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Universidade do Minho Escola de Psicologia Ana Simão Oliveira Roriz Marques “Do I really need to ask?”: Relationship between pornography and sexual consent junho de 2022 “Do I really need to ask?”: Relationship between pornography and sexual consent Ana Simão Marques Uminho | 2022
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i Universidade do Minho Escola de Psicologia Ana Simão Oliveira Roriz Marques “Do I really need to ask?”: Relationship between pornography and sexual consent Dissertação de Mestrado Mestrado Integrado em Psicologia Trabalho efetuado sob a orientação da Professora Doutora Joana Arantes
“DO I REALLY NEED TO ASK?”: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL CONSENT ii Despacho RT - 31 /2019 - Anexo 3 DIREITOS DE AUTOR E CONDIÇÕES DE UTILIZAÇÃO DO TRABALHO POR TERCEIROS Este é um trabalho académico que pode ser utilizado por terceiros desde que respeitadas as regras e boas práticas internacionalmente aceites, no que concerne aos direitos de autor e direitos conexos. Assim, o presente trabalho pode ser utilizado nos termos previstos na licença abaixo indicada. Caso o utilizador necessite de permissão para poder fazer um uso do trabalho em condições não previstas no licenciamento indicado, deverá contactar o autor, através do RepositóriUM da Universidade do Minho. Licença concedida aos utilizadores deste trabalho Atribuição-NãoComercial-SemDerivações CC BY-NC-ND https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Universidade do Minho, 03/06/2022 Assinatura:
“DO I REALLY NEED TO ASK?”: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL CONSENT iii Agradecimentos À Professora Doutora Joana Arantes, a minha orientadora de dissertação de mestrado, muito obrigada pelos conselhos, incentivos e por escutar todas as minhas dúvidas com uma paciência imensurável. Este caminho não teria sido igual sem o seu apoio. Aos meus colegas do Laboratório de Psicologia Evolutiva, em especial à Ândria e à Ana Filipa, gostaria de agradecer todas as sugestões, desabafos e encorajamentos. Obrigada por tornarem esta escrita mais fácil, não teria conseguido sem o vosso apoio e constante disponibilidade em ajudar. À Tuna de Medicina da Universidade do Minho, obrigada pelas amizades que nela construí, pelas memórias e inesquecíveis histórias que sempre guardarei com imenso carinho e por fazerem parecer a escrita da tese algo fácil comparativamente a ser Magíster. Aos meus amigos, o meu mais sincero obrigado por todo o apoio, pelo vosso sentido de humor que tornou este ano mais alegre e por me relembrarem que descansar também é importante e, por vezes, essencial. À minha mãe, obrigada por sempre me apoiar nas minhas decisões, por me dar liberdade para errar e aprender e por sempre me ajudar como pode, nem que isso seja fazer-me o lanche da tarde, refilando “nunca tens tempo para nada”. À Rita, por ser o meu suporte de todas as horas, independentemente dos quilómetros que nos separam. Por sempre acreditar em mim, especialmente quando nem eu própria acredito e me dar motivação quando mais preciso. Tack så mycket. Por fim, um obrigado especial à Matilde, não há palavras para descrever toda a ajuda que me deste, provavelmente mais do que imaginas.
