X-rated material and perpetration of sexually aggressive behavior among children and adolescents: Is there a link?

Aggressive Behavior

Volumn 37, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 1-18

  Ybarra, Michele L ^a   Mitchell, Kimberly J ^b   Hamburger, Merle ^c   Diener West, Marie ^d   Leaf, Philip J ^d  

^a Internet Solutions for Kids   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE   (United States)

^c CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION   (United States)

^d JOHNS HOPKINS BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH   (United States)

Author keywords

Internet; Longitudinal study; Pornography; Sexual aggression; Youth violence prevention

Indexed keywords

ADOLESCENT; AGGRESSION; ARTICLE; CHILD; CHILD BEHAVIOR; FEMALE; HUMAN; INFORMATION PROCESSING; LONGITUDINAL STUDY; MALE; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; PUBLICATION; RISK; SEXUAL BEHAVIOR; STATISTICAL MODEL; VIOLENCE;

ADOLESCENT; ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOR; AGGRESSION; CHILD; CHILD BEHAVIOR; DATA COLLECTION; EROTICA; FEMALE; HUMANS; LOGISTIC MODELS; LONGITUDINAL STUDIES; MALE; ODDS RATIO; SEXUAL BEHAVIOR; VIOLENCE;

EID: 78650047446     PISSN: 0096140X     EISSN: 10982337     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/ab.20367     Document Type: Article

References (67)

