Consumo de pornografia online

: correlatos psicossociais e relação com crenças sobre violência sexual numa amostra de estudantes do ensino superior

Abstract

Online pornography presents several complexities that have been the subject of research by the scientific community. In Portugal, studies are in the early stages, and the main motivations for this consumption are unknown. Additionally, sexual violence has been a concern worldwide, and online pornography may contribute to distortions about intimacy and, therefore, sexual violence. Thus, the present study explored the main psychosocial correlates explaining online pornography consumption and the relationship between online pornography consumption and beliefs about sexual violence, in a sample of college students. The sample consisted of 50 college students, equally distributed by gender and with an average age of 22.48 years (SD = 2.75; range = 1830). A Sociodemographic Questionnaire, a Questionnaire on Patterns of Internet Use and Pornographic Content, the Cyber Pornography Use Inventory 9, the Dickman Impulsivity Inventory and the Beliefs about Sexual Violence Scale were applied. The results obtained reveal that participants were exposed to online pornography at the age of 12.71 (SD = 2.21, range = 818) and began intentionally viewing these contents at the age of 14.87 (SD = 2.93, range = 825). Men reveal higher weekly (r = 0.60) and monthly (r = 0.61) consumption of online pornography and significantly higher selfperception of addiction (r = 0.50). The age of exposure to online pornography was correlated with the compulsivity related to addiction to online pornography (rs = 0.30*). It was also found that dysfunctional impulsivity was correlated with compulsivity (rs = 0.30*). Finally, it was possible to find a relationship between selfperception of addiction to online pornography and beliefs about sexual violence (rs = 0.28*). It is important to raise awareness among parents, educators and young people about the risks associated with early exposure to online pornography, to prevent subsequent impacts associated with this viewing, such as the acceptance of beliefs that condone sexual violence.

Date of Award	5 Feb 2025
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Berta Rodrigues Maia (Supervisor)