year-olds, M=1.84, SD =1.47; 20- to 22-year-olds, M=1.86, SD =1.42).
Although slight declines in pornography use and acceptance were found for
men aged 23 to 26, these differences did not reach statistical significance.
Emerging adult women followed a similar pattern (MANCOVA: emerging
adult women, F=5.08, df =3, p<.01), with older emerging adults reporting
significantly less (p<.01) binge drinking behavior (23- to 26-year-olds, M=
1.07, SD =1.10) than younger women (18- and 19-year-olds, M=1.37, SD =
1.31; 20- to 22-year-olds, M=1.32, SD =1.28); however, pornography use
patterns remained steady across the three groups, and a significant increase
(p<.01) in the acceptance of pornography was identified between women
aged 23 to 26 (M=3.63, SD =1.20) and women aged 18 or 19 (M=3.05,
SD =1.29). It is interesting to note that although gender differences in pornog-
raphy use remain consistent across the three age cohorts, increases in the
acceptance of pornography among older emerging adult women place men’s
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18 Journal of Adolescent Research
and women’s acceptance of pornography at the same level by the time that
they reach their mid twenties.
Question 2: To what extent are levels of pornography acceptance and use associated with
sexuality, substance use, and family formation patterns in emerging adulthood?
Three types of analyses were used to investigate the study’s second
research question. First, partial correlations were calculated to determine
the direction and strength of the associations between the pornography
items and the other study variables. Next, to examine specifically how
pornography use was related to salient features of emerging adulthood, we
ran a series of group comparison analyses. For emerging adult men, we ran
a series of MANCOVAs with five pornography use groups: Group A, never
use (none); Group B, seldom use (once a month or less); Group C, monthly
use (2 or 3 days a month); Group D, weekly use (1 or 2 days a week); and
Group E, daily use (3 to 5 days a week or everyday or almost everyday).
Because of the relatively low usage rates among women, we ran ANOVA
Table 1
Acceptance and Use of Pornography Among
Emerging Adults (in Percentages)
Emerging Adult Emerging Adult
Men (n=313) Women (n=500)
Pornography acceptancea
Very strongly disagree 8.0 14.5
Strongly disagree 7.4 11.3
Disagree 18.0 25.5
Agree 45.3 39.0
Strongly agree 9.6 6.3
Very strongly agree 11.6 3.4
Pornography useb
None 13.9 69.0
Once a month or less 16.8 20.7
2 or 3 days a month 21.0 7.1
1 or 2 days a week 27.1 2.2
3 to 5 days a week 16.1 .8
Everyday or almost every day 5.2 .2
a. “Viewing pornographic material (such as magazines, movies, and/or Internet sites) is an
acceptable way to express one’s sexuality.”
b. “During the past 12 months, on how many days did you view pornographic material (such
as magazines, movies, and/or Internet sites)?”
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Carroll et al. / Pornography and Emerging Adulthood 19
comparisons between two groups: nonusers (Group A) and users (Group B)
of pornography. We also calculated subgroup frequencies on the behavior
items to further examine patterns of sexuality and substance use. Preliminary
analyses revealed that age, current dating status, religiosity, and impulsivity
were all correlated to some degree with pornography use and acceptance,
with religiosity and impulsivity related to men’s pornography patterns and
with religiosity, current dating status, and age related to women’s pornog-
raphy patterns (see Table 2). To increase confidence that the associations
identified between study variables were related to study hypotheses and not
due to spurious correlations, we included items measuring age, current dat-
ing status, religiosity, and impulsivity as control variables in all partial cor-
relation and group comparison analyses.
Risk behaviors. As noted in Table 3, pornography use was found to be
significantly related with emerging adult men’s sexual values and behav-
iors. Partial correlation analyses revealed a small but significant connection
between pornography use and number of lifetime sexual partners among
emerging adult men and their acceptance of extramarital sexual behavior.
