Viewing Sexually-Explicit Materials Alone or Together: Associations with Relationship Quality

Abstract

This study investigated associations between viewing sexually-explicit material (SEM) and relationship functioning in a random sample of 1291 unmarried individuals in romantic relationships. More men (76.8%) than women (31.6%) reported that they viewed SEM on their own, but nearly half of both men and women reported sometimes viewing SEM with their partner (44.8%). Measures of communication, relationship adjustment, commitment, sexual satisfaction, and infidelity were examined. Individuals who never viewed SEM reported higher relationship quality on all indices than those who viewed SEM alone. Those who viewed SEM only with their partners reported more dedication and higher sexual satisfaction than those who viewed SEM alone. The only difference between those who never viewed SEM and those who viewed it only with their partners was that those who never viewed it had lower rates of infidelity. Implications for future research in this area as well as for sex therapy and couple therapy are discussed.

The Role of Internet Pornography Use and Cyber Infidelity in the Associations between Personality, Attachment, and Couple and Sexual Satisfaction

“…This difference must be emphasized. Other studies have also shown that women's use of pornography may be beneficial to their sexual satisfaction [1] [11]. These results suggest that women satisfy their sexual desires and fantasies through pornography.…”

“…Research has shown that visiting sexually explicit sites is associated with a greater likelihood of infidelity [1] [5], especially in men during their first years of marriage [5]. In a study by Stack, Wasserman, and Kern [46], adults who had used pornography more than three times in the last month were more likely to be unfaithful than adults who did not report extradyadic sexual behaviors.…”

“…Although pornography is increasingly acceptable in Western cultures [4], its use can trivialize monogamy, lead to infidelity [1] [5], diminish sexual satisfaction, and even reduce sexual attraction to one's partner [6] [7] [8]. What's more, women's perception of their partner's pornography use is linked to couple dissatisfaction and sexual dissatisfaction [9].…”

“…However, sexual well-being can be enhanced when both partners use pornography [10]. Due to the sheer number of adult sites and their widespread appeal, researchers are increasingly interested in their role within couple dynamics [1] [2] [11] [12] [13].…”

“…Women also reported less sexual arousal when viewing sexually explicit material 1 For reasons of brevity, the term pornography will be used throughout the text when referring to explicitly sexual adult sites. [23].…”