Journal of Sex ResearchPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2024-10-03DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2024.2408269
M Donevan, M Bladh, Å Landberg, L S Jonsson, G Priebe, I Dennhag, C G Svedin
{"title":"Closing the Gender Gap? A Cohort Comparison of Adolescent Responses to and Attitudes Toward Pornography, 2004 vs. 2021.","authors":"M Donevan, M Bladh, Å Landberg, L S Jonsson, G Priebe, I Dennhag, C G Svedin","doi":"10.1080/00224499.2024.2408269","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00224499.2024.2408269","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pornography has become increasingly prevalent and normalized within society, raising questions about how today's adolescents might differ in their responses to and attitudes toward pornography compared to earlier generations. This study begins to fill this gap by comparing cross-sectional data from two cohorts of high school students in Sweden in 2004 (<i>n</i> = 4,266, mean age = 18.15, <i>SD</i> = 0.74, 53.9% girls) and 2020-21 (<i>n</i> = 3,256, mean age = 18.20, <i>SD</i> = 0.61, 55.4% girls). Gender-stratified bivariate analyses and logistic regression models were performed to examine the impact of survey year on outcomes. Results reveal an increase in frequent pornography use among both genders and a narrowing of the gender gap in responses and attitudes by 2020-21. Boys reported decreased arousal responses, fewer positive emotional responses, and were less inclined to imitate the behaviors seen in pornography. Girls were less averse to and upset by the pornography they encountered. Both genders became more tolerant of pornography, yet more critical of its purported benefits. Notable gender differences remain, especially with girls being more likely to recognize pornography as degrading and exploitative. These findings underscore the need for educational strategies that foster critical understandings of pornography and its societal impact.</p>","PeriodicalId":51361,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sex Research","volume":" ","pages":"581-595"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142367397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Benxi Zhang, Geoffrey Hunt, Alexandra Bogren, Margit A Petersen
{"title":"Intoxication, Sexual Consent and Masculine Performances.","authors":"Benxi Zhang, Geoffrey Hunt, Alexandra Bogren, Margit A Petersen","doi":"10.1080/00224499.2026.2664039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2026.2664039","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper examines how young heterosexual men negotiated notions of masculinity, manhood and sexual consent in intoxicated sexual encounters. Based on in-depth qualitative interviews with young men in Northern California, US, and drawing on recent developments within theories of masculinity and sexual script theory, the findings discussed here show that many of the men interviewed distanced themselves from sexually predatory behaviors, redefining \"real manhood\" as being attentive to gaining affirmative consent. However, at the same time, their strategies, such as setting personal rules, relying on relational familiarity, or adopting risk-avoidant stances, often reinforced traditional male-initiator norms. Importantly, participants described experiences of occasional regret and vulnerability, complicating the assumption that men are always ready for sex and always in control. Exploring intoxicated sexual encounters therefore emerged as a critical arena in which notions of masculinity were, at the same time, both reproduced and reshaped, revealing tensions between new forms of ethical self-presentation and more traditional sexual scripts.</p>","PeriodicalId":51361,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sex Research","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147788822","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Expansive Intimacies: Celebrating the Intimacy of Asexual and Aromantic People.","authors":"Amanda L Mollet, Shay N Valley, Brynn Fitzsimmons","doi":"10.1080/00224499.2026.2658111","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2026.2658111","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This qualitative grounded theory study examined asexual graduate and undergraduate college students' experiences in and with healthy intimate relationships. Using interview and survey data from 69 participants, the study presents a new emergent conceptualization of expansive intimacies, inclusive of more than 10 types of intimacy. The expansive intimacies model moves beyond rigid, gendered, allonormative conceptions of intimacy by instead challenging narrow or limited ideas of who gets to experience intimacy and what people classify as intimacy. Viewing intimacy as the ways asexual and aromantic spectrum people - as well as all people - build connections with others moves beyond conceptions of asexual and aromantic people as lacking, by instead celebrating their varied relationship experiences. This work also provides practical applications for rethinking relationship education.</p>","PeriodicalId":51361,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sex Research","volume":" ","pages":"1-15"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147788790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Julia F Hammett, Kavya Juwadi, Raheleh Bahrami, Weiqi Chen, Cynthia A Stappenbeck, Kelly Cue Davis
