The results of a new longitudinal study on the use of pornography and its impact on marital outcomes are not encouraging. Men who viewed pornography, especially men who viewed pornography at high levels (on a daily basis), were less satisfied with their relationships six years later.
As noted in the research, viewing pornography “was strongly and negatively related to marital quality over time, and this effect was robust to the inclusion of controls for earlier satisfaction with sex life and decision-making.”
The study also revealed that women’s’ viewing of pornography didn’t have a negative impact on relationships over the course of time.
The main takeaway? For men, viewing pornography can have a negative long-term impact on one’s relationship.
Source: Perry, S. L. (2016). Does Viewing Pornography Reduce Marital Quality Over Time? Evidence from Longitudinal Data. Archives of Sexual Behavior. In press.
