Pornography Use in Malta

Debates about pornography are rarely value free and Smith et al. (2014) note how  contrasting attitudes have informed research and policy on pornography and sex education.  Pornography has become increasingly prevalent worldwide with the development of the  Internet, and considerable research on the effects of pornography use has emerged (Su et al.,  2023).  

This study conducted by Sagalytics and Sex Clinic Malta brings to light the reality of  and presence of pornography use in the local context. Of the 400 individuals living in Malta,  aged 18 and over, that participated in the survey, more than half watch pornography (53.4%).  Moreover, it was found that by far, male respondents said that they watch/ed porn more than  female respondents (73.4% - males vs 32.5% - females).  

Many recent studies (e.g. Ballester-Arnal et al., 2021; Grubbs et al., 2017; Solano et  al., 2018) have found that the prevalence of pornography use is relatively high, especially  when distributing it according to gender: with men showing prevalence rates of around 60- 98% and women with 30-90%. Studies on gender differences in those who watch  pornography have shown that men watch pornography more often and view it more  favourably compared to women (Hammaren & Johansson, 2007; Mossige et al., 2007).  Statistics of individuals living in European countries (including Spain, Poland, UK, Italy,  etc.) in 2021 showed that, of visitors on a porn site (pornhub.com), in each of these countries  the majority were men. Such statistics include 62% male and 38% female visitors to the porn  site in Spain, for example, and 72% male and 28% female visitors in the Netherlands. The  gender distribution of this Maltese study establishes that our results are very much in line  with those of other countries in the EU.  

Some studies advocate that there are negative outcomes linked to pornography use,  such as lower sexual and relationship satisfaction (Maddox et al., 2011). The participants of  the Maltese study were asked whether they watched pornography, and this was correlated against satisfaction with sexual life. The results demonstrate that participants who were ‘not  satisfied at all’ with their sexual life also were most likely to have watched porn (76.5% of  participants from this category said that they had watched porn). Nevertheless, 57.6% of  participants who felt neutral about their satisfaction with their sexual life also stated that they  watched porn. Furthermore, the majority of participants (53.3%) who expressed that they  were ‘very satisfied’ with their sexual life had also watched porn, but this statistic contrasted  with the early 76.5% of participants mentioned earlier who stated dissatisfaction with their  sexual life.  

When the participants were asked about the frequency with which they watch  pornography, 11.9% answered that they did this when they were younger. Most people  become sexually active during adolescence. Previous research has revealed that various  individual (e.g., sensation seeking and emotional problems) and social characteristics (e.g.,  quality of the family environment) play an important role in predicting exposure to sexually  explicit materials (Beyens et al., 2015). All the participants in this survey were aged 18 and  over, yet it is interesting to note that it found that more than three-quarters of those aged less  than 25 have watch/ed porn (76.5%). Furthermore, when grouped statistically by activity  status, 100% of participants who were students and/or unemployed answered ‘yes’ to  watching porn. Recent research suggests that younger cohorts are showing the largest  increase in porn use over the past few years due to their lifelong access to the internet (Perry  & Schleifer, 2017).  

The study also found that participants who were single were the ones who mostly  watch/ed porn, with a prevalence of 76.9%. While the majority of studies connecting porn  use to couples’ relationship quality tend to find a negative association, many of these studies  suppose particular use patterns for pornography such as that pornography is viewed alone for the purposes of masturbation (Perry & Schleifer, 2017). Research focusing on women in  heterosexual relationships and pornography’s influence on relational interaction propose that  the use of private pornography by the male has the potential to trigger feelings of inadequacy  or jealousy for the female partners (Perry & Davis, 2017). They also suggest that in  consequence this has the potential to decrease female partners’ sexual desire as well as  feeling of intimacy toward the male partner.  

This research found that nearly three-quarters of the respondents who watch  pornography and are not single tell their partner that they do so (73.8%). Perry & Davis  (2017) convey that we still know relatively little about the ways in which watching  pornography can be linked to the stability or instability of romantic relationships later on.  Other studies that have used self-report data have identified perceived relational benefits  linked to viewing pornography, particularly when couples view it together (Olmstead et al.  2013; Willoughby et al. 2016). In fact, when couples view sexually explicit content together,  pornography could impact the relationship positively (Kohut et al., 2018). Studies such as  those of Eders (2010) and Bártová et al. (2021) found positive aspects to pornography use  such as reduction in risky sexual behaviours in women, including increased sexual desire  toward their partners and a higher desire for sexual variety.  

This research found that those with the highest level of education are the ones who  mostly watch/ed porn (65.8%). This is not an uncommon finding, in fact statistics in other  countries, such as in Norway, have found that most frequent users are young men and people  with a high level of education (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2003).  

