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Who REALLY Watches Porn? 4 Surprising Truths

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000

When we think about who watches pornography, stereotypes often paint a simple, one-dimensional picture.

These assumptions, however, are largely based on older research that relied on self-report surveys, a method notoriously prone to bias when dealing with a stigmatized topic. What happens when you set aside what people say they do and instead look at what they actually do online?

A massive new study did just that. Using objective, anonymized web-tracking data from 1,933 individuals across five countries, researchers identified 392 pornography consumers, providing one of the most accurate and nuanced portraits of this group to date.

The results challenge many deeply held beliefs about age, gender, politics, and online behavior.

This article distills the four most counter-intuitive truths from this groundbreaking research, revealing a reality that is far more complex and fascinating than the stereotypes suggest.

1. Viewers Are Creatures of Habit, Not Explorers

The internet seems to offer an endless buffet of adult content, leading to the belief that pornography use is a relentless quest for novelty. The data, however, paints a picture not of explorers, but of creatures of habit.

The study found that consumption is highly concentrated on a few dominant platforms, such as Pornhub, Xvideos, and Xhamster.

The most surprising statistic revealed a strong sense of brand loyalty and routine. Approximately 46% of users visited only a single, unique adult website during the entire three-month study period.

This behavior suggests that for nearly half of all viewers, pornography is less about exploration and more about visiting a familiar, trusted source.

As the researchers note:

This suggests that pornography consumption is not as exploratory as assumed but rather characterized by routine engagement with familiar providers.

This finding is significant because it reframes consumption as a routine online habit, much like checking a favorite news site or social media platform, rather than a relentless quest for new stimulation.

2. It’s Not Just a Young Person’s Game

Conventional wisdom says porn is a young person’s fixation, a habit that fades with age.

The data shows this is simply not true.

Objective tracking reveals that pornography consumption is common across all age groups. It goes from young adulthood well into the 60s and beyond.

The data shows a clear trend, with consumption peaking among people in their 30s before seeing its most pronounced decline after age 60.

However, the study’s key takeaway is that these variations between most adult age groups aren’t large enough to be statistically significant. This means, for the most part, engagement remains remarkably stable throughout adulthood.

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Pornography isn’t just a phenomenon of the “digitally native” youth. It’s an integrated part of online habits for a wide and diverse range of adults.

3. Political Ideology is Surprisingly Irrelevant

In a hyper-partisan world, it’s easy to assume our media habits, even private ones, fall along political lines. But when it comes to pornography, a person’s political ideology is surprisingly irrelevant.

When researchers compared who watches porn and non-watchers based on their self-reported political ideology on a scale from left to right, they found no statistically significant difference between the two groups.

In simple terms, knowing a person’s political leaning gives you no predictive power in guessing whether or not they consume pornography. The user base is ideologically diverse and spans the entire political spectrum.

But the research did uncover an interesting twist. While personal ideology didn’t matter, media consumption habits showed a small but statistically significant difference. The study found pornography users tended to have slightly more centrist and balanced partisan media diets compared to non-users.

Do you believe you have an online pornography addiction? Take the free Cyber Pornography Addiction Test (CYPAT) and have the results to speak with your therapist.

4. The Gender Gap is More Complicated Than You Think

One stereotype the data confirms is men are the primary consumer of pornography.

But that’s where the simplicity ends.

Digging into the web-tracking data revealed crucial nuances, showing female engagement is “more substantial than previously estimated” and challenging the idea of pornography as an exclusively male domain. This was especially clear when looking at cross-country variations.

In Spain, for example, women constitute nearly 30% of pornography users.

The study hypothesizes this may be linked to the country’s significant progress in gender equality, such as being the first nation to create a Ministry of Equality in 2004 and the third to legalize same-sex marriage in 2005, suggesting cultural shifts can directly influence female consumption patterns.

The study also produced fascinating data on same-sex content.

It found that 16.5% of male users watched gay pornography. A figure significantly higher than the 5-10% of men who typically identify as gay or bisexual in surveys.

This complexity extends to lesbian content, which the study found was consumed by a higher percentage of male users (15.4%) than female users (9.4%), further challenging simple assumptions about consumption, gender, and sexual orientation.

Conclusion

The objective, behavioral data from this study makes one thing clear: the reality of pornography consumption is far more complex, habitual, and ideologically diverse than common stereotypes suggest.

It is a widespread digital behavior that cuts across demographics in ways we are only just beginning to understand.

As objective data continues to pull back the curtain on our private digital lives, what other deeply held assumptions about human behavior will be the next to fall?

Are you a Licensed Professional Counselor seeking engaging, unique Continuing Education courses? Dr. Weeks offers accredited courses on her practice website on the effects of Pornography Abstinence and other unique topics!

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Are you looking for more reputable, data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

The post Who REALLY Watches Porn? 4 Surprising Truths first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

4 Surprising Ways Cannabis Use Disorder Impacts the Brain

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0000

More Than a Buzz, According to a Major New Study

As cannabis continues to be legalized for recreational and medical use across North America, public debate often centers on its benefits, risks, and social implications. This has become a public health priority. It’s sparking discussions about everything from tax revenue to addiction potential. Lost in the noise, however, is a more nuanced and critical question: what are the lasting, residual effects on the brain not just from using cannabis, but from developing a Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD)?

For years, research has been muddled by controversy. Some studies suggest significant cognitive decline. Others finding only minimal effects.