Also, the more that men accepted and used pornography, the more likely
they were to be accepting of premarital and casual sexual behavior. Group
comparisons revealed that the most distinctive sexual values were found
Table 2
Correlations Between Pornography Variables and Control Variables
Emerging Adult Emerging Adult
Men (n=313) Women (n=500)
Pornography Pornography Pornography Pornography
Control Variables acceptance use acceptance use
Age .02 .06 .13** .08
Current dating statusa.01 –.02 .11** .18***
Religiosityb–.39*** –.30*** –.44*** –.20***
Impulsivityc.22*** –.19*** .06 .04
a. Current dating status: 1 =not dating at all,2 =casual/occasional dating,3 =have a
boy/girlfriend (in an exclusive relationship),4 =engaged,or committed to marry.
b. Religiosity (“My religious faith is extremely important to me”): 1 =very strongly disagree,
2 =strongly disagree,3 =disagree,4 =agree,5 =strongly agree,6 =very strongly disagree.
c. Impulsivity (two-item scale; emerging adult men, α=.77; emerging adult women, α=.68;
“Fight with others/lose temper,” “Easily irritated or mad”): 1 =never,2 =seldom,3 =some-
times,4 =often,5 =very often.
**p<.01. ***p<.001.
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Table 3
Correlations and Group Comparisons Between Pornography Variables and Emerging Adult Factors
Emerging Adult Men (n=313) Emerging Adult Women (n=500)
Pornography Use Pornography Use
None Seldom Monthly Weekly Daily No Yes
Accept (r) Use (r)(=a) (=b) (=c) (=d) (=e) Accept (r) Use (r)(=a) (=b)
Sexual values
Sexual permissiveness .61*** .34*** 2.64bcde 3.59ade 3.92ae 4.23ab 4.68abc .55*** .15** 3.23b4.12a
Extramarital sexuality .08 .15** 1.07e1.27 1.34 1.50 1.45a.13** .05 1.20 1.24
Sexual behavior: With how many partners have you had sexual intercourse?
“With how many . . .” .09 .11* 1.30e2.37e4.25 1.96 5.28ab .19*** .17*** 1.89b3.75a
None 58.1% 28.8 23.1 41.7 22.7 46.4 22.9
3 or more partners 9.3% 25.0 33.4 25.0 40.9 26.9 46.4
With how many partners have you had sexual intercourse in the past 12 months?
“With how many . . .” .02 .06 .63ce 1.04 1.14 1.26 .15 .22*** .09* .85b1.22a
None 67.4% 30.8 27.7 46.4 28.8 50.6 24.2
3 or more partners 2.3% 9.6 15.4 9.5 22.7 7.7 11.1
Substance use
Substance Use Scale .15* .20*** .35bcde 1.14a1.42a1.30a1.38a.28*** .16*** .77b1.08a
Alcohol use
None 51.2% 19.2 3.1 13.1 7.6 22.4 8.5
Weekly or more 18.6% 46.2 69.2 60.7 60.6 38.8 47.1
Binge drinking
None 69.8% 26.9 15.4 27.4 22.7 46.2 24.8
Weekly or more 11.6% 32.7 49.2 46.4 51.5 22.9 29.4
Note: Controlling for age, dating status, religiosity, and impulsivity. Alphabetic superscripts indicate significant group mean differences at the p <.05 level.
*p<.05. **p<.01. ***p<.001.
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Carroll et al. / Pornography and Emerging Adulthood 21
among the emerging adult men who never used pornography and reported
markedly more conservative sexual values than their pornography using
peers and among men who used pornography on a daily basis who reported
the most liberal sexual values (MANCOVA: emerging adult men, F=5.99,
df =5, p<.001). The daily users had, on average, nearly 5 times more life-
time sexual partners than nonusers had, and the majority of nonusers
reported that they had not had sexual intercourse. Among emerging adult
women, pornography acceptance and use were found to be related to sexual
values and sexual behaviors, with pornography acceptance being a stronger
correlate of these variables than actual pornography use. Significant group
differences were found on all sexual variables (p<.001) except agreement
with extramarital sexual behavior. Emerging adult women who accepted
and used pornography were found to have significantly higher levels of
acceptance of casual sexual behavior and to report higher numbers of
sexual partners within the last 12 months and across their lifetimes.
