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Comment on: Is Pornography Use Associated with Sexual Difficulties and Dysfunctions among Younger Heterosexual Men?

DOI:10.1111/jsm.12877
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Gert Martin Hald at University of Copenhagen
Gert Martin Hald
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EDITORIAL COMMENT
Comment on: Is Pornography Use Associated with Sexual
Difficulties and Dysfunctions among Younger Heterosexual Men?
Surprisingly, given its potential clinical relevance,
very few studies have attempted to investigate rela-
tionships between pornography consumption and
common sexual dysfunctions and problems (in
the following referred to as “sexual difficulties”).
When having done so, the designs employed have
predominantly been case study designs or focus
group designs and the method of data collection
qualitative. Alternatively, personal or clinical expe-
riences have been utilized. Although important,
such studies and experience alone may not be
brought to bear on effects of the consumption
of pornography. Consequently, the study by
Landripet and Stulhofer offers a long and valuable
cross-cultural beginning to the quantitative explo-
ration of associations between pornography con-
sumption and sexual difficulties.
More generally, elements of the study by
Landripet and Stulhofer reflect critical issues in
research on pornography. First, the sample most
likely constitutes a non-probability sample. This is
characteristic of much of the available research on
pornography today [1]. This problem may some-
what be offset by including short, valid, and reli-
able measures of pornography consumption in
future large population based national studies on
sexuality and sexual behaviors. Considering the
prevalence rates of pornography consumption and
the frequency by which pornography is consumed,
in particular among men, this seems both highly
relevant and high time.
Second, the study finds only one significant
association between pornography consumption
and the outcomes studied (i.e., erectile dysfunc-
tion) and emphasizes that the size (magnitude) of
this relationship is small. However, in pornogra-
phy research, the interpretation of “size” may
depend as much on the nature of the outcome
studied as the magnitude of the relationship found.
Accordingly, if the outcome is to be considered
“sufficiently adverse” (e.g., sexual aggressive
behaviors), even small effect sizes may carry con-
siderable social and practical significance [2].
Third, the study does not address possible mod-
erators or mediators of the relationships studied
nor is it able to determine causality. Increasingly,
in research on pornography, attention is given to
factors that may influence the magnitude or direc-
tion of the relationships studied (i.e., moderators)
as well as the pathways through which such influ-
ence may come about (i.e., mediators) [1,3]. Future
studies on pornography consumption and sexual
difficulties may also benefit from an inclusion of
such focuses.
Fourth, in their concluding statement, the
authors suggest that a number of factors are more
likely related to sexual difficulties than pornogra-
phy consumption. To better assess this, as well as
the relative contribution of each of these variables,
the use of comprehensive models able to encom-
pass both direct and indirect relationships between
variables known or hypothesized to influence the
outcome may be advised [3].
Overall, the study by Landripet and Stulhofer
provides first and an interesting cross-cultural and
quantitative insights into possible associations
between pornography consumption and sexual dif-
ficulties. Hopefully comparable future studies may
use this as a stepping stone to further advance the
research on relationships between pornography
consumption and sexual difficulties among both
men and women.
Gert Martin Hald
Department of Public Health, University of
Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Statement of Authorship
Category 1
(a) Conception and Design
Gert Martin Hald
(b) Acquisition of Data
N/A
(c) Analysis and Interpretation of Data
N/A
Category 2
(a) Drafting the Article
Gert Martin Hald
1140
J Sex Med 2015;12:1140–1141 © 2015 International Society for Sexual Medicine
(b) Revising It for Interllectual Content
Gert Martin Hald
Category 3
(a) Final Approval of the Completed Article
Gert Martin Hald
References
1 Hald GM, Seaman C, Linz D. Sexuality and pornography. In:
Tolman D, Diamond L, Bauermeister J, George W, Pfaus J,
Ward M, eds. APA handbook of sexuality and psychology: Vol.
2. Contextual approaches. Washington, DC: American Psycho-
logical Association; 2014:3–35.
2 Malamuth NM, Addison T, Koss M. Pornography and sexual
aggression: Are there reliable effects and can we understand
them? Annu Rev Sex Res 2000;11:26–91.
3 Rosenthal R. Media violence, antisocial behavior, and the social
consequences of small effects. J Soc Issues 1986;42:141–54.
Editorial Comment 1141
J Sex Med 2015;12:1140–1141
... Recent research in the area of SEM usage has mostly focused on proximal outcomes such as sexual satisfaction (Peter & Valkenburg, 2009;Stulhofer, Bu sko & Landripet, 2010;Yucel & Gassanov, 2010;Zillmann & Bryant, 1988), sexual dysfunctions (Hald, 2015;Landripet & Stulhofer, 2015), extra-relational attitudes and behaviors (e.g. Emmers-Sommer, Hertlein, & Kennedy, 2013;Lambert, Negash, Stillman, Olmstead, & Fincham, 2012;Maddox et al., 2011;Wright, Tokunaga, & Bae, 2014) and sexist and sexually aggressive attitudes (Hald & Malamuth, 2015;Hald, Malamuth, & Lange, 2013) and has investigated the role of SEM use in couples' relationship satisfaction primarily as a side effect. ...
... Alternatively, it is possible that the association between SEM use and relationship satisfaction is more indirect in nature, i.e. mediated by one or more variables that we have controlled for in this study (Hald, 2015). If this is the case, then it may still be highly relevant to target SEM in both clinical practice and research related to relationship satisfaction, but in a way different from that done in the current study. ...
... Despite these limitations, this study's findings contribute to research on SEM use and relationship satisfaction by directly investigating the association between the two while controlling for a large array of relevant covariates identified in the literature. Following recent suggestions by Hald (2015), the study explored a specific and clinically relevant moderator, namely emotional intimacy, indicating that higher SEM use may be significantly associated with lower relationship satisfaction only among men who report lower levels of emotional intimacy with their partner. Note 1. ...
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... Although correlations in the range of −0.12 to −0.14 would be considered "small" in relation to Cohen's (1992) effect size guidelines, other factors (e.g., the commonality of predictors and severity of outcomes) should also be considered when determining the importance of an effect of any particular magnitude (Rosenthal, 1986;Rosnow & Rosenthal, 2003). Indeed, Hald (2015) posits that the small (in magnitude) effect sizes commonly observed across the pornography research literature warrant consideration as these effects may still have large social and practical repercussions if outcomes are sufficiently adverse. This is especially relevant given the high prevalence of pornography use among men (Hald, 2006). ...
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... 41 This pattern of activity was associated with sexual dissatisfaction but was not related to sexual dysfunction, a result that disconfirms our hypothesis and might seem counterintuitive. As Hald 42 suggested, very few studies have investigated the relation between pornography use and common sexual dysfunctions. Our result is in line with those from such studies in men reporting that a higher frequency of pornography use is not associated with erectile dysfunction and might even improve desire and arousal. ...
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APA handbook of sexuality and psychology: Vol. 2. Contextual approaches
  • Hald GM
  • Seaman C
  • Linz D