The new findings are especially important for policy makers and educators concerning the effects of sexually explicit materials on young people’s sexual behaviors.
A new report released by researchers in the Netherlands seems to indicate that exposure to “sexually explicit” materials may not have as much influence on the sexual behaviors of teens and young adults as previously thought. Dr. Gert Martin Hald, of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, along with several colleagues, recently published a study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine which states:
In a cross-sectional study of Dutch youths polled online, researchers found that exposure to sexually explicit materials was significantly associated with what they categorized as adventurous sex, transactional sex, and partner experience.
However, although sexually explicit materials were a significant contributor — accounting for as much as 0.3% to 4% of differences in sexual behaviors — additional variants such as sensation seeking, sexual assertiveness, and social relationships impact sexual behavior similarly.
“Our data suggest that other factors such as personal dispositions — specifically sexual sensation seeking — rather than consumption of sexually explicit material (SEM) may play a more important role in a range of sexual behaviors of adolescents and young adults, and that the effects of sexually explicit media on sexual behaviors in reality need to be considered in conjunction with such factors.
The study was conducted through online surveys in the Netherlands, and had 4,600 participants ranging in age from 15-25. 88.2% of the young men who participated in the surveys reported having viewed “sexually explicit materials” within the last 12 months.
Dr. Susan Tortolero, of the University of Texas in Houston, told MedPage Today that, “Sexually explicit materials and exposure to pornography seem to be less a factor than previously thought. Other factors are also very important, such as family, poverty, education, the role of friends, sexual initiation, and different types of sex behaviors, as evidenced by the Dutch study.”
The researchers did caution however that, “The study was limited by its self-selected sample and cross-sectional design,” and that it now requires “cross-cultural validation, especially in countries with sexual attitudes that differ from sexuality in the Netherlands.” Dr. Tortolero agreed with the authors observations concerning the “design limitations” of the research model. She explained that the study “”is biased in some ways because as you can imagine those who are going to answer a survey online and who are online about sex are probably more likely to be engaged in different types of sexual behaviors.” However, she also points out that the study confirms that “it’s not one thing, it’s not just exposure to pornography or sexually explicit materials. It really is the entire environment that young people live in.”
This study is quite groundbreaking due to the fact that until now, studies concerning this issue have been narrowly focused or limited in other ways. As Dr. Irwin Goldstein, Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Sexual Medicine explains, “It has been 65 years since Kinsey first published on sexual behaviors, yet researchers continue to avoid this area of science. It is important to have factual information in order to make educated decisions.”
Photo: hansol/Flickr
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