"Get tough" approaches for responding to sex crimes have proliferated during the past decade. Child pornography in particular has garnered attention in recent years. Policy makers increasingly have emphasized incarceration as a response to such crime, including accessing child pornography. Juxtaposed against such efforts is a dearth of knowledge…

Data from 305 confidential anonymous 50-item questionnaires on pornography were completed by students at East Carolina University and analyzed to provide the basis for this study. Over 90 percent (92.4%) reported ever having looked at pornography with over forty percent (43.1%) reporting doing so between one and two times a week. Significant…

Surveyed Internet-using youth and their caretakers nationwide to investigate youth exposure to unwanted sexual material. One-quarter of the adolescents encountered unwanted sexual pictures in the past year. About one-quarter of those exposed were extremely upset, while the rest had no negative reactions. The use of filtering and blocking software…

Conducted qualitative content analysis to examine homosexual pornography on sale in adult bookstores during four time periods: 1960-1969, 1970-1974, 1975-1979, and 1980-1984. Results revealed four trends: less tendency to disguise homosexual pornography, increasingly explicit sexual content, increasing emphasis on physical attractiveness of…

We tested special and general explanations of male adolescent sexual offending by conducting a meta-analysis of 59 independent studies comparing male adolescent sex offenders (n = 3,855) with male adolescent non-sex offenders (n = 13,393) on theoretically derived variables reflecting general delinquency risk factors (antisocial tendencies),…

Examines the National Commission on Pornography's purposes, membership, activities, deliberations, recommendations, and "Final Report." Notes that the Commission used evidence selectively and ignored recent thinking and scholarship on pornography. Points out that the commission received little attention from the mass media. (ARH)

Daniel Linz and Edward Donnerstein criticize the research methods and conclusions of pornography researchers Dolf Zillmann and Jennings Bryant (who allege that consumption of pornography results in antisocial effects). Zillman and Bryant respond. (ARH)

This study examined correlates of pornography acceptance and use within a normative (nonclinical) population of emerging adults (individuals aged 18-26). Participants included 813 university students (500 women; M age = 20 years) recruited from six college sites across the United States. Participants completed online questionnaires regarding their…

This paper evaluates current knowledge about the prevalence, dynamics, and short- and long-term effects of sexual exploitation among missing children. It is based upon empirical research findings from books, papers presented at professional meetings, doctoral dissertations, works in progress, and more than 75 articles in professional journals.…

The history of child pornography photography is briefly reviewed and the current problem is examined and partially attributed to the profit motive. The authors urge changing child abuse reporting statutes to include photofinishing laboraties. (CL)

Focuses on the debates over the MacKinnon-Dworkin Anti-Pornography Ordinance to explore one instance of definitional argument: the attempt to effect a redefinition. Argues that advocates for a definitional shift created the possibility for a "terministic catharsis" by simultaneously locating pornography in multiple locations on the pentad,…

Assessed sexuality attitudes of black middle-class sample (N=124) concerning communication regarding sexuality information, adolescent contraception, adolescent pregnancy, nonmarital intercourse, responsibility for contraception and pregnancy, abortion, pornography, and masturbation. Results suggest that participants were well-informed, moderate,…

Studies the public responses to Andrea Dworkin's novel "Mercy" (about rape specifically and the sexual abuse of women in general). Suggests that Dworkin's "Mercy"--like other controversial cultural texts--fostered a type of literary public sphere and that defining these spheres as "war zones" does not foster open debate or a common space for…

Like other technologies, the Internet is vulnerable to misuse by hostile individuals (flamers), sexual predators, and pornographers. Schools can shield students from these negative influences by using LinQ, a new product that restricts access to certain inappropriate Internet areas. Technology codes of conduct and staff development are alternative…

Explores the social construction of the various computer hazards that households are encountering, such as computer addiction and children's access to on-line pornography. Discusses these issues in terms of constructivist counseling perspectives that are sensitive to cultural and environmental contexts. Outlines specific strategies for countering…