A major reason for this confusion is many studies lump together recreational users with those who have a clinical disorder. A new, large-scale meta-analysis published in the journal Addictive Behaviors cuts through this ambiguity by focusing specifically on individuals diagnosed with CUD.

This article distills the four most important takeaways from this major review. Here’s some clear, evidence-based answers on how Cannabis Use Disorder leaves a measurable mark on our cognitive abilities.

1. Cannabis Use Disorder Isn’t Just a Label—It’s a Critical Distinction

Much of the confusion around cannabis’s long-term cognitive effects comes from studies that don’t distinguish between recreational use and a clinical disorder. This new meta-analysis makes that distinction its central focus, and the results are revealing.

The core finding is that while recreational use may be associated with minimal or small deficits, Cannabis Use Disorder is linked to clear, moderate cognitive impairments.

The researchers draw a parallel to alcohol consumption. The cognitive impact seen in individuals with alcohol use disorder is significantly larger than what is observed in those who drink recreationally.

This distinction is the key that unlocks the rest of the study’s findings. Now that we’ve isolated the CUD population, the next question is: what exactly does this impairment look like?

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2. The Damage Is Specific, Not Widespread

The cognitive impact of CUD isn’t a blunt, uniform fog across the entire brain. Instead, the meta-analysis shows that the impairments are concentrated in specific domains. The study found “small-to-moderate” impairments across several areas, with the largest deficits observed in five key domains:

IQ: The most significant deficit found. It reflects a moderate impairment in overall cognitive reasoning and problem-solving abilities.
Verbal Learning: The ability to learn and absorb new information presented through words. It manifests as an impairment making it harder to retain material from a lecture or meeting.
Verbal Memory: The capacity to recall that learned verbal information later. A deficit can manifest as struggling to remember conversations or key details from something you’ve read.
Working Memory: The mental “scratchpad” used for holding and manipulating information for short-term tasks. Impairment here makes it harder to follow multi-step instructions or perform mental calculations.
Speed of Processing: How quickly you can perceive, process, and respond to information. A deficit can slow down reaction times and the ability to keep up in fast-paced conversations or environments.

To emphasize this specificity, the study also identified the cognitive domains that were least affected.

Among them were attention and verbal fluency; the ability to retrieve words from your mind. This targeted impact suggests a more complex mechanism than simple, widespread damage.

3. The Impact of Cannabis Use Disorder Is Comparable to “Harder” Drugs

In a finding that challenges longstanding public perception, the study reveals how the cognitive deficits from CUD stack up against those from other substance use disorders.

The research shows that the magnitude of the impairments in verbal memory and working memory for individuals with CUD is in a similar range to the deficits seen in people with alcohol, cocaine, and methamphetamine use disorders.

However, a critical distinction adds another layer of complexity.

One important difference is that CUD is associated with less diffuse cognitive deficits. While the depth of impairment in those specific memory-related areas is comparable to other substance use disorders, the overall breadth of cognitive damage appears to be narrower.

This directly challenges the common perception of cannabis as a relatively benign substance. Especially when its use escalates to the level of a disorder. The researchers highlight the importance of this finding for how the scientific and medical communities view the substance.

“The similitude of findings between substances confirms the importance of paying attention to individuals with a CUD when studying the residual cognitive effects of cannabis.”

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4. It Presents a Surprising Scientific Mystery

The targeted nature of these cognitive deficits presents a fascinating paradox for neuroscientists.

The primary psychoactive compound in cannabis, Δ9-THC, acts on the brain’s CB1 receptors. From a biological standpoint, this is significant because, as the paper notes, CB1 receptors are “among the most abundant throughout the brain.”

Based on that fact, scientists would expect that chronic, heavy cannabis use would cause diffuse, widespread cognitive effects across many domains.

Yet, as this meta-analysis confirms, the effects are actually quite specific.

This discrepancy suggests the full story is more complex than we currently understand. The authors propose this paradox “indirectly suggests that other cannabinoid receptors than CB1 receptors are mediating the cognitive effects of cannabis,” pointing toward an important new direction for future research.

Conclusion: A Sobering Reminder in the Age of Legalization

This comprehensive meta-analysis sends a clear message: Cannabis Use Disorder is not a trivial condition.

It is linked to real, measurable, and moderate cognitive deficits in crucial areas like memory, processing speed, and overall IQ.

Furthermore, these deficits are not insignificant when compared to those associated with other well-known substance use disorders.

The study’s authors point to a pressing public health concern, noting that “the perceived risk associated with regular cannabis use has been declining in youths since the legalization of the substance.”

While the policy debates will surely continue, this research provides a sobering reminder that the conversation must include a clear-eyed view of the consequences that arise when use crosses the line into a disorder.

As the perception of risk declines, the critical public health challenge becomes clear: how do we effectively communicate the line between casual use and the measurable cognitive costs of a disorder?

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses? Then you should stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!

Are you looking for more reputable, data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

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5 Surprising Truths About the Path to Gambling Recovery

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 14:24:43 +0000

The Four-Year Silence: 5 Surprising Truths About the Path to Gambling Recovery

When we think of gambling recovery, or any kind of addiction recovery, we often picture a dramatic “rock bottom” moment: a single, catastrophic event that forces a person to finally seek help.

While this makes for a compelling narrative, the reality is often quieter, slower, and much more complex. For individuals struggling with problem gambling, the journey from awareness to action is a long, hidden descent.

