Bonding
Pornography Use and Marital Separation: Evidence from Two-Wave Panel Data
Samuel Perry
Archives of Sexual Behavior, forthcoming
Abstract:
As pornography use continues to increase in the U.S., studies have sought to understand its potential influence on marital relationships. Yet, the primary focus of such studies has been pornography's association with marital quality, not stability. Consequently, we still know relatively little about whether pornography consumption at one time predicts marital disruption later on. Drawing on data from the 2006 and 2012 waves of the nationally representative Portraits of American Life Study (N = 445), this article examined whether married Americans who viewed pornography in 2006, either at all or in greater frequencies, were more likely to experience a marital separation by 2012. Binary logistic regression analyses showed that married Americans who viewed pornography at all in 2006 were more than twice as likely as those who did not view pornography to experience a separation by 2012, even after controlling for 2006 marital happiness and sexual satisfaction as well as relevant sociodemographic correlates. The relationship between pornography use frequency and marital separation, however, was technically curvilinear. The likelihood of marital separation by 2012 increased with 2006 pornography use to a point and then declined at the highest frequencies of pornography use. Ancillary analyses, however, showed that this group of married Americans with high frequencies of 2006 pornography viewing and low likelihood of later marital separation was not statistically distinguishable from either abstainers or moderate viewers in terms of marital separation likelihood. All findings held regardless of gender. Data limitations and implications for future research are discussed.
Only Bad for Believers? Religion, Pornography Use, and Sexual Satisfaction Among American Men
Samuel Perry & Andrew Whitehead
Journal of Sex Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
Research has often demonstrated a negative association between pornography use and various intrapersonal and relationship outcomes, particularly for men. Several recent studies, however, have suggested that the negative association between pornography use and these indicators is stronger among more religious Americans, suggesting that moral incongruence (engaging in an activity that violates one's sacred values) and the attendant shame or cognitive dissonance, rather than pornography use per se, may be the primary factor at work. The current study tested and extended this theory by examining how religion potentially moderates the link between pornography use and sexual satisfaction in a national random sample of American adults (N = 1,501). Analyses demonstrated that while pornography use was negatively associated with sexual satisfaction for American men (not women), among men who rarely attended religious services or held a low opinion of the Bible this negative association essentially disappeared. Conversely, the negative association between frequency of pornography consumption and sexual satisfaction was more pronounced for men with stronger ties to conventional religion. These findings suggest that the connection between pornography use and sexual satisfaction, especially for men, depends largely on what viewing pornography means to consumers and their moral community and less so on the practice itself.
The Madonna-Whore Dichotomy: Men Who Perceive Women's Nurturance and Sexuality as Mutually Exclusive Endorse Patriarchy and Show Lower Relationship Satisfaction
Orly Bareket et al.
Sex Roles, forthcoming
Abstract:
The Madonna-Whore Dichotomy (MWD) denotes polarized perceptions of women in general as either "good," chaste, and pure Madonnas or as "bad," promiscuous, and seductive whores. Whereas prior theories focused on unresolved sexual complexes or evolved psychological tendencies, feminist theory suggests the MWD stems from a desire to reinforce patriarchy. Surveying 108 heterosexual Israeli men revealed a positive association between MWD endorsement and patriarchy-enhancing ideology as assessed by Social Dominance Orientation (preference for hierarchical social structures), Gender-Specific System Justification (desire to maintain the existing gender system), and sexist attitudes (Benevolent and Hostile Sexism, Sexual Objectification of Women, and Sexual Double Standards). In addition, MWD endorsement negatively predicted men's romantic relationship satisfaction. These findings support the feminist notion that patriarchal arrangements have negative implications for the well-being of men as well as women. Specifically, the MWD not only links to attitudes that restrict women's autonomy, but also impairs men's most intimate relationships with women. Increased awareness of motives underlying the MWD and its psychological costs can help practice professionals (e.g., couple therapists), as well as the general public, to foster more satisfying heterosexual relationships.
Marriage and Health: Selection, Protection, and Assortative Mating
Nezih Guner, Yuliya Kulikova & Joan Llull
European Economic Review, forthcoming
Abstract:
Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), we analyze the health gap between married and unmarried individuals of working-age. Controlling for observables, we find a gap that peaks at 10 percentage points at ages 55-59 years. The marriage health gap is similar for men and women. If we allow for unobserved heterogeneity in innate health (permanent and age-dependent), potentially correlated with timing and likelihood of marriage, we find that the effect of marriage on health disappears below age 40 years, while about 5 percentage points difference between married and unmarried individuals remains at older ages (55-59 years). This indicates that the observed gap is mainly driven by selection into marriage at younger ages, but there might be a protective effect of marriage at older ages. Exploring the mechanisms behind this result, we find that better innate health is associated with a higher probability of marriage and a lower probability of divorce, and there is strong assortative mating among couples by innate health. We also find that married individuals are more likely to have a healthier behavior compared to unmarried ones. Finally, we find that health insurance is critical for the beneficial effect of marriage.
Fluctuations of estradiol during women's menstrual cycle: Influences on reactivity towards erotic stimuli in the late positive potential
Aisha Munk, Aaron Zoeller & Juergen Hennig
Psychoneuroendocrinology, May 2018, Pages 11-19
Background: While several studies examined the reactivity towards negative emotional stimuli across women's menstrual cycle, only few investigated responses to positive emotional cues in association with sexual hormones on a neural level. Therefore, the aim of the current EEG-experiment was to study the differential reactivity towards positive (erotic) words during the menstrual cycle (i.e. with fluctuations in the steroids estradiol and progesterone) in the late positive potential (LPP). Regarding reactivity towards erotic stimuli, the LPP is seen as the most relevant ERP-component, as more positive amplitudes in the LPP reflect larger incentive salience and higher arousal. The LPP towards erotic words was expected to be more pronounced during fertile phases of the menstrual cycle (around ovulation). Furthermore, associations with hormonal concentrations of estradiol and progesterone were investigated.
Method: 19 young, free cycling women were tested in an Erotic Stroop paradigm during the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase in a balanced cross-over design, while electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded.
Results: LPPs in reaction to erotic compared to neutral words were larger in every phase. During the follicular phase and ovulation, higher estradiol-concentrations were associated with more positive LPP-amplitudes towards erotic- than to neutral words. No effects of progesterone, as well as no effects of cycle phase, were evident. Results are being discussed regarding implications for further research.