Watching Porn Does not Influence Teen Sexual Behavior: Study

Watching porn does not influence teen sexual behavior, a study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine states.

According to general notion, viewing of sexually explicit content negatively impacts teenagers' sexual behavior. But no research, with strong conclusions, has been carried out till date.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, did an online survey of 4,600 Dutch youngsters, aged between 15 and 25. The study found that nearly 88 percent of boys and 45 percent females had watched porn in the previous year.

The study results showed that watching porn resulted in only a 0.3 to 4 percent difference in sexual behaviors. But they did note that it increased adventurous sexual behavior. 

There are other factors that contribute to the sexual behavior in teens; like attention and sensation seeking personalities and self esteem, which also play a part. Lead researcher Dr Gert Martin Hald said that the samples collected from Netherlands, which has liberal sexual cultures may differ from those collected from America.

"I think that the social and sexual context of viewing pornography impacts the association between pornography and the sexual behavioral outcomes studied," Hald said.

"Our data suggest that other factors such as personal dispositions-specifically sexual sensation seeking-rather than consumption of sexually explicit material may play a more important role in a range of sexual behaviors of young adults, and that the effects of sexually explicit media on sexual behaviors in reality need to be considered in conjunction with such factors," Dr Hald said.

The study authors said that the findings would be novel information to the ongoing debates on the role of (sexually explicit material) consumption in sexual behaviors and risk, and provide appropriate guidance to policymakers and program developers concerned with sexual education and sexual health promotion for young people.