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Harm Caused by Consumers

The chapter analytically reviews research on the associations between, on the one hand, pornography consumption and, on the other, sexual aggression, attitudes promoting or trivializing violence against women, and sex purchasing. A positive association is found. The complementary methods used to draw causal inferences are illuminated: experiments, naturalistic observations (longitudinal and cross-sectional), and qualitative studies. Mechanisms that explain the effects of nonviolent pornography include subordination and dehumanization of women, targeting of perceived promiscuity, and imitation with unwilling partners. Results are corroborated across studies with samples drawn from the general population, youth, battered women, sex purchasers, and prostituted persons. It is shown how studies that control for variables and moderators such as hostility and promiscuity, which are not independent of the causal variable, likely underestimate pornography’s effects (a problem called post-treatment bias). Additionally, causal overdetermination and other problems in aggregated crime report studies are addressed (e.g., trivialization caused by pornography).