“DO I REALLY NEED TO ASK?”: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL CONSENT iv Despacho RT - 31 /2019 - Anexo 4 STATEMENT OF INTEGRITY I hereby declare having conducted this academic work with integrity. I confirm that I have not used plagiarism or any form of undue use of information or falsification of results along the process leading to its elaboration. I further declare that I have fully acknowledged the Code of Ethical Conduct of the University of Minho. Braga, 4 de junho de 2022
“DO I REALLY NEED TO ASK?”: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL CONSENT v “Preciso mesmo de perguntar?”: Relação entre pornografia e o consentimento sexual Resumo Os estudos sobre o consentimento sexual são ainda bastante escassos, apesar deste ser extremamente relevante para a investigação relativa a assédio e ao seu impacto psicológico. O consumo de pornografia tem vindo a aumentar cada vez mais e é muitas vezes utilizado como forma de aprendizagem sexual para a população jovem. Deste modo, o presente estudo tem como objetivo principal compreender a relação entre o consumo de pornografia e as atitudes sobre consentimento sexual. Este estudo incluiu 1329 adultos (340 homens; 962 mulheres), que responderam a um questionário sociodemográfico, questões sobre consumo de pornografia, à Escala de Consumo de Pornografia Parafílica, à Escala de Consentimento Sexual, questões sobre o uso de comportamentos verbais e não verbais de consentimento sexual e, por fim, à Escala de Impulsividade de Barrat. Os resultados indicam que participantes que não vêm pornografia possuem mais atitudes positivas relativamente ao consentimento sexual. Não se verificaram diferenças entre os géneros na forma como se dá ou pede consentimento sexual. Por fim, conclui-se que o género, a impulsividade, comportamentos verbais, controlo percebido, normas de consentimento sexual e consciência e discussão são bons preditores de atitudes positivas acerca do consentimento sexual. Palavras-chave: Consentimento Sexual, Pornografia, Atitudes Positivas, Comportamentos Indiretos
“DO I REALLY NEED TO ASK?”: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL CONSENT vi “Do I really need to ask?”: Relationship between pornography and sexual consent Abstract The study of sexual consent is still quite scarce, although it is a factor of extreme relevance for the investigation of harassment and their psychological impact. Pornography consumption has been increasing and is often used as a sex education tool for people. The main objective of this study is to understand the relationship between pornography consumption and attitudes about sexual consent. This study included 1329 adults (340 men; 962 women), who answered a sociodemographic questionnaire, questions about pornography consumption, Paraphilic Pornography Consumption Scale, Sexual Consent Scale, questions about the use of verbal and nonverbal sexual consent behaviors and, finally, Barrat Impulsivity Scale. The results indicate that participants who don’t watch pornography have more positive attitudes towards sexual consent. There are no gender differences in the way people give or ask for sexual consent. In addition, it is concluded that gender, impulsiveness, verbal behaviors, lack of perceived control, sexual norms and awareness and discussion are good predictors of positive attitudes about sexual consent. Keywords: Sexual Consent, Pornography, Positive attitudes, Indirect Behaviors
“DO I REALLY NEED TO ASK?”: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL CONSENT vii Index Sexual consent and gender ............................................................................................................. 9 Sexual consent and type of relationship ........................................................................................... 9 Pornography Consumption ............................................................................................................ 10 Current study................................................................................................................................ 11 Method............................................................................................................................................. 12 Participants .................................................................................................................................. 12 Measures ..................................................................................................................................... 14 Procedure ..................................................................................................................................... 15 Data analysis ................................................................................................................................ 16 Results ............................................................................................................................................. 16 Descriptive statistics ..................................................................................................................... 16 Correlational analyses ................................................................................................................... 