As noted in Table 3, pornography use and acceptance were also found to
be significantly correlated with emerging adults’ substance use patterns.
Specifically, pornography acceptance and use were correlated significantly
with men’s substance use patterns. Comparisons of subgroup frequencies
revealed that emerging adult men who did not use pornography had
markedly lower levels of drinking and binge drinking than did their coun-
terparts, who used pornography on a regular basis. Similar but more pro-
nounced patterns were found among emerging adult women, among whom,
pornography use and acceptance were found to be significantly correlated
with higher substance use. Group comparisons documented that these dif-
ferences were statistically significant (p<.01) between emerging adult
women who used pornography and those who did not.
Family formation values. As noted in Table 4, pornography acceptance
was found to be significantly related to young people’s values and approaches
to family formation; however, pornography use patterns had little correlation
with these variables. Emerging adult men and women who were more
accepting of pornography were also more accepting of nonmarital cohabi-
tation, but only women who accepted pornography were found to be more
likely to consider having a child out of wedlock. No correlations were
found between pornography acceptance and emerging adult men’s and
women’s goals for marriage. However, acceptance of pornography was
found to be significantly correlated with desires for later marriage, finan-
cial independence between spouses within marriage, and lower levels of
child-centeredness for emerging adult men and women. Similar to the
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Table 4
Correlations and Group Comparisons Between Pornography Variables and Family Formation Values
Emerging Adult Men (n=313) Emerging Adult Women (n=500)
Pornography Use Pornography Use
None Seldom Monthly Weekly Daily No Yes
Accept (r) Use (r)(=a) (=b) (=c) (=d) (=e) Accept (r) Use (r)(=a) (=b)
Nonmarital cohabitation and childbearing
Endorsement of .41*** .11 3.11de 3.45d3.70 4.13ab 4.08a.37*** .04 3.24b3.71a
cohabitation
Out-of-wedlock childbirth .07 .06 1.82e2.27 2.19 2.33 2.45a.21*** .05 1.99b2.42a
Marriage and parenting
“Being married is a very .06 –.02 5.08 4.76 4.86 4.52 4.49 –.08 –.03 4.96 4.93
important goal for me.”
Ideal age for marriage .15** .09 24.8e25.0 25.3 26.0a25.7 .13** .08 24.7 b25.1a
(in years)
Spousal independence .17*** .03 3.58 3.51 3.70 3.76 3.66 .14*** .01 3.73 3.81
Child-centeredness –.15** .01 5.01 4.86 4.87 4.84 4.81 –.13** –.06 4.97b4.72a
Note: Controlling for age, dating status, religiosity, and impulsivity. Alphabetic superscripts indicate significant group mean differences at the
p<.05 level.
**p<.01. ***p<.001.
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Carroll et al. / Pornography and Emerging Adulthood 23
analyses involving the sexuality and substance use variables, group com-
parison analyses revealed that much of the variance in these correlations
was attributed to the more traditional views of nonpornography using men
(MANCOVA: F=6.20, df =6, p<.001) and women (four of six compar-
isons, p<.001) and their peers who used pornography.
