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LETTER TO EDITOR |
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Year : 2021 | Volume
: 5
| Issue : 1 | Page : 27 |
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Does Frequent Pornography use Adversely Affect Men Sexual Health? A Call for Clinical Investigation
Chidiebere Emmanuel Okechukwu
Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
Date of Submission | 17-Jun-2020 |
Date of Decision | 22-Jun-2020 |
Date of Acceptance | 29-Jun-2020 |
Date of Web Publication | 12-Jan-2021 |
Correspondence Address: Dr. Chidiebere Emmanuel Okechukwu Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome Italy
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/MTSM.MTSM_20_20
How to cite this article: Okechukwu CE. Does Frequent Pornography use Adversely Affect Men Sexual Health? A Call for Clinical Investigation. Matrix Sci Med 2021;5:27 |
Dear Editor,
The possible association between pornography use (PU) and adverse sexual health outcomes among men is an important issue that has been conceptualized, discussed, and substantiated with anecdotal “evidence” for decades. Only recently have researchers begun to conduct empirical studies aimed at assessing claims that frequent PU may result in sexual dysfunctions and other difficulties. Frequent PU may possibly affect men self-esteem, state of relationship, and sexual fulfillment with the opposite sex.[1] Men who constantly use pornographic materials reported lesser sexual satisfaction with their spouse, despite their partners' fondness, bodily appearance, sexual curiosity, and performance.[2] Problematic PU is habitually comorbid with masturbation addiction, men who masturbates while watching pornography might have an increased risk of sexual dysfunction.[3]
Men who are interested in treating their pornography addiction were mainly single, watching a lot of pornography every week, involved in intense masturbation, and had previously tried to quit watching pornography.[4] Problematic PU has been associated with sexual dissatisfaction, maladaptive behavior and anxiety disorder among men.[5] Frequent PU was associated with desire for teenage sex, premarital sex, and adulterous lifestyle among American men.[6] Due to the increase in the access and use of the Internet, pornography has become highly accessible, economical, and disparate, online PU is increasing globally. Risen access to online pornography and viewing sexually explicit contents such as that showing violence against women, often leads to increased violence against women in real life, this indicates that PU could modify real-life sexual behaviour.[7] Most men diagnosed of penile dysmorphic disorder are addicted to pornography.[8]
Frequent PU might have adverse effects on men sexual health most especially on male sexual expression, performance, and behavior, but there is no established scientific evidence to validate this observation. Hence, a lot of experimental and clinical studies are required in this area to substantiate if there are negative effects of pornography addiction on male sexual functioning, and psychosocial wellbeing.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
References | |  |
1. | Morgan EM. Associations between young adults' use of sexually explicit materials and their sexual preferences, behaviors, and satisfaction. J Sex Res 2011;48:520-30. |
2. | Zillmann D, Bryant J. Pornography's impact on sexual satisfaction. J Appl Soc Psychol 2006;18:438-53. |
3. | Berger JH, Kehoe JE, Doan AP, Crain DS, Klam WP, Marshall MT, et al. Survey of sexual function and pornography. Mil Med 2019;184:731-7. |
4. | Kraus SW, Martino S, Potenza MN. Clinical Characteristics of men interested in seeking treatment for use of pornography. J Behav Addict 2016;5:169-78. |
5. | De Alarcón R, De la Iglesia JI, Casado NM, Montejo AL. Online porn addiction: What we know and what we don't – A systematic review. J Clin Med 2019;8:91. |
6. | Wright PJ. U.S. males and pornography, 1973–2010: Consumption, predictors, correlates. J Sex Res 2013;50:60-71. |
7. | Lim MS, Carrotte ER, Hellard ME. The impact of pornography on gender-based violence, sexual health and well-being: What do we know? J Epidemiol Community Health 2016;70:3-5. |
8. | Okechukwu CE, Deb AA, Emara S, Abbas SA. Penile dysmorphic disorder: A secret obsession in men. Urol Sci 2020;31:85-6. [Full text] |
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