17 Regression analysis predicting Positive attitudes towards sexual consent ........................................ 24 Discussion ........................................................................................................................................ 25 References ....................................................................................................................................... 28 Index of Table Table 1. Sample Sociodemographic Characteristics ........................................................................... 12 Table 2. Descriptive Statistics for Gender .......................................................................................... 16 Table 3. Pearson's Correlation between age, Relationship Satisfaction, age of first time watching pornography, Lack of Perceived Control, Positive Attitudes, Sexual Consent Norms, Awareness and Discussion, Indirect Behaviors, Paraphilic Pornography, Impulsiveness, Nonverbal and Verbal Consent Behaviors ......................................................................................................................................... 21 Table 4. Multiple regression models predicting Positive attitudes towards sexual consent ................... 24
“DO I REALLY NEED TO ASK?”: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL CONSENT 14 Sometimes a month 366 26.4 Every day or more than once a day 47 4.7 Measures Sociodemographic Questionnaire, Sexual Activity and Relationship Questions. Participants were asked several sociodemographic questions, including gender, age, sexual orientation, nationality, level of education and professional situation. Then they were asked several questions related to sexual activity: if they have initiated sexual activities with a partner, how old they were when they started, how frequently they had sexual intercourse in the last month and when was the last time they had sexual intercourse. Participants were also asked if they were currently in an intimate relationship (e.g., casual relationship, “friends with benefits”, dating, marriage). If they answered “yes” to this question, they were asked to specify the type of relationship, its duration, if they lived with their partner, and how satisfied they were with the relationship. Pornography Use. Since the main objective of the study involves the frequency of pornography consumption, it was necessary to have the following questions 1) How frequently do you consume pornographic content (for example, in magazines, books, websites)? ( Never; Sometimes a year; Sometimes a month; Daily or more than once a day ) and 2) How old were you when you first watched pornographic content? They were retrieved from a dissertation called “Values, attitudes and meanings of pornography: a study with a Portuguese sample.” (Castro, 2019), for being very clear, even though they weren’t from a scale. Paraphilic Pornography Use Scale (PPS; Hald & Štulhofer, 2015; translated and validated to Portuguese by Raposo, 2018). The PPS aims to assess paraphilic pornography use, and consists of five factors, namely Sadomasochism, Bondage and dominance, Violent sex, Bizarre/extreme and Fetish. Participants need to i) indicate how much they viewed each type of paraphilic pornography (total of 5 items) in the last 12 months ( 0 = Nothing; 1 = A little; 2 = Moderately; 3 = For the most part; 4 = A lot ). The scale shows good internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha of .82 (Hald & Štulhofer, 2015) and .80 (Raposo, 2018). Sexual Consent Scale (SCS; Humphreys & Brousseau, 2010; translated and validated to Portuguese by Abreu & Cardoso, 2016). The SCS evaluates the behaviors and attitudes regarding sexual consent. It is composed of 39 items that are rated using a Likert-type scale of 7 points, ranging from 1 ( Strongly disagree ) to 7 ( Strongly agree ). The items are subdivided into 5 factors: two behavioral (Indirect Consent
“DO I REALLY NEED TO ASK?”: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL CONSENT 15 Behaviors and Awareness of Consent) and three attitudinal factors: (Lack of perceived Behavioral Control, Positive Attitude toward Establishing Consent, and Sexual Consent Norms). The scale has items like “I think that verbally asking for sexual consent is awkward” and “I always verbally ask for consent before I initiate a sexual encounter”. The authors of the original scale indicated a good internal consistency value, either for the total scale (α=.87) or for the subscales: i) Lack of perceived Behavioral Control (α=.86); ii) Positive Attitude toward Establishing Consent (α=.84); iii) Indirect Consent Behaviors (α=.78); iv) Sexual Consent Norms (α=.67); and v) Awareness of Consent (α=.71). Similarly, the translated scale has good reliability for most of the subscales. The use of verbal and nonverbal behaviors in sexual consent. (based on “How young women and men communicate sexual consent in heterosexual situations” from Hickman e Muehlenhard, 1999; translated and validated from Humphreys, 2001). The participants were asked to answer a few multiplechoice questions, which have the purpose of measuring how many verbal and nonverbal sexual consent behaviors were used in most recent sexual encounter