The Role of Pornography Consumption in Intimate Partner Aggression/Violence in Emerging Adult Couples: a Prospective Longitudinal Study
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University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 2019 The Role of Pornography Consumption in Intimate Partner Aggression/Violence in Emerging Adult Couples: A Prospective Longitudinal Study Katherine Jongsma University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Part of the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Jongsma, Katherine, "The Role of Pornography Consumption in Intimate Partner Aggression/Violence in Emerging Adult Couples: A Prospective Longitudinal Study" (2019). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 7677. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/7677 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. 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The Role of Pornography Consumption in Intimate Partner Aggression/Violence in Emerging Adult Couples: A Prospective Longitudinal Study By Katherine Jongsma A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies through the Department of Psychology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario, Canada 2019 © 2019 Katherine Jongsma The Role of Pornography Consumption in Intimate Partner Aggression/Violence in Emerging Adult Couples: A Prospective Longitudinal Study by Katherine Jongsma APPROVED BY: ______________________________________________ D. DiLillo, External Examiner University of Nebraska–Lincoln ______________________________________________ D. Levin School of Social Work ______________________________________________ A. Pascual-Leone Department of Psychology ______________________________________________ C. Langton Department of Psychology ______________________________________________ P. Timmons Fritz, Advisor Department of Psychology February 20, 2019 iii DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this thesis and that no part of this thesis has been published or submitted for publication. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, my thesis does not infringe upon anyone’s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques, quotations, or any other material from the work of other people included in my thesis, published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referencing practices. Furthermore, to the extent that I have included copyrighted material that surpasses the bounds of fair dealing within the meaning of the Canada Copyright Act, I certify that I have obtained a written permission from the copyright owner(s) to include such material(s) in my thesis and have included copies of such copyright clearances to my appendix. I declare that this is a true copy of my thesis, including any final revisions, as approved by my thesis committee and the Graduate Studies office, and that this thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution. iv ABSTRACT The current study examined pornography consumption, intimate partner aggression/violence (IPAV), and other relevant variables in emerging adult heterosexual couple dyads on two separate occasions over a span of four months. This study had four main objectives: (a) to examine the association between frequency of pornography consumption and IPAV (physical, sexual, and psychological) at the couple-level, (b) to test the moderating effects of coercive control and a composite of several behavioural and experiential risk factors for aggression (e.g., violence in the family of origin, delinquency, history of aggression) on the relation between frequency of pornography use and IPAV, (d) to assess the mediating effects of benevolent and hostile sexism on the relation between frequency of pornography consumption and IPAV, and (d) to evaluate if frequency of pornography consumption predicts IPAV four months later while controlling for baseline levels of IPAV. Participants completed online measures of pornography consumption, IPAV, and other relevant factors at baseline (254 couples; N = 508) and a 4-month follow-up (132 couples; N = 264). Using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM; Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006), results from the analyses at baseline indicated that men’s and women’s frequency of pornography use did not significantly predict their rate of IPAV perpetration or victimization, but bivariate analyses showed a positive relation between frequency of pornography use and IPAV perpetration among both men and women. The moderations with coercive control and composite risk of aggression were statistically significant, but contrary to expectations, frequent pornography use v predicted higher levels of IPAV for those with low levels of coercive control and composite risk of aggression. Women who were very controlling of their partners or were at high risk of aggression had a lower risk of IPAV if they heavily consumed pornography. Men who frequently used pornography had an elevated risk of experiencing IPAV if their female partners had a high risk of aggression but had a lower risk of IPAV victimization when their female partners were quite controlling of them. The proposed mediations with benevolent and hostile sexism were not supported. Results from the longitudinal APIM across baseline and the 4- month follow-up showed that men who frequently consumed pornography at baseline had higher rates of IPAV perpetration and victimization at the 4-month follow-up when their initial levels of IPAV were controlled for as did their female partners, but women’s pornography consumption at baseline did not predict changes in IPAV. Future research should aim to evaluate how frequency of pornography consumption predicts different types of IPAV (e.g., physical, sexual, psychological) and evaluate separate models for men and women as it seems that there may be sex-specific pathways for the risk factors for IPAV examined in this study. Overall, findings from this study indicated that frequent pornography consumption in men predicts couples’ rates of IPAV increasing over time, but the association between pornography consumption and IPAV is nuanced, and it seems that pornography consumption can serve as a risk factor or a mitigating factor for IPAV depending on the context of what other risk factors for IPAV are present. Keywords: pornography, intimate partner violence, intimate partner aggression, coercive control, ambivalent sexism, couple dyads. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my research supervisor, Dr. Patti Timmons Fritz, for the continuous support of my dissertation research and for her guidance and encouragement throughout the process. I would also like to thank my committee, Dr. Dana Levin, Dr. Antonio Pascual-Leone, and Dr. Calvin Langton, for their valuable feedback, flexibility, and help in honing this project. In addition, I would like to acknowledge my research assistant, Julia Power, whose assistance with data collection came at a critical time. Finally, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to my friends and family, who have provided me with unrelenting support and love during the ups and downs of my graduate training. Siqi, you have inspired me to pursue the things I value despite life’s hectic pace. Thank you for making yourself available to listen and support me when I need you. Shayna, our shared experience and mutual support played a vital role in helping us to get through graduate school. You are an incredibly caring and authentic person, and I deeply value our friendship. To my parents, you have loved and supported me at every stage of my life, and I could not have done this without you. To my husband, Matt, thank you for having my back through my struggles and successes. I am immensely grateful for your steadfast love and support. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY .................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ..............................................................................................................iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................vi LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................xiv LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................xvi LIST OF APPENDICES .........................................................................................xxi CHAPTER 1: Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 2: Review of the Literature ..................................................................... 5 Intimate Partner Aggression/Violence (IPAV) ................................................... 5 Definition