A new Canadian study published in Addictive Behaviors pulls back the curtain on this private struggle. By interviewing 65 adults currently in treatment for problem gambling, researchers mapped the winding road people travel from first realization to the point they finally reach out for gambling recovery support.

This article distills the most impactful and surprising findings from that research. It reveals the triggers, the timelines, and the overlooked patterns that define the hidden journey of problem gambling, offering crucial insights for individuals, their families, and the professionals trying to help them.

On Average, There’s A Four-Year Gap Between Awareness and Starting Gambling Recovery

One of the most significant findings from the study is the stark delay between realizing their gambling is harmful and when they first attempt to get help or limit their behavior.

The research identified a time lag of just under four years between these two critical events.

This four-year silence is not just a statistic. It represents a prolonged period of active struggle. It’s not simply passive suffering.

Researchers suggest this gap is often filled with shame, secrecy, and desperate attempts to fix the problem. People often use the very behavior causing the issues: trying to recoup losses. This tendency to chase a “big win” to solve mounting debt can exacerbate financial and emotional harms. It can postpone any cry for help until a crisis becomes unavoidable.

The study also revealed that this journey can differ across demographics, noting that men, on average, reported recognizing their gambling problems and trying to address them earlier than women.

Are you exploring your trauma? Do you feel your childhood experiences were detrimental to your current mental or physical health? Utilize this free, validated, self-report questionnaire to find out.

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The Tipping Point for Gambling Recovery Is Almost Always Financial

The study pinpointed the specific triggers that cause a person to first recognize their gambling is a problem and, later, to finally seek help. In both instances, one trigger stood out above all others: money.

Financial problems were the most common catalyst for both awareness and action. The data revealed:

40% of participants cited financial problems as the very first sign they noticed that their gambling was becoming harmful.
77% of participants said financial problems were the “tipping point” that ultimately caused them to try and limit their gambling.

This reliance on a financial crisis helps explain the “four-year silence”; the problem often isn’t perceived as real until it has a tangible, dollars-and-cents impact. For many, the abstract harms of addiction—such as emotional distress or lost time—are not enough to prompt action. This suggests that public health messaging focused solely on emotional well-being may be less effective than interventions that highlight the tangible financial risks of unchecked gambling.

The First Call for Help Isn’t to a Doctor, It’s to a Friend

When individuals finally decide to break their silence, they don’t typically start with a formal treatment program. The study mapped the typical order in which people seek support, revealing a clear pattern that begins with their closest connections.

The first source of help is usually informal: friends and family. This was the most common first step for participants in the study. In stark contrast, the last resort identified was formal, in-person counseling from a religious figure like a pastor or priest. While loved ones are the first line of defense, the study suggests they may lack the specialized knowledge to be the most effective, as their helpfulness was ranked 6th out of 11 options. This highlights the immense pressure placed on these informal relationships to manage a complex clinical issue.

What Makes a Strategy “Helpful” Is Highly Specific

The research found that there is no single “best” way to address problem gambling. Instead, participants found different strategies to be helpful for very distinct and specific reasons. The unique benefits of each approach were clear:

Friends and Family: Were uniquely helpful for instrumental support, particularly for managing money (e.g., holding bank cards for the individual).
Professional In-Person Counselling: Stood out for its effectiveness in helping people understand and cope with their emotions.
Gamblers Anonymous (GA): Was specifically noted by participants for its accessibility, offering both in-person and online meetings.
Self-Exclusion Programs: Were effective primarily because of the perceived consequences of being caught violating the ban.

The power of consequences in self-exclusion was vividly illustrated by one participant’s experience:

“…knowing that I would be escorted out, or even charged with trespassing was a deterrent.” (61-year-old man)

From an analyst’s perspective, this means a “one-size-fits-all” approach to treatment is bound to fail. Effective support requires a diagnostic approach that matches a person’s specific deficits—be it emotional regulation, financial control, or simply access to support—with the appropriate tool.

As professionals, our time is valuable. Dr. Weeks created the Mitigation Aide Research Archive because there isn’t enough focused, data-backed research available in easily digestible formats.

Gambling Recovery is Hard: Addiction Can Play “Whack-a-Mole”

The study confirmed a strong connection between problem gambling and other behavioral health issues. Over half of the participants (51%) felt their gambling was “definitely linked” to mental health or substance use problems. The research reinforces that gambling is often a maladaptive coping strategy for underlying distress.

The most surprising finding in this area, however, revealed a critical blind spot in the treatment system. Among participants who had previously sought treatment for substance use, their gambling problems often emerged concurrently with those treatment episodes. This suggests a predictable “addiction substitution” effect. When an individual’s primary coping mechanism (e.g., substances) is removed without addressing the underlying need to cope, they may swap it for another, like gambling. It indicates that individuals receiving specialized care for one addiction may be developing a serious gambling problem at the same time, yet screening for problem gambling in these settings is rare.

Closing the Gap Between Silence and Support

The four-year silence is not a void; it is a space filled with shame, misguided attempts to win back losses, and a problem that remains invisible until it devastates a bank account. It ends not with a doctor, but with a confession to a friend. The path to recovery for problem gambling is longer, more complex, and more hidden than many of us realize.

Understanding this predictable, hidden path is the first step in dismantling it. And the first step towards gambling recovery.