{"title":"An Event-Level Investigation of Young Men's Condom Use Resistance: Associations with Global Sex-Related Alcohol Expectancies and Daily Drinking and Sex Motives.","authors":"Julia F Hammett, Kavya Juwadi, Raheleh Bahrami, Weiqi Chen, Cynthia A Stappenbeck, Kelly Cue Davis","doi":"10.1080/00224499.2026.2664805","DOIUrl":"10.1080/00224499.2026.2664805","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Condom use resistance (CUR) is a sexual risk behavior that is prevalent, tied to numerous negative consequences, and more likely to occur when alcohol is consumed. To inform prevention and intervention efforts, the present study assessed young men's alcohol use and sexual behavior over a 32-day daily diary period. Specifically, we sought to examine associations between global sex-related alcohol expectancies, event-level drinking motives, event-level sex motives, and event-level CUR during vaginal sex. Participants (<i>N</i> = 416) completed a baseline survey in the lab that included measures of sex-related alcohol expectancies, followed by 32 daily online surveys assessing their alcohol use and sexual behavior, including measures of drinking motives, sex motives, and CUR. A total of 106 men (~25%) reported engaging in CUR over the 32-day period. Multilevel models using a negative binomial distribution identified between-person global alcohol expectancies for sexual risk and sexual disinhibition, between-person daily enhancement drinking motives, within-person daily power-related sex motives, and between-person daily coping sex motives as the most prominent correlates of CUR at the event-level. These findings support the use of interventions that help individuals modify their perceptions about the expected effects of alcohol on mood or behavior and that provide psychoeducational information to address maladaptive sex-related alcohol expectancies and drinking and sex motives in an effort to lower CUR engagement.</p>","PeriodicalId":51361,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sex Research","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147788845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Natalia Spada, Marco De Vettor, Nicola Carone, Arianna Feligioni, Gabriele Lo Buglio, Vittorio Lingiardi, Guido Giovanardi, Tommaso Boldrini
{"title":"\"<i>How Do You Manage It? I Couldn't; I'm Way Too Jealous</i>!\" A Qualitative Research on How Polyamorous People Deal with Their Partners' Relationships.","authors":"Natalia Spada, Marco De Vettor, Nicola Carone, Arianna Feligioni, Gabriele Lo Buglio, Vittorio Lingiardi, Guido Giovanardi, Tommaso Boldrini","doi":"10.1080/00224499.2026.2651173","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2026.2651173","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Polyamorous relationships are a form of consensual non-monogamy involving multiple intimate relationships with mutual consent. Despite frequent discussion of jealousy, little is known about how polyamorous individuals experience and navigate their partners' concurrent relationships and the emotions these may evoke. We conducted ad hoc semi-structured interviews with 15 adults living in Italy who were involved in at least one polyamorous relationship (duration: 8 months-17 years; <i>M</i> = 3.9 years). Participants identified as women (<i>n</i> = 6), non-binary spectrum (<i>n</i> = 6), or men (<i>n</i> = 3), with a mean age of 30.6 years. Interviews focused on experiences of partners' other relationships, moments of distress, and resources used to restore emotional balance over time. Transcripts were analyzed independently by two raters using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Five superordinate themes emerged: (i) The bittersweetly warm experience of having a metamour; (ii) Loss, rejection, and neglect (real or imagined) undermining attachment security; (iii) Coping strategies regulating distress through support and self-care; (iv) Cognitive strategies reframing jealousy and insecurity; and (v) Shared values that shape sense-making and support coping. Participants described a broad emotional repertoire, including compersion, jealousy, and fear of loss. They reported using communication, boundary setting, reassurance seeking, and self-care, alongside cognitive reframing and emotion regulation, to manage distress. Community-based meanings, such as valuing autonomy, honesty, and relational flexibility, also supported coping. These findings highlight the interplay of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and cultural resources in navigating partner non-exclusivity, and may inform future research and clinical practice with this population.</p>","PeriodicalId":51361,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sex Research","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147788810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Megan Rowe,Sandra Kwan,Salem Rao,Oliver W J Beer,Tyrone J Curtis,Shih-Ju Claire Lung,Adam Busch,Daniel Vandervoort,Paul Shuper,Travis R Scheadler,Andrew D Eaton