they had. A few examples of behaviors are: “You undressed yourself”, “You suggested one of you should get a condom” and “You did not say no”. There were total of 37 items (15 examples of nonverbal sexual consent behaviors and 14 verbal sexual consent behaviors). The present study added the options “None of the above” and “Other (please, specify), to obtain a more complete sample of answers. Barratt Impulsiveness Scale – 11, short version (BIS-11; Patton et al., 1995; Stanford et al., 2009; adapted and translated to Portuguese by Pechorro, 2018). This scale has 18 items that are rated by a four-point Likert Scale ( 1 = Rarely/Never; 2 = Sometimes; 3 = Frequently; 4 = Almost always/ Always) , subdivided in to three subscales: Attention (5 items), Motor (7 items) and Self-Control (6 items). Examples of those items are: “I do things without thinking” and “I am self-controlled”. The translated and validated scale has good internal consistency, Cronbach’s alpha of above .70 for the total scale and the three subscales. Procedure Participants did not receive any monetary compensation and were recruited through personal and institutional emails and online social networks (e.g., Facebook). Participants’ responses were recorded anonymously on an Internet webpage using Qualtrics software, Version 2021 of the Qualtrics Research Suite. For all participants, sociodemographic, sexual activity and relationship questions were presented first. Then, they answered to questions about pornography consumption, PPC, SCS, questions on the use of verbal and nonverbal behaviors to obtain consent and the BIS – 11, short version, in a
“DO I REALLY NEED TO ASK?”: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL CONSENT 16 counterbalanced order. The questionnaire had an average duration of 10 minutes, and was previously approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Minho. Data analysis All collected data were exported to an Excel spreadsheet. Analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS; v. 27), and included: i) Descriptive analysis; ii) Pearson's correlations to examine the association between the different variables; iii) Univariate analyses of variance (ANOVA) to compare individuals with different frequencies of sexual intercourse in the last month, times of last sexual intercourse, types of relationship, relationship lengths and pornography consumption frequencies. A criterion of p < 0.05 was used for significance tests. Results Descriptive statistics Table 1 provides descriptive statistics for the variables used, separately for males and females. Independent sample t tests showed that there are statistically significant differences between male and female participants. More specifically, male participants started to watch pornographic materials earlier ( M = 13.23; SD = 2.21) than female participants ( M = 15.83; SD = 3.99), t (641.16) = -10.62, p < .001. In addition, male participants tend to consume more Paraphilic Pornography ( M = 1.48; SD = .63) than female participants ( M = 1.33; SD = .53), t (398.23) = 2.92, p = .001. Results also showed that male participants have a tendency to score higher on the subscale Lack of Perceived Behavioral Control ( M = 2.00; SD = .98) and Sexual Consent Norms ( M = 4.29; SD = 1.10) than female participants (Mbeh_control = 1.75; SDbeh_control = .82; Msex_con_norms = 3.80; SDsex_con_norms = 1.14), t (286.82) = 3.08, p < .001 and t (749) = 5.18, p < .001, respectively. Similarly, males scored higher on the subscale Awareness and Discussion ( M = 4.94; SD = 1.58) than females ( M = 4.68; SD = 1.69), t (749) = 1.87, p = .031, and have a tendency to be more impulsive ( M = 1.89; SD = .35) than females participants ( M = 1.76; SD = .35), t (964) = 4.10, p < .001. However, results showed that female participants tend to score higher on the Positive Attitudes subscale ( M = 5.54; SD = 1.07) than males ( M = 5.16; SD = 1.14), t (749) = -4.11, p < .001. Table 2. Descriptive Statistics (M = Mean; SD = Standard Deviation) for gender Female Male M DP M DP p Age of first exposure to pornography 15.83 3.99 13.23 2.21 <.001
“DO I REALLY NEED TO ASK?”: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL CONSENT 17 Paraphilic Pornography 1.33 .53 1.48 .63 .001 Lack of perceived control 1.75 .82 2.00 .98 <.001 Positive Attitudes 5.54 1.07 5.16 1.14 <.001 Sexual Consent Norms 3.80 1.14 4.29 1.10 <.001 Indirect Behaviors 4.99 1.06 4.86 1.07 .089 Awareness and Discussion 4.68 1.69 4.94 1.58 .031 Impulsiveness 1.76 .35 1.89 .35 <.001 Correlational analyses We examined correlations between age, relationship satisfaction, age of the first exposure to pornography, sexual consent subscales Lack of Perceived Behavioral Control, Positive Attitudes Toward Establishing Consent, Sexual Consent Norms, Awareness and Discussion, Indirect Behaviors, Paraphilic Pornography, Impulsiveness, Verbal Consent Behaviors used in their last sexual intercourse, and Nonverbal Consent Behaviors used in their last sexual intercourse. Results are shown in Table 3. Pearson correlations showed that age was positively correlated with first exposure to pornography ( r = .190, p = .000) and Lack of Perceived Behavioral Control ( r = .101, p = .005), indicating that older people had their