According to a study led by BYU Associate Professor Jason Carroll, college-aged women may be more accepting of pornography than are their fathers. Carroll worked on a study that analyzed the increased use of pornography in recent years. This research was a part of a larger study called Project Ready focusing on people ages 18 to 25 who are transitioning into adulthood.

According to a BYU news release, researchers had students respond to the following statement: "Viewing pornographic materials such as (magazines, movies, and/or Internet sites) is an acceptable way to express one's sexuality."

Of the respondents, 65.5 percent of men agreed, 48.7 percent of women agreed, 36.6 percent of fathers agreed and 20.4 percent of mothers agreed.

Since young adults have higher acceptance rates of pornography than their parents do, Carroll says the nation may be facing a major generational shift.

The media has an influence on young women's acceptance of pornography. Carroll referred to popular sitcoms such as "Friends" that depict the cool girlfriend as the one who buys pornography for their boyfriend's birthday.

"I think it's unfortunate that society has changed so much to where women have lost respect for themselves to the point of accepting pornography when they should hold their boyfriends and significant others to a higher standard," said BYU student Aaron Thomas.

"[The study is] showing us how mainstream pornography is becoming in American culture," Carroll said.

Researchers found a correlation between pornographic use and participation in other risky behaviors including drug use, binge drinking and promiscuous sexuality. Women who did not personally use pornography, but had a high acceptance level also had increased levels of risky behavior.

BYU Assistant Professor Laura Walker, who worked with Carroll on this study, said "although there was a correlation in the current study between pornography use and other risky behaviors (e.g., drinking, drug use), we can not infer from these findings that pornography use causes people to participate in risky behaviors."

Carroll referred to the "triple A's" which account for the increase in pornography. Pornography is accessible, affordable and anonymous.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often receive counsel to keep their computers in a public place and use filters to prevent access to pornography. With the advent of wireless technology, Carroll said pornographic use is likely to increase and that individuals must have an increased level of internal prevention.

Copyright Brigham Young University 3 Mar 2008