{"title":"Navigating and Negotiating Sexual Identity and Attraction: A Queer Analysis of Heterosexual-Identified Men Who Have Sex with Men.","authors":"Megan Rowe,Sandra Kwan,Salem Rao,Oliver W J Beer,Tyrone J Curtis,Shih-Ju Claire Lung,Adam Busch,Daniel Vandervoort,Paul Shuper,Travis R Scheadler,Andrew D Eaton","doi":"10.1080/00224499.2026.2658121","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2026.2658121","url":null,"abstract":"Heterosexual-identified men who have sex with men (H-MSM) defy dominant sexuality frameworks that assume coherence between sexual identity, attraction, and behavior. While extant models of sexual minority and heterosexual identity and attraction presume that H-MSM experience identity confusion and crisis, little research has examined how H-MSM experience sexual identity and attraction. This article is framed by Queer Theory and utilizes interpretative phenomenology to explore how a qualitative sample of 10 H-MSM navigate and negotiate their sexual identity and attraction. Results demonstrate that H-MSM situate their same-sex attraction as physical, situational, and exploratory while employing gendered and relational scripts. H-MSM sustain their heterosexual identity by decoupling identity from attraction and negotiating identity through heteroromantic desire. Unlike stage-based models that interpret identity-attraction-behavior discordance as confusion or denial, participants described their identities as coherent, meaningful, and grounded in their romantic and long-term commitments to women. Same-sex attraction was acknowledged but framed as separate from participants' perceived emotional weight of heterosexual relationships. By illustrating how individuals actively weigh and assign meaning to different aspects of sexuality, the findings broadens understandings of sexual identity and attraction.","PeriodicalId":51361,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sex Research","volume":"116 1","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147754721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jay Tang,Aki M Gormezano,Leah Shumka,Nini Longoria,Coady Babin,Nathan J Lachowsky
{"title":"\"It's Remarkably White\": A Qualitative Investigation of Race(ism) within Group Sex Events in a Canadian Context.","authors":"Jay Tang,Aki M Gormezano,Leah Shumka,Nini Longoria,Coady Babin,Nathan J Lachowsky","doi":"10.1080/00224499.2026.2662940","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2026.2662940","url":null,"abstract":"Research on diversity within group sex communities in Canada tends to focus on gender, sexuality, and body size as indicators of inclusion and acceptance. Racial/ethnic diversity are notably absent from these discussions; in this study, we explored perceptions and experiences of race and racism in group sex spaces. We conducted two annual individual interviews with group sex participants living in southwestern Canada. Of our 20 participants, 40% identified as people of color (POC). We worked with a community advisory board of group sex participants/organizers on participant recruitment, interview questions, and data analysis. Through reflexive thematic analysis, we constructed three themes. In themes 1 and 2, we discuss barriers to entry for POC and manifestations of racism within group sex spaces, respectively; these include lack of racial diversity, white ignorance, cultural appropriation, and desirability politics. Some POC described being fetishized because of race, which non-POC downplayed as simply being \"kinky.\" In theme 3, we discuss change-making barriers, such as defensiveness, and change-making opportunities, such as integrating anti-racism into existing harm reduction practices. Participants expressed that community leaders and event organizers need to shift their responses to racism and how they create and manage group sex spaces. These results advance broader discussions of sexual racism and white defensiveness, as well as opportunities to advance anti-racism within group sex spaces and communities.","PeriodicalId":51361,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sex Research","volume":"21 1","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147754722","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Division of Household Labor and Sexual Desire: The Role of Gender and Benevolent Sexism.","authors":"Alexandra Liepmann,Emily J Cross,Amy Muise","doi":"10.1080/00224499.2026.2656775","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2026.2656775","url":null,"abstract":"In romantic relationships between men and women, women tend to report lower sexual desire than men, which is often seen as an individual or relationship issue, rather than one explained by contextual factors, such as structural gender inequities. Extending past research, we focused on (un)equal division of household labor as one example of gender inequities in relationships that may contribute to women's lower sexual desire, and tested whether gender-based attitudes moderated the association. In two pre-registered studies (N = 943; S1 dyadic-longitudinal, S2 individual cross-sectional), women, compared to men, reported doing more of the household labor and lower sexual desire. However, we did not find that doing more household labor was associated with lower sexual desire. Rather, for women, the association between household labor and sexual desire depended on women's endorsement of benevolent sexism (i.e. beliefs idealizing traditional gender roles). Across studies, the associations between unequal division of household labor and lower sexual desire emerged as strongest and most consistent for women lower in benevolent sexism (i.e. who hold more egalitarian gender beliefs; S1 trending, S2 significant). However, this association did not emerge for women higher in benevolent sexism (S2), and in some cases, they reported greater