Discussion
The current study examined levels of pornography use and acceptance
among emerging adults in the United States. Comparisons were made
between early (18- and 19-year-olds), middle (20- to 22-year-olds), and late
emerging adults (23- to 26-year-olds). Additional analyses were conducted
to see if patterns of pornography acceptance and use were correlated with
sexual attitudes and behaviors, substance use patterns, and family forma-
tion values among emerging adults. Results suggest that pornography is a
prominent feature of the current emerging adulthood culture. Pornography
use was particularly prevalent among emerging adult men, with nearly half
reporting that they viewed pornography at least weekly and about 1 in 5
reporting that they used pornography daily or every other day. In contrast,
emerging adult women were less accepting and much less likely to use
pornography on a frequent basis. Given the lack of attention to pornogra-
phy habits in the leading developmental, adolescent, and family journals,
these findings raise a number of questions for scholars about how inten-
tional exposure to sexually explicit material may influence the develop-
mental patterns of the rising generation in the United States. We organize
our discussion of these findings around gender differences in pornography
patterns, perspectives on pornography as young people transition in and out
of emerging adulthood, and considerations of how pornography may influ-
ence couple formation during and after emerging adulthood.
Gender Differences in Pornography Patterns
Perhaps the most notable finding of this study was the marked difference
in pornography use and acceptance among emerging adult men and emerg-
ing adult women in our sample. These results suggest that pornography use
is as common as drinking is among college-age men. It also appears that a
sizable number of emerging adult men “binge” on pornography, with a sim-
ilar frequency and intensity that define binge drinking on American college
campuses. In fact, the comparison between pornography use and binge
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24 Journal of Adolescent Research
drinking may be justified, in that pornography use was found to be moder-
ately correlated with emerging adult men’s frequency of alcohol consump-
tion and their rates of binge drinking, even after controlling for a number of
variables that may be thought to contribute to both of these behaviors (e.g.,
impulsivity, religiosity). Emerging adult women were split when it came to
the topic of pornography. About half of emerging adult women were
accepting of pornography use among their peers, but only about 1 in 10
viewed pornography with any regularity. It may be possible that the mea-
sures that were utilized in this study influenced this finding, in that they
assessed visual media of pornography (Internet, magazines, movies) rather
than narrative-based erotica, which may be more appealing to women.
However, even with this consideration, the differences between pornogra-
phy use and acceptance among emerging adult men and women form a
notable finding that requires exploration in future research.
Another notable finding of this study was that the acceptance of pornog-
raphy was as strongly correlated with emerging adults’ attitudes and behav-
iors as their actual pornography use was (or more so). This finding suggests
that pornography should be regarded as much as a value stance or a per-
sonal sexual ethic as it is a behavioral pattern. This may be a particularly
salient finding for emerging adult women who report higher levels of
acceptance than actual use of pornography. Furthermore, pornography
acceptance among women was a stronger correlate with permissive sexual-
ity, alcohol use, binge drinking, and cigarette smoking than was actual
pornography use. For men, the acceptance of pornography was more highly
correlated with their sexual attitudes and family formation values than was
pornography use. These findings highlight that scholars need to define
pornography in terms of both values and behavior.
Transitions in and out of Emerging Adulthood
In addition to examining the overall usage rates of pornography among
emerging adults, subanalyses were also run to determine if rates of pornog-
raphy use differed significantly for early, middle, and late emerging adults.
These analyses identified that the rates of pornography use were relatively
stable across emerging adulthood. These patterns also suggest that pornog-
raphy patterns are established during adolescence or are rapidly developed
in emerging adulthood. The much lower levels of reported pornography use
among adolescents (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2005) suggest that the latter expla-
nation is more plausible, but future research is needed to confirm this pos-
sibility. The age pattern found in the current study is notable because it
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Carroll et al. / Pornography and Emerging Adulthood 25
varies from the identified pattern of exploratory behaviors during emerging
adulthood, which finds that for the majority of the population, most of these
types of behaviors peak at about age 22 and then decrease from that time for-
ward (Schulenberg & Zarrett, 2006). Thus, pornography use may be largely a
personal pattern that is not as contingent on the peer-centered experimental
context of emerging adulthood as drinking may be. This possibility is sup-
ported by research suggesting that pornography use is largely a solitary activ-
ity (Boies, 2002; Goodson et al., 2001), and it suggests that the solitary nature
of pornography use may distinguish it from other exploratory behaviors that
are common during emerging adulthood. The solitary pattern of pornography
use may contribute to its being more frequently carried over into young adult-
hood than peer-centered experimental behaviors.
