Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Nov;24(11):671-678.
doi: 10.1007/s11920-022-01374-9. Epub 2022 Oct 5.

Current Perspectives on Pornography Use by Individuals Convicted of a Sexual Offense

Seth Wescott  1 , Kimberly Kosmala  2
Affiliations
Review

Current Perspectives on Pornography Use by Individuals Convicted of a Sexual Offense

Seth Wescott et al. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Purpose of review: This review examines the literature on the impact of pornography use by individuals convicted of sexual offenses; specifically, it highlights relevant research regarding the effect pornography use has on sexual offense recidivism and explores the implications for treatment and supervision.

Recent findings: The current literature suggests that the use of pornography, by itself, does not consistently increase risk for sexual recidivism. Research suggests that pornography use may increase risk for sexual recidivism among adult males who have been assessed as high-risk, while the same cannot be said for low-risk adult males. Pornography may reinforce attitudes supportive of sexual aggression, such as hostility and sexual preoccupation, both variables that have been shown to relate to further acts of sexual offending. Pornography use is more predictive of risk when matched to the type of offense. The extent to which pornography impacts the conceptualization of risk (and therefore treatment and supervision plans) depends on several factors such as the type of pornographic material viewed, the congruence of that material with the individual's offending history, and the expectations regarding the use of pornography within the treatment/supervision context.

Keywords: Policy; Pornography; Recidivism; Risk; Sexual offense; Supervision.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance
    1. • Mellor E, Duff S. The use of pornography and the relationship between pornography exposure and sexual offending in males: a systematic review. Aggress Violent Beh. 2019;1(46):116–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2019.02.003 . This recent review highlighted the complexities of the analysis of pornography use and sexual offending and discussed the difficulty in establishing a clear relationship between pornography and sexual offending. - DOI
    1. •• Kingston DA, Malamuth NM, Fedoroff P, Marshall WL. The importance of individual differences in pornography use: theoretical perspectives and implications for treating sexual offenders. J Sex Res. 2009;46(2–3):216–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490902747701 . This study revealed that pornography consumption can be a risk factor for frequent pornography users who have been identified as higher risk. - DOI - PubMed
    1. •• Holt K, Kissinger J, Spickler C, Roush V. Pornography use and sexual offending: an examination of perceptions of role and risk. Int J Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminol. 2021. This recent study analyzed common themes among offenders’ use of pornography in relation to their offense.
    1. Bauserman R. Sexual aggression and pornography: a review of correlational research. Basic Appl Soc Psychol. 1996;18(4):405–27. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15324834basp1804_4 . - DOI
    1. •• Kingston DA, Fedoroff P, Firestone P, Curry S, Bradford JM. Pornography use and sexual aggression: the impact of frequency and type of pornography use on recidivism among sexual offenders. Aggressive Behavior: Official Journal of the International Society for Research on Aggression. 2008;34(4):341–51. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.20250 . This article includes a seminal study on the impact of pornography use and risk for recidivism using Static-99 risk levels. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources