What Types of Pornography Do People Use and Do They Cluster? Assessing Types and Categories of Pornography Consumption in a Large-Scale Online Sample

Abstract

Previous research on exposure to different types of pornography has primarily relied on analyses of millions of search terms and histories or on user exposure patterns within a given time period rather than the self-reported frequency of consumption. Further, previous research has almost exclusively relied on theoretical or ad hoc overarching categorizations of different types of pornography, when investigating patterns of pornography exposure, rather than latent structure analyses of these exposure patterns. In contrast, using a large sample of 18- to 40-year-old heterosexual and nonheterosexual Croatian men and women, this study investigated the self-reported frequency of using 27 different types of pornography and statistically explored their latent structures. The results showed substantial differences in consumption patterns across gender and sexual orientation. However, latent structure analyses of the 27 different types of pornography assessed suggested that although several categories of consumption were gender and sexual orientation specific, common categories across the different types of pornography could be established. Based on this finding, a five-item scale was proposed to indicate the use of nonmainstream (paraphilic) pornographic content, as this type of pornography has often been targeted in previous research. To the best of our knowledge, no similar measurement tool has been proposed before.

Sexually explicit media use and relationship satisfaction: a moderating role of emotional intimacy?

“…Although using a one-item, single informant measure as an indicator of frequency of SEM use has been proven useful in various studies (e.g. Hald & Stulhofer, 2015, Wright, 2015, effect sizes of the associations in our models were modest, and multi-item, dyadic assessments of actor and partner effects (e.g. Yucel & Gassanov, 2010) may find stronger associations, but may also result in higher dropout issues.…”

Surveying Pornography Use: A Shaky Science Resting on Poor Measurement Foundations

“…Existing typologies of the content of pornography represent relatively coarse efforts to organize such media (Hald & Štulhofer, 2016b;Kohut & Campbell, 2019). In the process, they homogenize a great deal of variation across pornographic media, and at best, such divisions can only speak to fundamental overarching content features and scripts.…”

Tears or Fears? Comparing Gender Stereotypes about Movie Preferences to Actual Preferences

“…Moreover, men repeatedly reported stronger affective and physiological responses to pornographic films than did women (e.g., Janssen et al, 2003). However, the size of the difference between male and female responses to pornographic material has been found to vary with some characteristics of the films (e.g., Murnen and Stockton, 1997; Janssen et al, 2003; Hald and Štulhofer, 2015). …”