A better understanding of how the transition from emerging adulthood
to young adult life influences and is influenced by pornography will help
clarify these processes. A key question in this line of research will be to
identify whether pornography acceptance and use rates remain similar as
emerging adults get older or if they change as young people transition into
adult roles and relationships. For example, our data set included responses
on the pornography acceptance item from 280 fathers and 343 mothers of
the emerging adults sampled for this study. A post hoc frequency analysis
of these responses revealed that only 36.6% of fathers and 20.4% of moth-
ers agreed at some level that pornography was an acceptable expression of
one’s sexuality. By way of comparison, emerging adults were much more
accepting of pornography than their parents were, with daughters even
reporting more acceptance (48.7%) than their fathers. Longitudinal
research is needed to determine if this pattern reflects a life course trajec-
tory, with acceptance of pornography decreasing as individuals move into
adulthood, or if this pattern reflects a generational difference, with the ris-
ing generation being more socialized than previous generations toward
pornography across the life span.
Another question that arises from the pornography usage rates identified in
this study is whether there is a link between the high level of habitual use
among men across emerging adulthood and the development of addictive and
compulsive patterns associated with pornography use. At least two alternative
trajectories seem possible. First, it is possible that the high rates of pornogra-
phy use among the emerging adult men identified in this study simply
reflect the explorative nature of emerging adulthood and that, similar to
rates of binge drinking and other risk behaviors that peak during the early
twenties (Schulenberg & Zarrett, 2006), pornography rates will taper off and
have few lasting negative effects on development. A second possibility is that
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26 Journal of Adolescent Research
for some young men, habitual use of pornography during adolescence and
emerging adulthood will act as the genesis for future problematic behav-
iors. Data on binge drinking reflect this type of pattern. Although the major-
ity of young people who engage in binge drinking during late adolescence
and emerging adulthood do not continue these patterns into adult life, there
is a notable minority (6%–8%) that engage in frequent binge drinking dur-
ing college (Brower, 2002), which may linger through life. Cooper and col-
leagues (Cooper, Delmonico, et al., 2004; Cooper, Galbreath, et al., 2004)
have developed a typology of pornography use that demonstrates how it
might affect individuals differently. Specifically, they identify three groups
of users of online sexual activity: Recreational users are those who access
online sexual material out of curiosity or for entertainment purposes and are
not typically seen as having problems associated with their online sexual
behavior. At-risk users are those who, if it were not for the availability of
the Internet, may never have developed a problem with online sexuality.
Finally, sexual compulsive users who, because of a propensity for patho-
logical sexual expression, use the Internet as one forum for their sexual
activities. Therefore, there may be a population of predisposed individu-
als for whom early exposure to pornography can lead to compulsive
sexual problems. Thus, future studies should examine links between
common use during adolescence and emerging adulthood and later adult
patterns, including sexual compulsion.
Pornography and Couple Formation
Two findings from this study are of note for research on couple forma-
tion in emerging adulthood and later adult life. First, pornography was not
significantly associated with young people’s goals for marriage and parent-
hood. Although pornography users were found to be more accepting of
nonmarital cohabitation than nonpornography users were, both groups
shared a mutually high regard for eventually getting married and becoming
parents. Therefore, pornography use and acceptance should be interpreted
within a framework that examines how these attitudes and behaviors influ-
ence young people’s marital competence and family capacities (Carroll,
Badger, & Yang, 2006). However, it should also be noted that pornography
use was linked to permissive sexuality and nonmarital cohabitation, two
variables that have been found to be associated with less marital stability in
future marriages (Dush, Cohan & Amato, 2003; Heaton, 2002; Kline et al.,
2004). Furthermore, although young people who accept and use pornogra-
phy identify marriage and parenthood as important life goals, it is not
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Carroll et al. / Pornography and Emerging Adulthood 27
known if pornography influences how young people define marriage. Men
who used pornography and women who accepted pornography were sig-
nificantly more likely to accept a married person’s having sexual relations
with someone other than his or her spouse than were their peers who did
not use or accept pornography. It may be that this finding merely reflects
the fact that sexually liberal people who endorse nonmarital sexual activity
are more likely to use pornography as emerging adults. However, future
research should examine if pornography influences people’s views of the
ethos of monogamy, which accompanies traditional views of marriage.
