The use of pornography: sources, attitudes and sexuality

Background: Pornography is now widespread and its use can have adverse consequences on everyday life, including daily routine, mental and physical health not only for individuals, but also those around them. In addition, sources of information about sexuality is an area that affects the sexual life of an individual. Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the use of pornographic material by adults, to evaluate the sexual behavior with respect to that and to find the main sources of sexual information. Methodology: The study involved 510 adults, age from 18 to 67. Data was collected after the completion of a specially designed anonymous electronic questionnaire, included 46 multiple-choice questions, exploring sexuality, use of pornography and sources of adult information. The promotion came through social media and the website of the Association for Regional Development and Mental Health. The statistical program SPSS Statistics 17.0 was used for the analysis of the data and the significance level was set at p<0.05. R Results: Of the 510 participants of the sample of the research, 70,2% was women and 29,8% men, of mean age 26,7. Men watch an average of 3.49 times pornographic material per week, while women watched 0.49 times per week. Those who watched pornographic material more frequently had more sexual partners. A percentage of 60.1 % of men said that they watched pornography for masturbation and stimulation, while the majority of women (46.8 %) said that curiosity was the main reason. The 72.7% of men rated pornographic material as stimulating while 39.9% of women characterized it as indifferent and stimulant. The majority of men (53.3 %) and women (62%) have been informed about sexuality by their friendly environment, but when the main source of information was internet, the age of onset of sexual contact was 10 to 16 years. Conclusions: Men watch more frequently pornography than women. Individuals watching several times pornographic material have a strong libido expressed in various ways. The sources of information about sexuality of people were mostly the friendly environment, but when the internet was the source of sexual information, these individuals had begun their sexual life earlier.