A new study provides evidence that women whose male partners use pornography more often tend to be more distressed about this use and to report lower relationship and sexual satisfaction. The link with relationship satisfaction was stronger in women with a negative attitude towards pornography. The study was published in the Journal of Sex Research.
Many men use pornography solitarily, without their female partners. Studies have found that women who are in relationships with such men report a wide range of different experiences. The majority of women seem to be neutral, uninterested or positive about their partners’ use of pornography. However, around 1 in 3 women report distress related to the use of pornography by their partners, a feeling of betrayal, reduced sexual desire, reduced self-esteem, or a sense of sexual inadequacy.
Quantitative studies that examined the association between the perceived frequency of pornography use by the male partner and pornography-related distress of the female partner, relationship or sexual satisfaction have produced mixed results. Researchers try to explain this by stating that the effect of pornography use on the relationship between partners depends on the meaning partners attach to it. Many details of this association remain unexplored.
Study author Elizabeth G. Ruffing and her colleagues conducted a study on a group of women who reported that that their male partners use pornography. They sought to examine the relations between the perceived solitary use of pornography by male partners of these women and their pornography-related distress, sexual satisfaction and general satisfaction with their relationship.
The researchers particularly wanted to examine whether these associations depend on the attitude these women have about the use of pornography by their partner, their religious commitment and conservative religiosity.
The study included 625 women residing in the United States, who were married or living with a man who used pornography at least once in the prior 3 months participated. The age of participants ranged between 18 and 84 years. More than 80% of them identified as white. 54% had children living with them.
Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and assessments of the perceived frequency of partners’ solitary pornography use, and attitude towards partner’s pornography use. They also completed measures of conservative religiosity (the Belief dimension of the Multidimensional Religious Ideology Scale), religious commitment (the Religious Commitment Inventory), pornography-related distress (the Pornography Distress Scale), relationship satisfaction (The Couples Satisfaction Index), and sexual satisfaction (the Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction).
Results showed that women who reported that their partners use pornography more often had somewhat higher pornography-relates distress. They also tended to report somewhat lower relationship satisfaction, lower sexual satisfaction, and somewhat lower conservative religiosity.
Higher levels of pornography-related distress were very strongly associated with a negative attitude towards pornography, lower relationship satisfaction. and lower sexual satisfaction.
“Results indicated that perceived frequency of partners’ solitary pornography use (median frequency = 1–2 times/week; range = ‘less than once every 6 months’ to ‘every day or almost every day’) was associated with greater pornography-related distress, lower relationship satisfaction, and lower sexual satisfaction. A positive attitude toward a partner’s pornography use was associated with lower religious commitment and conservatism, and it was not associated with perceived frequency,” the researchers wrote.
“Attitude and perceived frequency [of solitary pornography use] each made independent contributions to distress and satisfaction, and commitment or conservative religiosity and perceived frequency each made independent contributions to distress. Attitude moderated the association between perceived frequency and relationship satisfaction, and conservative religiosity moderated the association between perceived frequency and distress.”
The study sheds light on an important aspect of dynamics of romantic relationships. However, it also has limitations that need to be taken into account. Namely, study participants were all women who reported solitary use of pornography by their partners. Thus, it remains unknown how the assessments of relationship characteristics on this group compares to women who do not report solitary use of pornography by their partners. Additionally, all the factors considered in the study were assessed through self-reports.
The study, “Distress and Satisfaction in Women Who Perceive that Their Male Partners Use Pornography: The Roles of Attitude, Religious Commitment and Conservative Religiosity”, was authored by Elizabeth G. Ruffing, Leslie R. Brodya, and Steven J. Sandage.