first exposure to pornography later in life and perceived less controle over asking for sexual consent. On the other hand, age was negatively correlated with Relationship Satisfaction ( r = -.074, p = .029), Awareness and Discussion ( r = -.142, p = .000) and Nonverbal Consent Behaviors ( r = -.135, p = .000). This shows that older people tend to be less satisfied with their relationship, to discuss sexual consent less frequently and to use fewer nonverbal consent behaviors in their most recent sexual encounter. Relationship satisfaction was positively correlated with Indirect Behaviors ( r = .089, p = .028) and Verbal Consent Behaviors ( r = .172, p = .000) and negatively correlated with Lack of Perceived Behavioral Control ( r = -.332, p < .001), Paraphilic Pornography consumption ( r = -.104, p = .024) and Impulsiveness ( r = -.099, p = .009). This shows that people more satisfied with their relationship tend to use more indirect behaviors to indicate sexual consent, but also more verbal consent behaviors in their last sexual encounter. In addition, they perceived expressing sexual consent as an easy behavior, consume less paraphilic pornography and are less impulsive. Age of first exposure to pornography was negatively correlated with Awareness and Discussion about sexual consent ( r = -.109, p = .014), Paraphilic Pornography consumption ( r = -.236, p = .000) and Impulsiveness ( r = -.139, p = .001). This indicates that people that had their first exposure to
“DO I REALLY NEED TO ASK?”: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL CONSENT 18 pornography later in life tend to discuss sexual consent with partners and peers less frequently, to consume less paraphilic pornography and be less impulsive. Lack of Perceived Behavioral Control was positively correlated with Sexual Consent Norms ( r = .224, p = .000), Indirect Behaviors ( r = .141, p = .000) and Impulsiveness ( r = .180, p = .000). In addition, Lack of Perceived Behavioral Control was negatively correlated with Positive Attitudes ( r = -.433, p = .000), Awareness and Discussion about sexual consent ( r = -.320, p = .000), Nonverbal Consent Behaviors ( r = -.095, p = .009) and Verbal Consent Behaviors ( r = -.238, p = .000). These results suggest that individuals that perceive expressing sexual consent as a difficult task tend to have higher social norms about sexual consent, to use more indirect sexual consent behaviors, to be more impulsive, to have less positive attitudes towards sexual consent, to discuss sexual consent less, and to use fewer nonverbal or verbal consent behaviors. Positive attitudes toward establishing consent was positively correlated with Awareness and Discussion ( r = .385, p = .000) and Verbal Consent Behaviors ( r = .258, p = .000) and negatively correlated with Sexual Consent Norms ( r = -.267, p = .000), Indirect Behaviors ( r = -.169, p = .000) and Impulsiveness ( r = -.157, p = .000). This indicates that individuals who have more positive attitudes towards sexual consent tend to discuss it more with their friends and partners, to use more verbal sexual consent behaviors in their last sexual encounter, to have less social norms about sexual consent, to use less indirect behaviors and to be less impulsive. Sexual Consent Norms was positively correlated with Indirect Behaviors ( r = .396, p = .000) and Impulsiveness ( r = .097, p = .007). On the other hand, Sexual Consent Norms was negatively correlated with Awareness and Discussion ( r = -.224, p = .000) and Verbal Consent Behaviors ( r = -.091, p = .012). This shows that participants that have higher social norms about sexual consent, use more indirect behaviors, are more impulsive, discuss sexual consent less frequently and use less verbal consent behaviors. Awareness and Discussion was positively correlated with Nonverbal Consent Behaviors ( r = .115, p = .001) and Verbal consent Behaviors ( r = .259, p = .000). On the other hand, it was negatively correlated with Indirect Behaviors ( r = -.161, p = .000), these results suggest that individuals that discuss sexual consent regularly with peers and partners tend to use less indirect behaviors and more verbal and nonverbal behavior of sexual consent in their most recent sexual encounter.
“DO I REALLY NEED TO ASK?”: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL CONSENT 19 Indirect behaviors was positively correlated with Nonverbal Consent Behaviors ( r = .114, p = .001) and negatively correlated with Verbal Consent Behaviors ( r = -.154, p = .000). These results indicate that participants that mention they use more indirect behaviors to indicate sexual consent, also use more nonverbal and verbal sexual consent behaviors in their last sexual encounter. Paraphilic pornography content was positively correlated with Impulsivity ( r = .101, p = .011) and Nonverbal Consent Behaviors ( r = .094, p = .025). Individuals who view more paraphilic pornography tend to be more impulsive and to use more nonverbal consent behaviors. Finally, Nonverbal Consent Behaviors was positively correlated with Verbal Consent Behaviors ( r = .353, p = .000), showing that individuals who use more nonverbal consent behaviors, also tend to use more verbal consent behaviors in their last sexual encounter.