1. Abbey A. 2005. Lessons learned and unanswered questions about sexual assault perpetration. J Interpers Violence 20:39-42.
2. Abbey A, McAuslan P. 2004. A longitudinal examination of male college students' perpetration of sexual assault. J Consult Clin Psychol 72:747-756.
3. Allen M, D'Alessio D, Brezgel K. 1995. A meta-analysis summarizing the effects of pornography. II: Aggression after exposure. Hum Commun Res 22:258-283.
4. Anderson CA, Gentile DA, Buckley KE. 2007. Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents: Theory, Research, and Public Policy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
5. Bandura A. 1977. Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press.
6. Berrens RP, Bohara AK, Jenkins-Smith H, Silva C, Weimer DL. 2003. The advent of Internet surveys for political research: A comparison of telephone and Internet samples. Polit Anal 11:1-22.
7. Berrens RP, Bohara AK, Jenkins-Smith HC, Silva, CL, Weimer DL. 2004. Information and effort in contingent valuation surveys: Application to global climate change using national internet samples. J Environ Econ Manage 47:331-363.
8. Borowsky IW, Hogan M, Ireland M. 1997. Adolescent sexual aggression: Risk and protective factors. Pediatrics 100:e7.
9. Bross DC. 2005. Minimizing risks to children when they access the world wide web. Child Abuse Negl 29:749-752.
10. Brown JD, L'Engle KL. 2009. X-Rated: Sexual attitudes and behaviors associated with U.S. early adolescents' exposure to sexually explicit media. Commun Res 36:129-151.
11. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of the Census. 2001. Current population survey: Annual demographic survey retrieved February 10, 2009, from
12. Carroll JS, Padilla-Walker LM, Nelson LJ, Olson CD, Barry CM, Madsen SD. 2008. Generation XXX: Pornography acceptance and use among emerging adults. J Adolesc Res 23:6-30.
13. Casey EABB, Lindhorst TP. 2009. Predictors of sexually coercive behavior in a nationally representative sample of adolescent males. J Interpers Violence 24:1129-1147.
14. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2005. Measuring violence-related attitudes, behaviors, and influences among youths: A compendium of assessment tools, Atlanta.
15. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2006. Youth risk behavior surveillance-United States, 2005. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 55:1-108.
16. Chandra A, Martino SC, Collins RL, Elliott MN, Berry SH, Kanouse DF, Miu A. 2008. Does watching sex on television predict teen pregnancy? Findings from a national longitudinal survey of youth. Pediatrics 122:1047-1054.
17. Conoscenti LM, McNally RJ. 2006. Health complaints in acknowledged and unacknowledged rape victims. J Anxiety Disord 20:372-379.
18. Cortina LM, Kubiak S. 2006. Gender and posttraumatic stress: Sexual violence as an explanation for women's increased risk. J Abnorm Psychol 115:753-759.
19. Crockett LJ, Raffaelli M, Moilanen K. 2003. Adolescent sexuality: Behavior and meaning. In: Adams GR, Berzonsky MD (eds). Blackwell Handbook of Adolescence. Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishing, pp 371-392.
20. de Bruijn PD, Burrie I, Wel FV. 2006. A risky boundary: Unwanted sexual behaviour among youth. J Sex Aggr 12:81-96.
21. Demaré D, Briere J, Lips H. 1988. Violent pornography and self-reported likelihood of sexual aggression. J Res Pers 22:140-153.
22. Donnerstein E, Linz D. 1986. Mass media sexual violence and male viewers: Current theory and research. Am Behav Sci 29:601-618.
23. Fago DP. 2003. Evaluation and treatment of neurodevelopmental deficits in sexually aggressive children and adolescents. Prof Psychol Res Pract 34:248-257.
24. Finkelhor D, Hamby SL, Ormond R, Turner H. 2005. The juvenile victimization questionnaire: Reliability, validity, and national norms. Child Abuse Negl 29:383-412.
25. Finkelhor D, Mitchell KJ, Wolak J. 2000. Online Victimization: A Report on the Nation's Youth (No. 6-00-020). Alexandria, VA: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
26. Forgays DG, Forgays DK, Speilberger CD. 1997. Factor structure of the state-trait anger expression inventory. J Pers Assess 69:497-507.
27. Gray HM, Foshee V. 1997. Adolescent dating violence. J Interpers Violence 12:126-141.
28. Hall GN, Barongan C. 1997. Prevention of sexual aggression: Sociocultural risk and protective factors. Am Psychol 52:5-14.
29. Halpern CT, Udry JR, Campbell B, Suchindran C. 1993. Testosterone and pubertal development as predictors of sexual activity: A panel analysis of adolescent males. Psychosom Med 55:436-447.
30. Harris Interactive. 2006. Online methodology Retrieved July 5, 2006, from
31. Hickey N, Farmer E, Vizard E. 2008. Comparing the developmental and behavioural characteristics of female and male juveniles who present with sexually abusive behaviour. J Sex Aggr 14:241-252.
32. Katchadourian H. 1990. Sexuality. In: Feldman SS, Elliott GR (eds). At the Threshold: The Developing Adolescent. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp 330-351.
33. Krahe B. 1998. Sexual aggression among adolescents: Prevalence and predictors in a German sample. Psychol Women Q 22:537-554.
34. Lacasse A, Mendelson MJ. 2007. Sexual coercion among adolescents: Victims and perpetrators. J Interpers Violence 22:424-437.
35. Lenhart A, Madden M, Hitlin P. 2005. Teens and Technology: Youth Are Leading the Transition to a Fully Wired and Mobile Nation. Washington, DC: Pew Internet and American Life.
36. Lenhart A, Purcell K, Smith A, Zickuhr K. 2010. Social Media and Young Adults. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project.