By illuminating this reality, we can better support those who are struggling. Knowing this hidden journey and its triggers, how can friends, family, and healthcare professionals better create safety nets to ensure that the four-year silence doesn’t have to be the norm?

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

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Child Sex Trafficking: How do People Become Victims?

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Thankfully, in light of recent high-profile cases, the world is taking Child Sex Trafficking more seriously. Therefore, with this increased awareness, I’d like to share some data about what we know about how traffickers find their victims. This knowledge will, hopefully, help with education and prevention at all levels.

Previous research has identified several types of traffickers, based on how they recruit their victims. These have been categorized in differing ways.

Some studies divide the types of traffickers into those who use an aggressive/antisocial means to recruit victims versus a charismatic/manipulative means. Other researchers put traffickers into categories like:

Romantic boyfriend
Gang member
Relatives
Those who specifically prey on children with intellectual disabilities

Child Sex Trafficking: Types of Traffickers

Boyfriend/Girlfriend Recruitment

These traffickers present themselves as caring and compassionate friends.

They often offer to help the victim escape an abusive situation or home; they exploit these vulnerabilities of the victim. These traffickers might be someone posing as a boyfriend or the actual romantic partner of the victim.

Peer-to-Peer Recruitment

Some victims of sex trafficking are recruited by other victims of sex trafficking.

This may seem very counter intuitive. The research suggests that peer sex trafficking is often done unwillingly under actual or threatened abuse. Alternatively, this is sometimes seen as a survival strategy where a victim recruits another victim thinking, “Better them than me.”

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Gang/Criminal Recruitment

Many victims of sex trafficking are aggressively recruited by gang members.

Often these victims are young women who have a drug habit that is exploited or are convinced to enter prostitution to help the gang by being love bombed by the trafficker.

Family Trafficking

Both mothers and fathers have been known to traffic their children for various reasons.

Family trafficking can also involve other family members. Research has shown that mothers with drug addictions are most often seen in this category.

By identifying the different tactics used by various types of traffickers, public education and youth education can happen to try to prevent trafficking from the inception, before a child becomes a victim.

Child Sex Trafficking: Sub-Types of Perpetrator

A study published in 2023 in the scientific journal, Victims & Offenders, sought to further the research on child sex trafficking by describing recruitment strategies used by perpetrators.

The goal of this study is to inform prevention education and interventions.

The study reviewed 78 Child Protective Investigation case files in the state of Florida.

The study found 7 distinct subtypes of perpetrator of Child Sex Trafficking:

Peer/Acquaintance
Organized Crime
Romantic Coercive Conman
“Mate” crime predator
Family Abuser
Opportunistic Trafficker
Cybertrafficker

Peer/Acquaintance Trafficker

Maybe a neighbor, classmate, friend, etc. Uses peer recruitment, often via social media to find youth in their geographic area. The child is then groomed by being offered drugs, gifts or basic needs such as food or shelter. Grooming also includes building a friendship and normalizing commercial sexual exploitation.

Learn more about Primary Prevention and its benefits in these articles:

Organized Crime Child Sex Trafficking

Uses peer to peer recruitment. Finds youth in areas known for drugs and illegal activities. Child is groomed by being offered drugs and providing basic needs. Uses violence and intimidation when the child ends up paying for the “gifts” with sex.

Family Abuser

This person exploits their own young family members for either profit or to support a drug habit. The victim often lives with the abuser.

Romantic Coercive Conman

This trafficker is often seen as a boyfriend by the victim. They find victims by chatting online with girls on social media and dating apps. They will also go to places where girls frequent in person. The victims are groomed using romance and gift giving. They are also groomed with charm and often alcohol and drugs. The victim is then isolated from friends and family.

Mate Crime Predator

This trafficker preys upon the most vulnerable youth they can find. These are often youth with intellectual disabilities, mental health issues or physical disabilities. The victims are groomed with friendship. Traffickers often find these victims in places where you find run away children or using peer to peer recruitment via foster care or social media. Victims are groomed with basic needs or drugs and alcohol. This type of trafficker often also uses physically abusive tactics.

If you’re unfamiliar with sextortion, check out Dr. Jen’s article How to Protect Your Child from Sextortion.

Opportunistic Child Sex Trafficking

These traffickers often meet youth at places like truck stops or other places run away youth are to be found. They can then take advantage of the child’s specific vulnerability and groom them with offers of food, shelter, transportation and drugs or alcohol.

Cybertrafficker

This trafficker only interacts with victims online. The victims are found mostly on social media and dating apps. The trafficker befriends them and often promises money in exchange for sexual images and videos. They often then blackmail victims by threatening to disseminate the sexual images of the child.

Child Sex Trafficking Prevention

For prevention efforts to be successful, they need to be in place at all levels of the behavior.

By identifying the different tactics used by various types of traffickers, public education and youth education can happen to try to prevent trafficking from the inception, before a child becomes a victim.

Reference

Reid, J., Bilali, K., Fox, B. & Diaz, J. (2023). Toward a Typology of Child Sex Traffickers: Using Crime Script Analysis to Inform Prevention, Victims & Offenders., 18:3, 423-446. DOI: 10/1080/15564886.2022.2149648.

Are you exploring your trauma? Do you feel your childhood experiences were detrimental to your current mental or physical health? Utilize this free, validated, self-report questionnaire to find out.

Take the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Questionnaire

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

The post Child Sex Trafficking: How do People Become Victims? first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

What do we Know About Educators who Commit Sexual Abuse?

