Self-Perceived Effects of Pornography Consumption in a Sample of Indonesian University Students

Abstract

Self-perceived effects of pornography consumption were studied in a sample of university students in Indonesia—a conservative, Muslim majority country with strict anti-pornography laws. Using a cross-sectional design and a modified version of the Pornography Consumption Effect Scale (PCES), we assessed participants' reports of how pornography affected their sexual knowledge, attitude toward sex, sex life, perception of and attitude toward the opposite gender, and life in general. The area of attitude toward sex excepted, the study found that both men and women reported significantly larger positive than negative effects. Further, as compared to women, men reported significantly larger negative effects of their pornography consumption. For both genders, pornography-related variables were found to add significantly to the prediction of both positive and negative self-perceived effects of pornography consumption over and above a number of included control variables.