Award Date

12-1-2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

First Committee Member

Shane Kraus

Second Committee Member

Kris Gunawan

Third Committee Member

Marta Meana

Fourth Committee Member

Barbara Brents

Abstract

The depiction of condomless sex in pornography has significant public health implications for adult film (pornography) actors and potentially for its consumers. Previous research suggests that most consumers of pornography are in favor of condom use in pornography; however, available research on attitudes toward condom use in pornography has surveyed mostly White, male, American undergraduate students. Currently, there is a need to explore viewers’ attitudes toward condom use in pornography among women and racially/ethnically diverse individuals. The current study investigated United States (US) college students’ attitudes toward condom use in pornography using the Pornography Actors’ Condom Use Attitudes Questionnaire (PACUAQ). Participants included 601 heterosexual US college students (n=326 women and n=275 men) over 18 years of age who reported using pornography in the past 12 months. First, I conducted an item analysis to examine the skewness and kurtosis of the PACUAQ items. Second, I completed an inter-item correlation to examine the scale for highly and weakly correlated items. Third, I conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to verify the factor structure of the PACUAQ. Next, I explored measurement invariance with the configural model by gender. Lastly, I examined mean differences in Condom Supportive and Critical Attitudes across gender, race/ethnicity, pornography history characteristics, and sexual history characteristics. CFA supported a two-factor model, comprised of ten items reflecting two subscales: Condom Supportive Attitudes and Condom Critical Attitudes. The PACUAQ achieved strict invariance by gender. Results indicated that overall, participants had higher mean scores on the Condom Supportive Attitudes subscale compared to the Condom Critical Attitudes subscale. Men, relative to women, demonstrated higher endorsement of Condom Critical Attitudes, while women reported higher endorsement of Condom Supportive Attitudes compared to men. Condom Critical Attitude scores were positively associated with pornography viewing frequency and duration, meeting the suggested clinical cutoff score on a measure assessing problematic pornography use, and number of hookup partners. Condom Critical Attitude scores were negatively correlated with the age of first viewing pornography. Moreover, those who viewed pornography less frequently and for less duration also reported higher endorsement on the Condom Supportive Attitudes subscale. Notably, those who reported not using condoms during hookup sex endorsed higher Condom Critical Attitudes than those who reported using condoms during hookup sex. Results from the present study provide a validated questionnaire to explore attitudes toward condom use among men and women. Study findings may also be used to inform practitioners of the implications of increased pornography viewing on safe sex practices and highlight the need for sex education surrounding pornography use.

Keywords

College students; Condom use; Pornography; Pornography actors; Risky sexual behavior; Sexual health

Disciplines

Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Gender and Sexuality

File Format

pdf

File Size

947 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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