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Porn use and men's and women's sexual performance: evidence from a large longitudinal sample
Nicolas Sommet1, Jacques Berent2
1Centre LIVES, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Background:
We examined whether young men and women differ in the relation between porn use and sexual performance (sexual self-competence, sexual functioning, and partner-reported sexual satisfaction).
Methods:
We conducted a three-wave longitudinal study (spanning 2015-16-17) that involved a very large number of men and women in their early 20s (100 000 + French-speaking individuals; 4000 + heterosexual couples).
Results:
The results revealed a twofold phenomenon. Among men, a higher frequency of porn use (wave 1) and increased porn use over time (waves 1-3) were associated with lower levels of sexual self-competence, impaired sexual functioning, and decreased partner-reported sexual satisfaction. In contrast, among women, higher and increasing frequencies of porn use were associated with higher levels of sexual self-competence, improved sexual functioning, and enhanced partner-reported sexual satisfaction (for some aspects).
Conclusions:
The findings reveal the irony that porn - a male-dominated industry that targets a male-dominated audience - is associated with the erosion of the quality of men's sex lives and the improvement of women's sex lives.
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