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Despite the age of this study, published in 2014, it provides valuable insight into current issues about sexual abuse by educators.

Teachers, Students, and Sexual Abuse

While these cases do not come across my desk terribly often, they do still occur.

In Pennsylvania, the age of consent is 16. However, if the abuse case involves a 16- or 17-year-old victim and a perpetrator who is in a position of trust, i.e., a teacher, the teenager cannot give consent and the cases are criminally charged.

Here in PA, the cases that get the most media attention are where a female teacher abuses a student, regardless of the gender of the victim.

Do you believe your sexual behaviors are compulsive or harmful to you or others? Then you should take the CSBD-19 free, validated self-assessment tool.

Sexual Abuse by Educators: A Study

The authors sought to address three specific questions that were all related to the gender of the educator who offended. Were there gender differences based on:

The age of the victim?
The grade the abuser taught?
How the offenses came to light?

Study Results

Age of the victims:

Male teachers who offended had victims that were significantly younger (12 & under)
Female teachers most often offended against students 13 and older

There were no differences between the genders in terms of the grade in school they taught.

I found an interesting revelation to be how the sexual abuse came to light:

When the person who engaged in the offending behavior was a man, the abuse was disclosed more often by the victim themselves, discovered by someone in the administration or through a police sting.
When the person who was the abuser was female, the abuse came to light more often through a report by another student or by a parent or guardian.

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Sexual Abuse Study Takeaways

These findings appear to support some of the stigma related to being the victim of sexual abuse perpetrated by a woman.

Often these victims are not believed when they do report the abuse, or they do not perceive the sexual interactions to be abusive.

This study was not designed to provide any causal explanations. Therefore, they do not attempt to make assertions as to why male educators abuse younger victims more than female educators. This would be a very interesting topic of study.

Ten Years Later

Ten years out from the publication of this study, it’s disappointing to realize that this abuse continues. In some cases, it may seem as though it has increased.

My opinion is that the behavior, teachers sexually abusing their students, has likely not increased.

With increased education and mandatory reporting laws, as well as the positive effects of things like the #metoo movement, it is more likely that these cases are simply being reported more often, holding those who engage in the abuse to account.

Inappropriate sexual behavior by educators should always be reported.

School needs to be a place of safety for children and educators need to be trustworthy custodians of our children’s education.

Reference: Ratliff, L. & Watson, J. (2014). A Descriptive Analysis of Public School Educators Arrested for Sex Offenses. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 23:2, 217-228.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

The post What do we Know About Educators who Commit Sexual Abuse? first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

Male Sexual Trauma: What are its Long-Term Effects?

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Most of the people I work with are men. I could write for days about male sexual trauma and how they have been acculturated to keep it secret.

Not acknowledge it.

And surely not seek help for the long-term effects of the trauma.

A Study on Male Sexual Trauma

We spend a lot of time in therapy unpacking these issues and then working through the trauma itself. That’s why I was excited to see this article, published this year, in the journal of the Academy of Psychiatry and Law. It specifically addressed the psychological and physiological effects of male sexual trauma.

This study was also particularly interesting to me because all of the men in the study were sexually abused by the same perpetrator.

The data came from evaluations given as part of a civil class suit brought against a physician who worked at a college for approximately 50 years. The men were subjected to various forms of sexual abuse during the course of physical examinations given by the physician.

As part of the evaluations for the lawsuit, the men underwent various testing protocols, including the Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90-R). They were also assessed for things like substance abuse, erectile dysfunction, and relationship status.

Do you believe your sexual behaviors are compulsive or harmful to you or others? Then you should take the CSBD-19 free, validated self-assessment tool.

Results of the Study on Male Sexual Trauma

These men were all between the ages of 18 and 22 when the abuse occurred. They were all abused during medical visits. The abusive behaviors were all framed as a necessary part of the medical exam.

Unfortunately, at the time of the abuse, most of the men were not aware of how to report it. Almost all of the men were fearful of possible consequences from reporting the abuse.

The study revealed that 78.7% of the 47 men in the study experienced intimacy and sexual problems.
51% experienced erectile dysfunction.
20% of the men dropped out of college after the abuse occurred.
38% reported that they had a challenging time keeping a job after the abuse.
In terms of relationships, 59.6% of the men reported they lost romantic partners.
74.5% reported that they had a tough time establishing meaningful relationships.

SCL-90-R Results

Results showed that psychopathology was present in many of the subjects.

66.7% of the men who were between 45 and 54 during the evaluation scored in the severely symptomatic range.
69.2% of the men between 55 and 64 scored in the severely symptomatic range.

The SCL-90-R score was also associated with alcohol addiction, employment issues, and intimacy problems.

As professionals, our time is valuable. Dr. Weeks created the Mitigation Aide Research Archive because there isn’t enough focused, data-backed research available in easily digestible formats.

Authors’ Notes on the Male Sexual Trauma Study

The authors note there were pervasive problems with relationships, sexual functioning, and intimacy reported by the men. This suggests the seriousness of the long term psychological and physiological effects of the abuse.

In terms of erectile dysfunction, about half of the men stated that they started having ED issues after the abuse. Those ED issues lasted for years.

Takeaways

This study outlines the long-lasting effects the sexual abuse perpetrated by one man had on 47 of his male victims. This is one of the first studies to specifically look at this population in this way.

The lack of research in this area speaks to the great need to destigmatize male sexual abuse and provide safe spaces for men to come forward and report their abuse.