A second finding of note relating to couple formation patterns was the
identified pattern that roughly half of emerging adult women expressed a
disapproving view of pornography whereas nearly 9 out of 10 emerging
adult men reported using pornography to some degree, with nearly half
viewing pornography on a weekly or more frequent basis. This disparity
raises a number of questions about couple formation patterns between men
and women. What happens to men’s and women’s pornography patterns
when they enter serious romantic relationships? Do men decrease or stop
their pornography use when they enter a relationship? Do men continue to
use pornography but do so covertly in an effort to hide their behaviors from
an unaccepting partner? Do women start or increase their use when they
become romantically involved with a man who uses pornography? Does a
new pattern of pornography use arise during the coupling process that shifts
from individual use to couple use? The answers to these developmental
questions are not well understood in the pornography literature to date. In
likelihood, their answers differ from couple to couple, and the patterns that
emerge likely influence future couple dynamics and outcomes.
Limitations and Future Directions
Despite addressing a number of limitations in existing pornography
research, this study has a number of restrictions that should be considered
in interpreting these results. First, the sample consists of only college
students, who may not be representative of the larger population. Indeed,
Cooper et al. (2000) identified college students as a group that is at risk for
cybersex compulsion. However, it is not clear whether this is due to their
age or status as students. Future work is needed using noncollege partici-
pants, to be confident in the generalizability of these findings. Second,
despite the fact that the item assessing pornography use had a temporally
based response code, future research would benefit from more detailed
measurement of pornography use, assessing it separately across different
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28 Journal of Adolescent Research
contexts (e.g., erotica, Internet pornography use, videos) to determine how
different media of pornography might be differentially related to outcomes.
Third, research would benefit from a more detailed examination of accep-
tance of pornography use. The item in the current study assessed general
acceptance, but it is possible that acceptance would vary if participants
responded to a temporally based response code (e.g., “Daily pornography
use is an acceptable way to express one’s sexuality”). This is especially
salient for women, who may perceive their own minimal use of pornogra-
phy to be acceptable but who may perceive men’s much higher use as being
less acceptable, particularly, use that is considered habitual. It will also be
important for future research to examine acceptance in various life periods
and among relationship statuses (e.g., dating, engaged, married) because
acceptance of pornography may vary among single, committed, and mar-
ried individuals. Finally, because of the cross-sectional nature of the current
data, causal inferences could not be made. The age-related trends in the cur-
rent study certainly justify the need for longitudinal data, following indi-
viduals from adolescence to emerging adulthood to later adult life. Despite
these limitations, the current study provides a more complete understand-
ing of pornography use among a normative (nonclinical) population of
emerging adult college students and raises a number of important questions
for future research, including the importance of examining the impact of
pornography use and acceptance on current functioning during adolescence
and emerging adulthood and on future couple and family formation.
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Jason S. Carroll, PhD, is an associate professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham
Young University.
Laura M. Padilla-Walker, PhD, is an assistant professor in the School of Family Life at
Brigham Young University.
Larry J. Nelson, PhD, is an associate professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham
Young University.
Chad D. Olson, BS, is a graduate student in the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at
Brigham Young University.
Carolyn McNamara Barry, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology at Loyola College
in Maryland.
Stephanie D. Madsen, PhD, is an associate professor of psychology at McDaniel College.
distribution.
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