Pornography Use, Mental Health, Sexual Risk, and Relationships: Scoping Review with ☸️SAIMSARA.

Name: SAIMSARA Evidence Object longevity::PORNOGRAPHY_PM
Creator: SAIMSARA
License: https://saimsara.com/license/

SAIMSARA

doi:10.62487/saimsara32596a65

SAIMSARA Journal

Machine-Readable Science • ISSN 3054-3991

Pornography Use, Mental Health, Sexual Risk, and Relationships: Scoping Review with ☸️SAIMSARA.

Longevity & Public Health

Issue 2, Volume 1, 2026

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DOI: 10.62487/saimsara32596a65

Editorial note

• Last update: 2026-06-02 20:54:28

What is this paper about

Pornography is not a single-risk exposure but a complex behavioral ecosystem where most users report neutral or positive effects, while a clinically important minority develop problematic use linked to mental distress, relationship conflict, risky sexual behavior, and aggression-related outcomes. The full read maps 318 references across 1,287 original studies, separating frequency from problematic use and showing where pornography literacy, couple context, moral incongruence, and targeted screening may actually matter.

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Generated with SAIMSARA v5.0

Abstract: To systematically map and synthesize the existing literature on pornography, identifying key themes related to its prevalence, correlates, mechanisms, and consequences across diverse populations and study designs. The review uses 318 references and builds its evidence map from 1287 original studies with 3217708 total participants/sample observations (topic-deduplicated ΣN). This scoping review highlights that pornography consumption is a highly prevalent behavior with complex, context-dependent associations across individual, relational, and societal domains. The evidence consistently indicates that while most users report neutral or positive outcomes, a significant minority—approximately 3–8% in general populations—experience problematic use linked to adverse mental health, relationship distress, and risky sexual behaviors. The distinction between frequency of use and problematic use, often moderated by moral incongruence and religiosity, emerges as a critical factor shaping outcomes. These findings support a role for targeted screening and pornography literacy interventions, particularly for adolescents and couples. Future research should prioritize longitudinal and experimental designs to disentangle causal mechanisms and develop effective, personalized prevention and treatment strategies.

Keywords: pornography consumption; problematic pornography use; sexual behavior; adolescent development; neural plasticity; sexual aggression; mental health; stigma; moral incongruence; sexual dysfunction

Review Stats

Final search date and database lock: 2026-05-25 00:37:44 CEST
Plan: Pro (expanded craft tokens; source: PubMed)
Source: PubMed
Total Abstracts/Papers: 2067
Downloaded Abstracts/Papers: 2067
Included original and non-original Abstracts/Papers (all): 1470
Included original Abstracts/Papers (Vote counting by direction of effect): 1287
Reference Index (links used in paper): 318
Total participants/sample observations (topic deduplicated ΣN): 3217708

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Reference Index (318)

[1] Pornography Consumption, Modality and Function in a Large Internet Sample. — https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2018.1532488
[2] Brain structure and functional connectivity associated with pornography consumption: the brain on porn. — https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.93
[3] Sexual Behaviors and Violence in Pornography: Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis of Video Content Analyses. — https://doi.org/10.2196/16702
[4] Gay Porn's Bareback Momentum. — https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2018.1525947
[5] The Association between the Quantity and Severity of Pornography Use: A Meta-analysis. — https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2021.1988500
[6] Gender Differences in the Association between Pornography Use and Sexual Satisfaction: Further Meta-Analytic Evidence. — https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2025.2450421
[7] Pornography and Sexual Aggression: Can Meta-Analysis Find a Link? — https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838020942754
[8] High-Frequency Pornography Use May Not Always Be Problematic. — https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2020.01.007

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