21 Table 3 Correlation between age, Relationship Satisfaction, age of first exposure to pornography, Lack of Perceived Control, Positive Attitudes, Sexual Consent Norms, Awareness and Discussion, Indirect Behaviors, Paraphilic Pornography, Impulsiveness, Nonverbal and Verbal Consent Behaviors 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 1. Age - -.074* .190** .101* .041 .014 -.142** .048 -.037 -.029 -.135** -.060 2. Relationship Satisfaction - .041 -.175** .056 -.044 .059 .089* -.104* -.099** .051 .172** 3. Age of first exposure to pornography - .017 .041 .040 -.109* .032 -.236** -.139** -.024 -.021 4. Lack of Perceived Control - -.433** .224** -.320** .141** .044 .180** -.095** -.238** 5. Positive Attitudes - -.267** .385** -.169** -.032 -.157** .029 .258** 6. Sexual Consent Norms - -.224** .396** -.030 .097** .036 -.091* 7. Awareness and Discussion - -.161** .039 -.058 .115** .259** 8. Indirect Behaviors - -.011 -.014 .114** -.154** 9. Paraphilic Pornography - .101* .094* .027 10. Impulsiveness - .040 -.013 11. Nonverbal Consent Behaviors - .353** 12. Verbal Consent Behaviors - * p < .05, ** p < .01
22 Pornography consumption frequency A one-way ANOVA showed a main effect of Relationship Satisfaction, F (3, 707) = 5.20, p = .001. Post Hoc Tukey tests showed that participants that watch pornography approximately a couple times a month tend to be less satisfied with their relationship ( M = 5.73; SD = .1.25) than participants that do not watch pornography ( M = 6.17; SD = 1.19) and those that watch only a couple times a year ( M = 6.09; SD = 1.03), p = .001 and p = .007, respectively. Results also showed a main effect of Lack of Perceived Behavioral Control, F (3,753) = 3.89, p = .009. Post Hoc Tukey tests showed that participants that watch pornography every day or more than once a day tend to be more uncomfortable asking or giving sexual consent ( M = 2.12; SD = .99) than participants that watch pornography a couple of times a year ( M = 1.72; SD = .84), p = .042. Moreover, our data showed a main effect of Positive Attitudes, F (3, 753) = 5.64, p < .001. Post Hoc Tukey tests suggested that participants that do not watch pornography tend to have more positive attitudes toward sexual consent ( M = 5.47; SD = 1.09) than participants that watch pornography every day or more than once a day ( M = 4.94; SD = 1.41), p = .035. In addition, participants that watch pornography a couple of times a year tend to have more positive attitudes toward sexual consent ( M = 5.59; SD = .98) compared with participants that watch it a couple of times a month ( M = 4.29; SD = 1.17) and with those that watch it every day or more than once a day, p = .017 and p = .004, respectively. Results also showed a main effect of Sexual Consent Norms, F (3, 753) = 3.09, p = .027. Post Hoc Tukey tests indicated that participants that do not watch pornography tend to have lower assumptions about sexual consent ( M = 3.76; SD = 1.19) than participants that watch pornography a couple times a month ( M = 4.05; SD = 1.21), p = .050. Finally, our data showed a main effect of Impulsiveness, F (3, 927) = 11.01, p < .001. Post Hoc Tukey tests suggested that participants that do not watch pornography tend to be less impulsive ( M = 1.71; SD = .35) compared with participants that watch pornography a couple times a year ( M = 1.80; SD = .35), with those that watch pornography a couple times a month ( M = 1.87; SD = .38) and with those that watch it every day or more than once a day ( M = 1.94; SD = .35), p = .009, p < .001 and p < .001, respectively. Frequency of sexual intercourse in the last month A one-way ANOVA showed a main effect of Relationship Satisfaction, F (3, 848) = 22.09, p < .001. Post Hoc Tukey tests indicated that participants that did not have sexual intercourse in the last
