Does Sexually Explicit Media (SEM) Affect Me? Assessing First Person Effects of SEM Consumption among Norwegian Men Who Have Sex with Men.

TY - JOUR

T1 - Does Sexually Explicit Media (SEM) Affect Me?

T2 - Assessing First Person Effects of SEM Consumption among Norwegian Men Who Have Sex with Men.

AU - Hald, Gert Martin

AU - Træen, Bente

AU - Noor, Syed W

AU - Iantaffi, Alex

AU - Galos, Dylan L

AU - Rosser, B R Simon

PY - 2015/1/2

Y1 - 2015/1/2

N2 - Using a self-selected online sample of 448 Norwegian men who have sex with men(MSM) and a cross-sectional design, the present study investigated first-person effectsof sexually explicit media (SEM) consumption on sexual knowledge, enjoyment of andinterest in sex, attitudes towards sex and understanding of one’s sexual orientation.First-person effects refer to self-perceived and self-reported effects of SEM consumptionas experienced by the consumer. In addition, the study examined and provided athorough validation of the psychometric properties of the seven-item PornographyConsumption Effect Scale (PCES). The study found that 93% of MSM reported smallto-largepositive effects from their SEM consumption on their sexual knowledge,enjoyment of and interest in sex, attitudes towards sex and understanding of theirsexual orientation. Only 7% reported any negative effects from their SEM consumptionon these outcomes. Furthermore, the psychometric properties of the revisedversion of the PCES were found to be very satisfactory. The results of the studyindicate that SEM consumption among MSM may play a positive role in MSM’ssexuality by enhancing their sex life, being a major source of sexual information,providing a recreational sexual outlet and offering confirmation of one’s sexualorientation.

AB - Using a self-selected online sample of 448 Norwegian men who have sex with men(MSM) and a cross-sectional design, the present study investigated first-person effectsof sexually explicit media (SEM) consumption on sexual knowledge, enjoyment of andinterest in sex, attitudes towards sex and understanding of one’s sexual orientation.First-person effects refer to self-perceived and self-reported effects of SEM consumptionas experienced by the consumer. In addition, the study examined and provided athorough validation of the psychometric properties of the seven-item PornographyConsumption Effect Scale (PCES). The study found that 93% of MSM reported smallto-largepositive effects from their SEM consumption on their sexual knowledge,enjoyment of and interest in sex, attitudes towards sex and understanding of theirsexual orientation. Only 7% reported any negative effects from their SEM consumptionon these outcomes. Furthermore, the psychometric properties of the revisedversion of the PCES were found to be very satisfactory. The results of the studyindicate that SEM consumption among MSM may play a positive role in MSM’ssexuality by enhancing their sex life, being a major source of sexual information,providing a recreational sexual outlet and offering confirmation of one’s sexualorientation.

U2 - 10.1080/19419899.2014.984516

DO - 10.1080/19419899.2014.984516

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1941-9899

VL - 1

SP - 59

EP - 74

JO - Psychology and Sexuality

JF - Psychology and Sexuality

IS - 6

ER -