Everyone who must suffer through this traumatic experience deserves to be heard, believed, and provided with the help they need to get through the trauma.

Reference: Petreca, V.G. & Burgess, A.W. (2024). Long-Term Psychological and Physiological Effects of Male Sexual Trauma. Journal of the Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 52(1), doi:10.29158/jaapl.230076-23

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Consult with a professional.

Stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

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CSAM on the Dark Web

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Mon, 27 May 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Those of us in the field know that access to CSAM on the dark web is really only a few clicks away. Despite what many people think, it is pretty easy to access. Many of our CSAM clients were accessing these materials on TOR sites. Despite its frequent use, we really don’t know much about the details of CSAM availability and users on TOR sites.

A Study on CSAM on the Dark Web

An article just published in Scientific Reports, a Nature publication, looked at CSAM materials on TOR sites from both a computer science perspective and a public health perspective.

It is an enlightening study.

CSAM on the Dark Web: What is TOR?

For the unaware, TOR stands for The Onion Router.

It is an communication protocol that provides many layers of obfuscation for its users.

It does this by concealing the origin of the communications, resisting browser fingerprinting and circumventing traffic.

These tools allow for anonymous online hosting. On TOR sites, illegal content proliferates, whether that be CSAM sharing, drug trafficking, or other crimes.

CSAM on the Dark Web Study: The Questions

The authors of this study analyzed content on TOR sites to address the following questions:

How much CSAM is distributed through the TOR network?
What are users seeking and searching for?

They also surveyed the CSAM users to find out information about them.

Finally, they looked at how interventions based on searches might reduce child abuse.

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Statistical Results

The authors used a web crawler from 2018-2023 and found that 1/5^th of all TOR sites share CSAM.
CSAM can also be found on 21 of the 26 top TOR search engines, with four of these search engines actually advertising CSAM.
11.1% of users specifically searched for CSAM using the phrase “child porn” to get there.
When they surveyed the CSAM viewers, 61.6% said they have tried to stop watching it and 48.1% said they went to stop viewing CSAM.
Those CSAM users who were specifically searching for child content were more often searching for content of girls than boys.
More than half of the CSAM explicit searchers are looking for content in the age range of 12 to 16 year olds.

The authors went as far as to recommend that the psychiatric diagnoses of pedophilia and hebephilia be altered to sexual attraction to children under 11 (paedophilic type), attraction to children 11 to 14 (hebephilic) or both.

Who are Tor CSAM users?

The data showed that most of the CSAM users were initially exposed to CSAM when they were children and that more than half of these exposures were accidental.

Based on self report, almost 70% reported that they preferred content of girls to boys.
A very small percentage of individuals preferred content depicting images of infants or toddlers.

Learn more about Primary Prevention and its benefits in these articles:

What are possible online interventions for users of CSAM on the Dark Web?

The study reported that there are three prominent TOR search engines that provide links to self help programs for people who are concerned about their searching of CSAM. A good number of the CSAM viewers said they want to stop viewing the material and most of them have tried to stop at least once.

If so many people want help, why don’t they get help?

Many of the survey respondents stated that they were afraid to get help. Previous research has cited barriers to seeking help including fear of being reported, fear of being stigmatized, shame, and lack of understanding by professionals.

Since people who are using CSAM on TOR seem to want help, it is an area that is ripe for effective intervention. It opens up the question of whether or not more dark web recruitment for anonymous interventions is possible.

Since three websites provide links to self-help programs, why are more not doing so?

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My Takeaways from the Study on CSAM on the Dark Web

I really liked this study for two main reasons:

It was a combination of computer science and psychology

I think we know more about the psychology of CSAM users than how and where they get it.

It is often stated in court that someone who views CSAM must really be working hard to find it and view it. Studies like this one show us that it is not very hard to come across the content and more than half of the people who view it first accessed CSAM accidentally.

It Openly Discusses Interventions

It digs into how we can use these TOR sites to let people know there is help available. If they want to stop their behavior, they need to know there are therapists who can help them in a knowledgeable and non-shaming fashion.

I wonder, now, what we can do as a practice to be more active in prevention in this medium.

Reference: Nurmi, J., Paju, A., Brumley, B.B., Insoll, T., Ovaska, A.K., Soloveva, V., Vaaranen-Valkonen, N., Aaltonen, M. & Arroyo, D. (2024). Investigating child sexual abuse material availability, searches, and users on the anonymous Tor network for a public health intervention strategy. Scientific Reports, 14:7849.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

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Sibling Sexual Abuse as Family Dysfunction

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 18:20:44 +0000

Here we have a research summary of a study conducted in the United Kingdom. It was a qualitative study that used thematic analysis to reflect the data of 17 interviewed survivors of sibling sexual abuse.

This means that they studied the content of the interviews and determined dominant themes from all subjects’ interviews.

This research summary continues our theme of current research on sibling sexual abuse (SSA). As I stated in my previous blog, several scientific journals have devoted a good deal of space to sibling Sexual Abuse (SSA) in the past month is both necessary and long overdue.

The study uncovered 10 predominant themes from the interviews.

Abuse and dysfunction were central components of the broad family system

The subjects reported that there was often abuse In the family between other family members outside of the SSA.

This meant, for example, that their parents were perhaps victims of sexual abuse or other family members were as well.

