The association between pornography use and sexual offending in individuals with a history of sex offenses: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Despite over 50 years of research, limited evidence exists regarding a connection between pornography and sexual offending, which individuals are most likely to be affected by pornography, and the broader implications of this purported relationship. Prior meta-analyses have included studies that use a wide range of different methodologies but have not isolated the effects of pornography in samples of individuals that perpetrated a sex offense. We examined the association between pornography (only legal content, child sexual abuse material was not included) and sexual offending in studies that included samples of individuals that had admitted to or been convicted of a sex offense (persons identified as committing a sexual offense (s); PISOs). In addition, we examined several potentially relevant moderator variables that could impact the relationship between pornography and sex offending. Using Robust Variance Estimation, the main effect was non-significant, g = 0.18, 95 % CI [−0.09, 0.46], which further questions whether pornography is associated with various offender populations. However, several moderator analyses generated significant results, including method used to identify PISOs and living status (institutionalized versus living in the community). Tentative conclusions based on these results are discussed, along with implications for future research.