Interaction Effects Between Exposure to Sexually Explicit Online Materials and Individual, Family, and Extrafamilial Factors on Hong Kong High School Students’ Beliefs About Gender Role Equality and Body-Centered Sexuality

Abstract

This study examined the interaction effects between Hong Kong adolescents' exposure to sexually explicit online materials (SEOM) and individual, family, peer, and cultural factors on their beliefs about gender role equality and body-centered sexuality. Based on a survey design with a sample of 503 high school students in Hong Kong, the results indicated that adolescents' frequency of accessing SEOM, their intrapersonal reactions to SEOM, their communication with parents about sexuality, their susceptibility to peer pressure, and their acceptance of cultural values regarding sex roles work jointly to affect their conceptions of gender and sexuality, although the main

Adolescents and Pornography: A Review of 20 Years of Research

“…A third cross-sectional study found that the association between the use of Internet pornography and general beliefs about gender equality became more negative as adolescents talked more often about sex with their parents. However, a direct association between pornography use and gender equality was not present in that study (To et al, 2015). Similarly, a third longitudinal study did not find an association between how often adolescents used Internet pornography and genderstereotypical sexual beliefs (Peter & Valkenburg, 2011b).…”

“…We therefore also included a quantitative study by Lo, Neilan, Sun, and Chiang (1999;cited in Lo and Wei 2005) and a quantitative study by Vandenbosch and Eggermont (2013b;cited in Vanden Abeele, Campbell, Eggermont, and Roe, 2014). In total, we thus reviewed 75 studies, 66 quantitative (see Appendix in Supplementary online data) and nine qualitative PETER AND VALKENBURG (2012) and To, Iu Kan, and Ngai (2015) relied on the same sample of adolescents in Hong Kong. Finally, the studies by and by Doornwaard, Bickham, Rich, ter Bogt, and van den Eijnden (2015) relied on one sample of Dutch adolescents.…”

“…The term gender-stereotypical sexual beliefs refers to beliefs in which traditional, stereotypical notions of male and female roles as well as of gender relations dominate. Measures in the literature include progressive gender-role attitudes (Brown & L'Engle, 2009), notions of women as sex objects (Peter & Valkenburg, 2007, genderstereotypical beliefs about power imbalance in sexual relationships (To et al, 2012), and beliefs about gender equality (To et al, 2015).…”

“…Consistent evidence has emerged that adolescents' use of pornography is related to stronger permissive sexual attitudes (Brown & L'Engle, 2009, only boys;Doornwaard, Bickham, et al, 2015, only boys;Lo et al, 1999;Lo & Wei, 2005;Peter & Valkenburg, 2006bTo et al, 2015;To et al, 2012). Most evidence is based on cross-sectional surveys (Lo et al, 1999;Lo & Wei, 2005;Peter & Valkenburg, 2006bTo et al, 2015;To et al, 2012). The sizes of the associations in cross-sectional studies ranged from Cohen's d = 0.45 (Lo et al, 1999) to d = 0.72 (Peter & Valkenburg, 2008b), with an average of d = 0.56 across the studies.…”

“…Peter and Valkenburg (2010b), in contrast, found no moderating role of adolescents' biological sex and sexual experience (a developmental moderator). To et al (2015) reported that the relation between the use of Internet pornography and permissive sexual attitudes (i.e., body-centered sexuality) was stronger if adolescents talked more with the parents about sexuality and felt more peer pressure about using pornography (social moderators).…”