Of interest to note was that this research shed light on the income tax bracket and its  relationship to prevalence of pornography use. Results showed that participants belonging to  the lowest income tax bracket were most likely to not have watched pornography (80.8% said no to having viewed pornography). In contrast, those that belonged to the 35% income tax  bracket were most likely to have watched porn, with 75.9% of participants answering ‘yes’ to  having watched pornography. This was an interesting and important finding since most  research on pornography has explored psychological characteristics, and few in contrast shed  light on social status and its association to pornography use. In a study led by Yang (2016),  the hypothesis concerning lower social status and its association with fewer sexual  intercourse opportunities was explored, with the aim of understanding better as to whether the  use of Internet pornography would be used as an alternative means of sexual release. In their  findings, lower income, less education and longer working hours were correlated positively  with an increased change of turning to Internet pornography, although this was partially  mediated by marital status (Yang, 2016). Our findings suggest a need for more research to be  carried out in this particular area of study.  

References  

Ballester-Arnal, R., Castro-Calvo, J., García-Barba, M., Ruiz-Palomino, E., & Gil-Llario, M.  D. (2021). Problematic and non-problematic engagement in online sexual activities  across the lifespan. Computers in Human Behavior, 120, 106774.  

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106774  

Bártová, K., Androvičová, R., Krejčová, L., Weiss, P., & Klapilová, K. (2021). The  prevalence of paraphilic interests in the Czech population: Preference, arousal, the use  of pornography, fantasy, and behavior. The Journal of Sex Research, 58(1), 86-96. 

Beyens, I., Vandenbosch, L., & Eggermont, S. (2015). Early adolescent boys’ exposure to  internet pornography: relationships to pubertal timing, sensation seeking, and  academic performance. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 35(8), 1045–1068.  https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431614548069  

Central Bureau of Statistics. (2003). Norwegian media barometer. Oslo, Norway. Eder, J. (2010). Understanding characters. Projections, 4(1), 16-40. 

Grubbs, J. B., Exline, J. J., Pargament, K. I., Volk, F., & Lindberg, M. J. (2017). Internet  pornography use, perceived addiction, and religious/spiritual struggles. Archives of  Sexual Behavior, 46(6), 1733–1745. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0772-9  

Hammaren, N., & Johansson, T. (2007). Hegemonic masculinity and pornography: Young  people’s attitudes toward and relations to pornography. Journal of Men’s Studies, 15,  57-71.  

Kohut, T., Balzarini, R. N., Fisher, W. A., & Campbell, L. (2018). Pornography’s  associations with open sexual communication and relationship closeness vary as a  function of dyadic patterns of pornography use within heterosexual relationships.  Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 35(4), 655-676.

Maddox, A. M., Rhoades, G. K., & Markman, H. J. (2011). Viewing sexually-explicit  materials alone or together: Associations with relationship quality. Archives of Sexual  Behavior, 40(2), 441–448. https:// doi.org/10.1007/s10508-009-9585-4  

Mossige, S., Ainsaar, M., & Svedin, C. (Eds.). (2007). The Baltic Sea regional study on  adolescent sexuality (NOVA Rapport 18/07). Oslo, Norway: Norwegian Social  Research. Retrieved from  

http://www.reassess.no/index.gan?id=10&subid=0&language=1  

Olmstead, S. B., Negash, N., Pasley, K., & Fincham, F. D. (2013). Emerging adults’  expectations for pornography use in the context of future committed romantic  relationships: A qualitative study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 42, 625–635.  doi:10.1007/ s10508-012-9986-7.  

Perry, S. L., & Davis, J. T. (2017). Are pornography users more likely to experience a  romantic breakup? Evidence from longitudinal data. Sexuality & Culture, 21, 1157- 1176. 

Perry, S. L., & Schleifer, C. (2018). Till porn do us part? A longitudinal examination of  pornography use and divorce. The Journal of Sex Research, 55(3), 284-296. Smith, P. K., Thompson, F., & Davidson, J. (2014). Cyber safety for adolescent girls:  Bullying, harassment, sexting, pornography, and solicitation. Current opinion in  obstetrics and gynaecology, 26(5), 360-365. 

Solano, I., Eaton, N. R., & O’Leary, K. D. (2018). Pornography consumption, modality and  function in a large internet sample. The Journal of Sex Research. 

Su, Y., Zheng, L., & Zheng, Y. (2023). Pornography Use and Mental Health Problems in the  Chinese Population: Examining the Pornography Problems Due to Moral  Incongruence Model. The Journal of Sex Research, 1-12.

Willoughby, B. J., Carroll, J. S., Busby, D. M., & Brown, C. C. (2016). Differences in  pornography use among couples: Associations with satisfaction, stability, and  relationship processes. Archives of sexual behavior, 45, 145-158. 

Yang, X. Y. (2016). Is social status related to internet pornography use? Evidence from the  early 2000s in the United States. Archives of sexual behavior, 45, 997-1009.