Pornography Use by Sex Offenders at the Time of the Index Offense: Characterization and Predictors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to characterize and predict sex offenders’ pornography consumption at the time of the index offense. Participants were 146 male sex offenders incarcerated in a Portuguese prison establishment. A semi-structured interview and the Wilson Sex Fantasy Questionnaire were administered. While for some individuals pornography did not appear to play a role in their offenses, there were others whose prolonged use led to more sex fantasies and urges to enact the visualized contents. As pornography does not have the same effects on all people, management officials should bear this in mind when tailoring specific treatment programs.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of the Portuguese General Office of Prison Services and Social Rehabilitation (Direção Geral de Serviços Prisionais e Reinserção Social) and the prison establishment where the study was conducted. The authors are grateful to reviewers whose comments and insight have added to this paper. The authors take responsibility for the integrity of the data, the accuracy of the data analyses, and have made every effort to avoid inflating statistically significant results.