The subjects also identified that they came from families that held misogynistic views that included sexism and treating male and female children differently based on their gender. Therefore, these family beliefs laid the groundwork for the sibling sexual abuse to occur.

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Abuse and dysfunction were common in the nuclear family

The victims of SSA reported that there was often abuse in the nuclear family.

Furthermore, their parents often had dysfunctional relationships that included emotional, psychological, or physical abuse.

Dual status of the sibling that harmed

The sibling that perpetrated the sexual abuse was often also the victim of sexual abuse themselves. There was often a culture of acceptance of this abuse in the family.

Conflicted feelings toward the sibling that harmed

The victims of SSA often held conflicting feelings toward the sibling who harmed them.

On the one hand, they had sympathy for their sibling who was often the victim of sexual abuse themselves.

On the other hand, they often felt as though they could not forgive their sibling for hurting them.

Learn More about Sibling Sexual Abuse

Poor parental engagement and communication

Subjects reported that their parents were often absent or disengaged. This absence came in many forms.

For example, it could have been anything from the death of a parent to work outside the home or parental divorce.

The victims often felt as though there was parental disengagement even if both parents were in the home. This parental disengagement provided a situation where the abusive sibling often had power and control as they were often older and put in a position of authority due to the parental absence.

The parental disengagement also meant that the victims did not feel as though they could go to their parents for support.

Parents had poor and inconsistently enforced boundaries

Parents often had poor boundaries around sex, sexuality, and pornography. This normalized sexual behavior and the daughters often felt more sexualized while the sons were not challenged for overtly sexual behavior.

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Denial of Abuse

When the victims in this study did disclose the sibling sexual abuse to their parents, their parents often did not believe them or did not want to talk about the issue.

Furthermore, parents often were unwilling or unable to acknowledge what was happening in the family.

Normalization of dysfunction and acceptance of abuse

Because of the dysfunction in the family as well as the larger family circle, the victims often felt that how the family acted was normal and acceptable. Therefore, they did not know any other way that a family could be.

Clarity was found from gaining distance from the family

The victims often did not realize that their family was dysfunctional until they removed themselves from the family system. Once outside of the system, they came to realize that both the family dysfunction and the abuse were not normal and were not ok.

Not all families that experience SSA are the same

The authors are keen to point out that not all of the families of the victims interviewed in this study were the same and they are not all dysfunctional.

Based on the data, the authors that that treating instances of SSA should not be done on an individual basis. The entire family needs to play a role in treatment as often the beliefs that need to be identified and challenged are held by the family system as well. A whole family approach to treatment is required.

Reference: McCarten, K., King-Hill, S. & Gilsenan, A. (2023). Sibling sexual abuse: a form of family dysfunction as opposed to individualised behavior. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 29:3, 427-439

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

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Sibling Sexual Abuse: A Parental Perspective

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 21:03:12 +0000

In the last month, several scientific journals have published special issues focusing on the topic of Sibling Sexual Abuse (SSA).

Despite the incredible prevalence of SSA, the topic is not well researched.

As a therapist and forensic evaluator, I’m overjoyed to see research on a topic that has long been an issue.

Looking at Sibling Sexual Abuse From a Different Angle

When SSA occurs, it affects the entire family.

This article looks at the experience of living through the disclosure and aftermath of SSA from the perspective of the parents.

What little research that is published has not yet focused on this topic.

This study, published in the Journal of Sexual Aggression, interviewed 5 parents from Sweden whose family had experienced SSA reported to authorities.

The victims in these situations were all prepubescent children. The child who caused harm was placed outside the home for a period of time in a treatment facility.

The study used an in-depth interview style called Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis to determine common themes from the experiences of the parents.

From the interviews, the authors found several themes.

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Sibling Sexual Abuse: Insecurity and New Challenges

Parenting now involves insecurity and new challenges.

Parents shared that whatever their parenting style was before the disclosure, it was forever altered. Many felt as though they were now guarding infants. They struggled to figure out how to manage the needs of one child without negatively affecting the other child or children.

If they were doing something to support the child who caused harm, how was that affecting the child who was harmed?

The parents struggled to manage their own emotions. Understandably, the experience left the parents with very strong and very conflicting emotions.

Finally, the parents also struggled with the ability to obtain guidance and support from professionals.

All of these families were involved with the child welfare system based on the SSA and the families felt that the system did not provide them with enough support.

Learn More about Sibling Sexual Abuse

The Family Unit is Altered

The disclosure of SSA often caused the parental duties to be split. Therefore, parents felt like they had to choose which child they needed to protect.

The harmed child needed support and care. The child who caused harm also needed parental care and advocacy in the system.

Parents reported harmed and non-harmed siblings often felt abandoned when they went to visit the sibling who caused harm or did things to support that sibling.

Parents also shared the change in the family unit included extended family such as grandparents.

The Parent’s Relationship is Altered

Parents shared that their relationship took a back seat to everything else going on in the family. They lacked any time to work on their marriage.

They felt that their personal lives disappeared while the well-being of all of the children became the only priority.

The disclosure of the SSA in the family also had an effect on the sexuality of the parents. It made them look at sex and sexuality differently.

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The Family Adapts after Sibling Sexual Abuse

Despite the disclosure of SSA having many negative impacts on all involved, parents did share there was some positive growth:

The family increased in closeness.
All of the children learned to manage their emotions in a healthier manner.
The parents worked to ensure they improved their relationship with their children so they felt they could come to their parents with questions and troubles.

