A meta-analysis of the published research on the effects of pornography

Abstract

A meta-analysis of 46 published studies involving 12,323 participants examines the effects of pornography exposure on sexual deviancy, sexual perpetration, attitudes regarding intimate relationships, and acceptance of the rape myth. Analysis of data spanning from 1962 to 1995 reveals consistent positive effect sizes across all four dependent variables, with average weighted effect sizes (d) ranging from 0.40 to 0.65. These results provide empirical evidence linking pornography exposure to an increased risk for negative developmental outcomes, including sexually hostile behaviors, non-normative sexual tendencies, and the objectification of partners within intimate contexts. Evaluation of potential moderating variables—such as gender, socioeconomic status, age of exposure, and degree of explicitness—indicates that these factors do not significantly alter the primary relationship between exposure and the measured outcomes. Furthermore, fail-safe N calculations suggest the findings are stable and unlikely to be the result of sampling bias. The magnitude of these effects suggests that pornography exposure functions as a contributing factor in the development of sexually dysfunctional attitudes and behaviors, supporting social learning models of imitation and reinforcement. These findings shift the academic discourse from theoretical debate to an empirical confirmation of pornography’s influence on individual behavior and social functioning. – AI-generated abstract.