The Relationship between Viewing Pornography and Interpersonal Violence Toward Women

As part of my master's level course in Interpersonal Violence, I will be conducting a literature review about the impact of pornography use and its relation to intimate partner violence (IPV) on women. For the purposes of this, pornography is visual material depicting explicit or implicit sexual activity. This topic is important because pornography is very prevalent, yet rarely discussed. Background: My research will focus on whether men who regularly view pornography has an impact on whether they commit intimate partner violence, including rape and other sexual assaults. My research will explore whether watching pornography relates to gender role conflict, anxious/avoidant attachment style, and a deterioration in relationship quality and sexual dissatisfaction. My preliminary research findings indicate that men who reported regular and uncontrollable use of pornography also reported higher levels of physical and sexual intimate partner violence. There also appears to be a correlation between the amount of pornography watched and non-sexual controlling behavior within a relationship. Women with male partners who regularly watched pornography reported that their partner attempted to imitate humiliating, degrading, and/or violent acts they had seen in pornography, without their partner's consent. Other factors that may impact intimate partner violence include impulsivity, compulsivity, and experiential avoidance in males who frequently use pornography. Methods: I will conduct a literature review of the correlation between pornography use and IPV to learn more about the impact pornography viewing has on relationships. The literature review will include an annotated bibliography of my literature review and an academic poster that will share the results of my research findings. Results: The results of my literature review will be to prepare an academic poster to educate the public about exploring the harmful results of viewing pornography on a regular basis.