desire when doing more household labor (S1). These findings extended past work by highlighting (a) gender differences in the association between division of labor and sexual desire, (b) the moderating role of gender-based attitudes, and (c) how gendered patterns of behavior within relationships can uphold and reinforce broader gender inequities.","PeriodicalId":51361,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sex Research","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-17"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147751283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Adolescents and Young People's Understanding and Negotiation of Sexual Consent in sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis.","authors":"Nyanzi Ismael Elisha Ddumba,Jo Durham,Patricia Obst,Marguerite Sendall,Christina Malatzky","doi":"10.1080/00224499.2026.2653030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2026.2653030","url":null,"abstract":"Sexual consent is a critical component of healthy sexual relationships and essential for preventing intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV), a significant public health and human rights concern in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Evidence on how adolescents and young people (AYP) aged 15-24 years understand and negotiate consent, however, remains fragmented. This systematic review synthesizes evidence on how AYP in SSA perceived and communicate sexual consent and the key factors shaping sexual consent negotiation. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a comprehensive search was conducted across nine databases (e.g. PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus). The review included 48 studies published between 1997 and 2023. Data were extracted using a structured template and narratively synthesized. Findings indicate that AYP conceptualized consent as an expression of willingness and a mutual agreement to engage in sexual activity, often communicated implicitly through non-verbal cues or contextual behaviors rather than explicit verbal agreement. Consent negotiation is shaped by the interplay of socio-cultural norms, gendered expectations, and power asymmetries related to gender, age, and economic status, alongside structural constraints. Additional influences include the type of relationship, nature of sexual activity, peer pressure, and alcohol use. Sexual compliance or consent without desire is frequently reported, reflecting significant limitations of individual agencies and the complex social and relational factors that shape consent. Emerging resistance and shifts toward affirmative consent highlight the potential for targeted interventions. Multi-level interventions are needed to promote affirmative consent, challenge harmful gender norms, and address structural and economic vulnerabilities that shape inequitable sexual relationships.","PeriodicalId":51361,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sex Research","volume":"22 1","pages":"1-20"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147751304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Objects of Desire: The Role of Sexual Arousal in the Sexual Objectification of Women by Men.","authors":"Arnaud Wisman,Andrew G Thomas","doi":"10.1080/00224499.2026.2658752","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2026.2658752","url":null,"abstract":"The detrimental effects of sexual objectification on women's psychological and physical well-being are well established, yet little is known about the proximal mechanisms that lead men to objectify women. In the present research, we introduced and found support for the Arousal Hypothesis of Sexual Objectification, which posits that, beyond dispositional traits (e.g. personality), temporary states of sexual arousal increase the sexual objectification of women. Across four experiments (N = 675), we found consistent evidence that heightened sexual arousal increases sexual objectification in men. In Experiment 1, sexually aroused men showed a greater preference for women's sexual physical attributes (e.g. curvy, sexy) over psychological attributes (e.g. empathy, intelligence), as assessed by a novel State Sexual Objectification (SSO) task. Experiment 2 demonstrated that this effect occurred only for sexualized physical attributes rather than physical attributes more generally. Experiments 3 and 4 established convergent validity between the SSO task and trait objectification measures. Critically, Experiment 4 revealed that the effect of sexual arousal on objectification was attenuated by induced empathy, but only when controlling for Dark Triad traits. This more tentative finding indicates that empathy-based interventions could be promising, but their effectiveness may depend on men's underlying dispositional traits. Across all studies, neither personality traits (Dark Triad, Social Dominance Orientation, Sociosexual Orientation) nor relationship status moderated the arousal-objectification link. These findings identify sexual arousal as a robust, state-based contributor to sexual objectification, offering new insights into when and why men objectify women and avenues for context-sensitive interventions.","PeriodicalId":51361,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Sex Research","volume":"30 1","pages":"1-15"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147753440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}