37. Linz D, Donnerstein E, Penrod S. 1984. The effects of multiple exposures to filmed violence against women. J Commun 34:130-147.
38. Malamuth NM. 2003. Criminal and noncriminal sexual aggressors: Integrating psychopathy in a hierarchical-mediational confluence model. In: Prentky RA, Janus ES, Seto MC (eds). Sexually Coercive Behavior: Understanding and Management, Vol. 989. New York: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, pp 33-58.
39. Malamuth NM, Addison T, Koss M. 2000. Pornography and sexual aggression: Are there reliable effects and can we understand them? Annu Rev Sex Res 11:26-91.
40. Malamuth NM, Heavey CL, Linz D. 1993. Predicting men's antisocial behavior against women: The interaction model of sexual aggression. In: Hall GN, Hirschman R, Graham J, Zaragoza M (eds). Sexual Aggression: Issues in Etiology, Assessment and Treatment. Washington, DC: Hemisphere, pp 63-97.
41. Maxwell CD, Robinson AL, Post LA. 2003. The nature and predictors of sexual victimization and offending among adolescents. J Youth Adolesc 32:465-477.
42. McFarlane J, Malecha A, Gist J, Watson K, Batten E, Hall I. 2005. Intimate partner sexual assault against women and associated victim substance use, suicidality, and risk factors for femicide. Issues Ment Health Nurs 26:953-967.
43. Miller TR, Cohen MA, Wiersema B. 1996. Victim Costs and Consequences: A New Look (No. NCJ 155282). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.
44. Molidor C, Tolman RM. 1998. Gender and contextual factors in adolescent dating violence. Violence Against Women 4:180-194.
45. Ozer EJ, Tschann JM, Pasch LA, Flores E. 2004. Violence perpetration across peer and partner relationships: Co-occurrence and longitudinal patterns among adolescents. J Adolesc Health 34:64-71.
46. Paul B, Bryant JA. 2005. Adolescents and the internet. Adolesc Med Clin 16:413-426.
47. Peter J, Valkenburg PM. 2008. Adolescents' exposure to sexually explicit internet material and sexual preoccupancy: A three-wave panel study. [Article]. Media Psychol 11:207-234.
48. Ponton L, Judice S. 2004. Typical adolescent sexual development. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am 13:497-511.
49. Rideout V. 2001. Generation Rx.com: How young people use the Internet for health information. Published by Kaiser Family Foundation. Available at: (last accessed 10/6/2010).
50. Schonau M, Zapert K, Simon LP, Sanstad KH, Marcus SM, Adams J, Spranca M, Kan H, Turner R, Berry S. 2004. A comparison between response rates from a propensity-weighted Web survey and an identical RDD survey. Soc Sci Comput Rev 22:128-138.
51. Seto MC, Lalumière ML. 2010. What is so special about male adolescent sexual offending? A review and test of explanations through meta-analysis. Psychol Bull 136:526-575.
52. Seto MC, Maric A, Barbaree HE. 2001. The role of pornography in the etiology of sexual aggression. Aggr Violent Behav 6:35-53.
53. Snyder HN. 2000. Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.
54. Snyder HN, Sickmund M. 2006. Juvenile offenders and victims: 2006 national report. Washington, DC: Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
55. Spielberger CD, Reheiser EC, Hilsenroth MJ, Segal DL. 2004. Measuring anxiety, anger, depression, and curiosity as emotional states and personality traits with the STAI, STAXI and STPI. Comprehensive Handbook of Psychological Assessment, Vol. 2: Personality Assessment. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, pp 70-86.
56. StataCorp. 2009. Stata Statistical Software (Version 11). College Station, TX: Stata Press.
57. Terhanian G, Siegal JW, Overmeyer C, Bremer J, Taylor H. 2001. The record of internet-based opinion polls in predicting the results of 72 races in the November 2000 US Elections. Int J Market Res 43:127-136.
58. Tolman D, Kim J, Schooler D, Sorsoli L. 2007. Rethinking the association between television viewing and adolescent sexual health: Bringing gender into focus. J Adoles Health 40:9-16.
59. Udry JR. 1996. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (AddHealth) [Wave I and Wave II]. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Carolina Population Center.
60. USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future. 2004. Ten years, ten trends. Year 4. The Digital Future Report: Surveying the Digital Future, from
61. Vega V, Malamuth NM. 2007. Predicting sexual aggression: The role of pornography in the context of general and specific risk factors. Aggr Behav 33:104-117.
62. White JW, Smith PH. 2009. Covariation in the use of physical and sexual intimate partner aggression among adolescent and college-age men: A longitudinal analysis. Violence Against Women 15:24-43.
63. Williams KM, Cooper BS, Howell TM, Yuille JC, Paulhus DL. 2009. Inferring sexually deviant behavior from corresponding fantasies: The role of personality and pornography consumption. Crim Justice Behav 36:198-222.
64. Wolak J, Mitchell KJ, Finkelhor D. 2006. Online Victimization of Youth: 5 Years Later (No. 07-06-025). Alexandria, VA: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
65. Wolak J, Mitchell K, Finkelhor D. 2007. Unwanted and wanted exposure to online pornography in a national sample of youth Internet users. Pediatrics 119:247-257.
66. Ybarra M, Mitchell K. 2005. Exposure to Internet pornography among children and adolescents: A national survey. Cyberpsychol Behav 8:473-486.
67. Zillmann D. 2000. Influence of unrestrained access to erotica on adolescents' and young adults' dispositions toward sexuality. J Adolesc Health 27:41-44.