Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: There is little research on whether adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit online material is related to two important characteristics of their sexual self – sexual uncertainty and sexual exploration. Moreover, the role of gender in these potential associations has hardly been studied. Drawing on a sample of 2,305 Dutch adolescents aged 13 – 20, we found that more frequent exposure to sexually explicit online material was associated with greater sexual uncertainty and more positive attitudes toward uncommitted sexual exploration (i.e., sexual relations with casual partners/friends or with sexual partners in one-night stands). Testing different causal models for the influence of gender, we found two direct effects: In comparison with female adolescents, male adolescents were less sexually uncertain and held more positive attitudes toward uncommitted sexual exploration. However, indirect effects of gender also emerged. Male adolescents consumed sexually explicit online material more frequently than female adolescents, which, in turn, was associated with both greater sexual uncertainty and more positive attitudes toward uncommitted sexual exploration. Our findings call for more attention to adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit material on the internet and identity-related issues.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Recent research has established a link between teenagers’ exposure to sexually explicit online material and their uncertainty about sexual beliefs and values. However, research has paid little attention to the processes that may underlie this association. We hypothesized that the relation between exposure to sexually explicit online material and sexual uncertainty would be mediated by how adolescents perceive the social reality depicted in such material. Drawing on a sample of 1,519 Dutch adolescents aged 13 to 18, we first established with a confirmatory factor analysis that adolescents perceive sexually explicit online material along three dimensions: unaffectionate sex, male dominance, and female objectification. We found that exposure to sexually explicit online material exerted, via perceived male dominance and perceived female objectification, an indirect positive effect on sexual uncertainty. However, exposure to sexually explicit online material retained a significant direct positive relation with sexual uncertainty, indicating that the perceived male dominance and perceived objectification partially mediated this relation. This pattern applied equally to male and female adolescents.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The extent to which individuals’ preferences for, and responses to sexually explicit content on the Internet would rely on a combination of different psychological characteristics, such as sexual and antisocial dispositions was examined. 337 undergraduate students (males and females) responded to an online questionnaire. Findings indicate that sexual disposition contributed significantly to the prediction of standard-fare Internet pornography use and arousal. No association was found however, between sexual disposition and deviant Internet pornography use and arousal. Antisocial disposition also significantly added to the predictability of regular Internet pornography use and arousal. Most interestingly, those higher in antisocial disposition, though more likely to use both standard-fare and deviant pornographic Internet content, than those who are lower in antisocial disposition were only more likely to report arousing in response to deviant content. A new way of assessing Internet pornography use is also discussed.

Publication Type: Session Paper
Abstract: A small, but coherent body of research has documented associations between adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit material on the internet and their sexual attitudes. However, we know little about potential cognitive-affective mediators of this association. Based on appraisal theory in general and the law of apparent reality in general, we hypothesized that more frequent exposure to sexually explicit online material would increase the perceived realism of such material (cognitive mediator), which, in turn, would intensify arousal during exposure to exposure to sexually explicit online material (affective mediator). Greater arousal, finally, would lead to more positive attitudes toward uncommitted sexual exploration. Drawing on a sample of 791 Dutch male adolescents aged 13 – 18, we tested our model with Structural Equation Modeling. Our results largely confirmed our model. The study suggests that cognitions and affects play an important role in the link between adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit online material and sexual attitude formation.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: A cognitive priming/spreading activation frame and a lexical decision task paradigm were employed to understand the effects of playing a sexually explicit video game with female “objectification” content on male players. Men who played the sexually explicit video game recognized words with sexual connotations and words describing women as sex objects more quickly than did men in the control conditions. Men who played the sexually explicit game also displayed an increased tendency to engage in sexual harassment compared to men who played non-sexual video games. The anticipated interaction between sex-typing and the sexually explicit video game condition was not found. Overall, the study provides strong empirical evidence that a sexually explicit video game with themes of female “objectification” may prime thoughts related to sex, encourage men to view women as sex objects, and increase the likelihood of self reported tendencies to behave inappropriately toward women in social situations.