Exploring the way sexually explicit material informs sexual beliefs, understanding and practices of young men: A qualitative survey

Charles, Peter; Meyrick, Jane

Abstract

Little research has examined how exposure to sexually explicit material may affect beliefs, attitudes and actions of young men. This study explored self-reported effects on young males. A ‘snowballed’ sample of males aged 18–25 years was recruited within one workplace (11/40 response rate). The qualitative survey data were analysed using thematic analysis. Key themes included increased levels of availability/extreme content of sexually explicit material, seen by young men having negative effects on sexual attitudes/behaviours. Participants reported confusion between real and sexually explicit material which informed expectations of a healthy sex life but may be mediated by potential ‘buffers’ of family openness or sex education.

Citation

Charles, P., & Meyrick, J. (2020). Exploring the way sexually explicit material informs sexual beliefs, understanding and practices of young men: A qualitative survey. Journal of Health Psychology, 25(13-14), 2211-2221. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318788736

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 22, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Jul 27, 2018
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jul 9, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 9, 2018
• Journal: Journal of Health Psychology
• Print ISSN: 1359-1053
• Electronic ISSN: 1461-7277
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 13-14
• Pages: 2211-2221
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318788736
• Keywords: young men, sexually explicit material, pornography
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/873451
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105318788736
• Additional Information: Additional Information : Copyright(c)2018 Reprinted by permission of SAGE publications.