Longitudinal Assessment of the Association Between the Use of Sexually Explicit Material, Hyperfemininity, and Sexual Agency in Adolescent Women

Scientific paper - Original scientific paper

• Author: Verena Klein
• Author: Sandra Šević
• Author: Taylor Kohut
• Author: Aleksandar Štulhofer https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5138-3644
• Author's institution: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of Sociology)
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: SOCIAL SCIENCES; Sociology; Specific Sociologies

Abstract (english)

There is growing public concern that sexually explicit material (SEM) negatively affects women, given that, more often than not, SEM promotes women’s sexual objectification, passivity and submission to male desire. Focusing on hyperfemininity and sexual agency, as possible respectively negative and positive outcomes of SEM use, using a sample of 552 female high school students (Mage at baseline = 15.8, SD = .48) who participated in a 5-wave longitudinal study in Croatia, we first assessed if and to what extent are hyperfemininity and sexual agency related to adolescent women’s sexual wellbeing, examining the cross-sectional relationships between these two constructs and sexual satisfaction. We then assessed longitudinal associations between SEM use and hyperfemininity/sexual agency over a period of 24 months. The results of the cross-sectional analysis indicated that sexual satisfaction was positively associated with sexual agency, but not with hyperfemininity, although at only one point in time. The results of directed latent growth modelling indicated that while baseline levels of SEM use were significantly and positively associated with both sexual agency and hyperfemininity two years later, an increase in SEM use over time was significantly, albeit weakly, related only to hyperfemininity. Given the possibility that SEM use may contribute to the development of hyperfemininity in adolescent women, the findings of this study call for further investments into comprehensive sexual education programs for youth that include discussions about SEM.

• Keywords (english): Sexually explicit material; Sexual agency; Hyperfemininity; Sexual Satisfaction; Adolescent women; Longitudinal design
• Language: english
• Publication type: Scientific paper - Original scientific paper
• Publication status: Accepted
• Peer review: Peer review - international
• Publication version: Accepted version
• Journal title: Psychology & Sexuality
• p-ISSN: 1941-9899
• e-ISSN: 1941-9902
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2020.1757500
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:911493
• Online first: 2020-04-17
• Project: Number: IP-2013-11-9221; Title (croatian): Prospektivno biopsihosocijalno istraživanje utjecaja seksualno eksplicitnih materijala na socijalizaciju i zdravlje mladih; Acronym: PROBIOPS SEM STUDY; Leader: Aleksandar Štulhofer; Jurisdiction: Croatia; Funding stream: IP
• Document URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19419899.2020.1757500
• Type of resource: Text
• Access conditions: Open access; Embargo expiration date: 2021-04-17
• Created on: 2020-04-22 23:16:11