The Association Between Exposure to Violent Pornography and Teen Dating Violence in Grade 10 High School Students

• Main Authors: Gittins-Stone, D. (Author), Huntington, C. (Author), Orchowski, L. (Author), Pearlman, D. (Author), Rizzo, C.J (Author), Rostad, W.L (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Springer New York LLC 2019
• Subjects: adolescent; Adolescent; adolescent behavior; Adolescent Behavior; aggression; Aggression; article; child; dating violence; education; erotica; Erotica; female; Female; gender; girl; high school student; human; human experiment; Humans; Intimate Partner Violence; major clinical study; male; Male; partner violence; pornography; Pornography; psychology; questionnaire; rape; risk factor; Risk factors; Sex Offenses; sexual crime; student; Students; substance use; Surveys and Questionnaires; suspension; Teen dating violence; Violence prevention
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher

 Exposure to pornography in general has been linked with adolescent dating violence and sexual aggression, but less is known about exposure to violent pornography specifically. The current study examined the association of violent pornography exposure with different forms of teen dating violence (TDV) using baseline survey data from a sample of Grade 10 high school students who reported being in a dating relationship in the past year (n = 1694). Gender-stratified logistic regression models generated odds ratios adjusted for demographics, substance use, history of suspension/expulsion, gender equitable attitudes, and tolerance of rape myths to identify significant associations between violent pornography exposure and self-reported physical, sexual, and threatening TDV perpetration and victimization. Violent pornography exposure was associated with all types of TDV, though patterns differed by gender. Boys exposed to violent pornography were 2–3 times more likely to report sexual TDV perpetration and victimization and physical TDV victimization, while girls exposed to violent pornography were over 1.5 times more likely to be perpetrate threatening TDV compared to their non-exposed counterparts. Comprehensive prevention strategies for TDV may consider the potential risks associated with exposure to violent pornography, particularly for boys, and provide an alternative source of education about healthy sexual behavior and relationships. © 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.