“DO I REALLY NEED TO ASK?”: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL CONSENT 23 month tend to be less satisfied in their relationship ( M = 5.58; SD = 1.44) than participants that had sexual intercourse three or four times in the last month ( M = 6.21; SD = 1.01), or that had sexual intercourse five times or more in the last month ( M = 6.37; SD = .90), ps < .001. In addition, participants that had sexual intercourse once or twice in the last month tend to be less satisfied with their relationship ( M = 5.75; SD = 1.19) than participants that had sexual intercourse three or four times in the last month ( M = 6.21; SD = 1.01), or participants that had sexual intercourse five times or more in the last month ( M = 6.37; SD = .90), ps < .001. Results also showed a main effect of Indirect Behaviors, F (3, 762) = 10.64, p < .001. Post Hoc Tukey tests suggested that participants that did not have sexual intercourse in the last month tend to use less Indirect Behaviors ( M = 4.63; SD = 1.04) than participants that had sexual intercourse three to four times in the last month ( M = 5.13; SD = 1.09) or those that had sexual intercourse five or more times in the last month ( M = 5.15; SD = 1.00), ps < .001. In addition, participants that had sexual intercourse once or twice in the last month tend to use less Indirect Behaviors ( M = 4.87; SD = 1.06) compared with participants that had five or more times in the last month, p = .046. Type of relationship A one-way ANOVA showed a main effect of Relationship Satisfaction, F (3, 857) = 26.37, p < .001 Post Hoc Tukey tests showed that participants that were in casual relationships or friends with benefits were less satisfied with their relationship ( M = 5.11; SD = 1.28) than participants that were dating or engaged ( M = 6.19; SD = 1.066) or were a polyamorous relationship ( M = 6.15; SD = 1.05), p < .001 and ps < .001. Results also showed a main effect of Indirect Behaviors, F (3, 610) = 2.93, p = .033. Post Hoc Tukey tests showed that participants that were in casual relationships or friends with benefits used less Indirect Behaviors ( M = 4.75; SD = 1.01) than participants in a polyamorous relationship ( M = 5.16; SD = 1.03), p = .027. In addition, results showed a main effect of Awareness and Discussion, F (3, 610) = 4.03, p = .007. Post Hoc Tukey tests showed that participants in a polyamorous relationship tended to discuss sexual consent less with their peers ( M = 4.41; SD = 1.746) than participants that were in casual relationships or friends with benefits ( M = 5.08; SD = 1.57) and that were married or in a non-marital partnership ( M = 5.33; SD = 2.18), p = .023 and p = .038, respectively.
“DO I REALLY NEED TO ASK?”: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL CONSENT 24 Finally, our data showed a main effect of using Nonverbal Consent Behaviors in their most recent sexual encounter, F (3, 711) = 4.04, p = .007. Post Hoc Tukey tests showed that participants that were in casual relationships or friends with benefits tended to use more Nonverbal Behaviors ( M = 7.66; SD = 3.66) than participants in a polyamorous relationship ( M = 6.27; SD = 2.98), p = .005. Relationship lenght A one-way ANOVA showed a main effect of using Nonverbal Consent Behaviors in their most recent sexual encounter, F (3, 710) = 4.97, p = .002. Post Hoc Tukey tests showed that participants that have been in a relationship for less than six months tend to use more Nonverbal Behaviors ( M = 7.61; SD = 3.49) than participants that have been in a relationship between one and five years ( M = 6.57; SD = 2.98) and that have been in a relationship for more than five years ( M = 6.34; SD = 3.05), p = .031 and p = .005, respectively. Regression analysis predicting Positive attitudes towards sexual consent We performed multiple regression analyses wherein the frequency of pornography consumption was regressed onto seven predictor variables. On Table 4 it is possible to see that the model measured the variables collectively explained approximately 30% of the total variance in Positive attitudes towards sexual consent (29.9%). The standardized regression coefficients (βs) for the specific variables indicated that gender, Impulsiveness, Verbal Consent Behaviors, Lack of Perceived Control, Sexual Consent Norms, Awareness and Discussion, and Verbal Consent Behaviors were the strongest and unique predictors of Positive attitudes towards sexual consent. These patterns support the deduction that gender, Impulsiveness, Verbal Consent Behaviors, Lack of Perceived Control, Sexual Consent Norms, Awareness and Discussion, and Verbal Consent Behaviors were strong and unique predictors of Positive attitudes towards sexual consent. Table 4. Multiple regression models predicting Positive attitudes towards sexual consent Positive attitudes towards sexual consent R2 (R2adjusted) β p Gender .299 (.293) .089 .005 Impulsiveness -.078 .013 Verbal Consent Behaviors .117 <.001 Lack of Perceived Control -.279 <.001 Sexual Consent Norms -.114 <.001 Awareness and Discussion .239 <.001
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