The Takeaways

Parents need more help! Parents had to repeatedly ask professionals for assistance. Often non-abused siblings were not offered support though they were experiencing trauma from the event as well.
Parents feel disconnected, unsafe, and helpless. However, many of them were able to turn to their partners for support and improve the quality of their relationship with their children.
Parents lacked support from outside of the family. Parents felt as though people in their lives underestimated the emotional strain and burden they were experiencing.

For Professionals: Supporting Parents of Sibling Sexual Abuse

There is an extensive need for support from qualified professionals in the field.
The professionals in the field lack adequate skills and knowledge to help families.
The professional community needs to attend to the needs of the entire family including non-harmed siblings and the extended family.

Limitations of the Study

Every study has limitations.

This study employed a very small sample size.

The authors acknowledge that the data may not be generalizable to other SSA experiences and that the experiences of the parents in this study might not reflect the experiences of most parents in this situation.

Reference: Westergren, M., Kjellgren, C., & Nygaard, K., (2023). Living through the experience of sibling sexual abuse: parents’ perspectives. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 29:3, 343-358

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

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Sex Doll Owners and Contact Offenses: Correlation?

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 21:55:22 +0000

Investigating Psychological Characteristics and Risky Thinking in Sex Doll Owners

Here we go again: Another article on sex doll owners!

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Yes, I continue to be fascinated by the research on this topic.

Despite what some might believe, discussions come up about it in my line of work. Even at the workshop I taught for law enforcement officers last month.

Of course, when I saw this article, published this year, I was excited to read it.

Previous research articles I have written about on sex doll ownership have been more general in nature. This isn’t surprising given the lack of even basic research on the topic. This article, however, actually digs into the main questions about the ownership of sex dolls.

Law enforcement, treatment providers and legislators want to know:

Is there any association between owning sex dolls and risk of contact sexual offending?

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A Quick Recap

The study was published in The Journal of Sex Research by academics at Nottingham Trent University. It sought to address whether or not there was any relationship between owning adult sex dolls and either personality characteristics of the owners or any offending supportive beliefs.

First to recap: There are three main schools of thought when it comes to sex doll ownership.

Owning a sex doll increases risk as it can reinforce the objectification of women. Those in this school of thought point to the research that tells us that having views of women as sexual objects is associated with higher levels of sexual aggression. The hypothesis here is that owning a sex doll increases a person’s negative attitudes towards women and objectification of women which leads to a higher risk of sexual aggression. (While sex dolls do come in all genders, the literature on the topic focuses on women and female sex dolls).
Sex doll ownership is protective, meaning that owning a sex doll actually could reduce sexual aggression against live humans. These individuals could reduce their sexual aggression risk by acting out those desires with a sex doll.
The final group does not look at sex doll ownership as increasing or decreasing risk. It looks at the functions that sex dolls can serve to their owners. Some owners of sex dolls report that the doll is a surrogate for a relationship. Perhaps sex doll owners have had difficult relationships in the past or have particular sexual interest which would make relationships difficult. The doll can serve as a physical and, sometimes, emotional surrogate.

Are you looking for more reputable, data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

The Study

This study looked to assess whether there were any particular psychological characteristics of sex doll owners. They also tested the assumption that doll ownership could be associated with a propensity for sexual aggression.

The participants were found in a sex doll ownership forum. A control group was found online through a survey platform called Prolific.

Participants answered questions about:

Demographics
Doll ownership
Psychological assessments that looked at:
- Sexual aggression
- Sexual fantasies
- Offense supportive thinking
- Emotional functioning
- Personality style
- Attachment style

In this study, they used male doll owners in the statistical analysis.

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The Results

The study found that doll owners were slightly older than non-doll owners. Sex doll owners were a little less likely to have partnered sex at least monthly.

Other than that, there were very few other differences between the doll owners and non-doll owners overall.

Doll owners did not:

Fantasize more about coercive sex
Have more of a proclivity for sexual aggression
Have issues with emotion and attachment

Interested in more information about sex dolls and their owners? Here’s all of our posts about them:

Doll owners were, however, significantly more likely:

To view women as sex objects
Have greater sexual entitlement
To see women as unknowable

Overall the results indicated that, in this study population, doll ownership did not appear to be associated with proclivities for sexual offending.

Doll owners were not more likely to be sexually aggressive or endorse sexual aggression.

In contrast, the data suggested that doll ownership was a potentially protective factor when the owner did not have the beliefs that male sex drive is uncontrollable or that the world is a dangerous place.

The authors suggested that:

“The lack of differences between the two groups in this study might suggest that studying sex doll ownership through a lens that assumes psychopathology or atypicality might be misguided.”

Take Aways

Any study has its limitations.

This study only looked at individuals who owned adult sex dolls.

It did not address the issue of childlike sex doll ownership. This makes it possible that the data for adult sex doll ownership does not necessarily generalize to individuals who own child like sex dolls.

Regardless of its limitations, this study is important because it is the first that attempts to address the specific legal and ethical questions about sex doll ownership. In particular: Does ownership of sex dolls increase a person’s likelihood of committing an hands-on sexual offense?

Much further research is needed before any definitive statements can be made.

Reference: Harper, C.A., Lievesley, R., & Wanless, K (2023). Exploring the Psychological Characteristics and Risk-related Cognitions of Individuals Who Own Sex Dolls. The Journal of Sex Research, https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2022.2031848

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Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

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