Understanding Sexual Addiction Todd Bowman, PhD
Recent findings in sexual addictions Only 3% of pornographic websites require proof of age before granting access to sexually explicit material. Two-thirds of pornographic websites do not include any adult content warnings. Approximately 75% of pornographic websites display visual teasers on their homepages prior to asking if viewers are aware of legal age. From “The Social Costs of Pornography”, Stoner, Jr. & Hughes (Eds), 2010
Recent findings in sexual addictions The US accounts for about $13 billion of the $97 billion made worldwide each year in the pornography industry. There are more than 11,000 pornographic films shot in the US each year (a little more than 30 per day); Hollywood produces about 400 in a good year (or a little more than 1 per day). According to the American Matrimonial Association, 58% of divorces are the result of internet pornography. That equates to more than 1 in 4 American marriages ending due to pornography (or 575,000 per year). From “The Social Costs of Pornography”, Stoner, Jr. & Hughes (Eds), 2010
Recent findings in sexual addictions 22% of adolescent females (13-19) and 36% of young women (20- 26) have sent nude photos or videos of themselves. High pornography users were found to score higher on acceptance of the rape myth, acceptance of violence against women, adversarial sex beliefs, reported likelihood of committing rape and forced sex acts, and sexual callousness. From “The Social Costs of Pornography”, Stoner, Jr. & Hughes (Eds), 2010
Internet Pornography Statistics According to Google analytics, searches for the terms “porn”, “XXX” and “sex”: In 2008, 70 million hits per month In 2011, 68 million hits per day In 2014, 84 million hits per hour According to Barna: One in two Christian men are actively struggling with pornography and other problematic sexual behaviors 53% Christians said pornography is a major problem in the home
Children Internet Pornography Statistics Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography is 11 years old Largest consumer of Internet pornography age group with year olds having multiple hard-core exposures 80% 8-16 year olds having viewed porn online Children’s character names linked to thousands of porn links (Including Pokeman and Action Man)
What contributes to the threat of increased exposure to pornography? The Triple Threat AAccessible AAffordable AAnonymous Dr. Al Cooper, psychologist who studies Internet Addiction Another factor has been added to this AAccidental Dr. Mark Laaser, Director of the Christian Alliance
Why Can’t People Just Quit? Biological & Psychological Addiction
What it is Biologically? A Pathological Relationship to a Mood Altering EXPERIENCEEXPERIENCE
Deconstructing sexual addictions As defined by Carnes (1986): A pathological relationship with a mood-altering experience. Pathological- Involving, caused by, or of the nature of a physical or mental disease Relationship- pertaining to connection (specifically the attachment system); it is an intimacy disorder Mood-altering experience- self-soothing techniques aimed at reducing distress apart from attachment relationships