The longitudinal effects of solo and joint use of sexually explicit material in committed relationships

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rochester. Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, 2017.The research on the potential impact of Sexually Explicit Material (SEM) use on romantic relationships has yielded mixed findings. Studies examining perceived impacts have identified potential benefits (e.g., Grov, Gillespie, Royce, & Lever, 2011; Hald & Malamuth, 2008; Rogala & Tyden, 2003) whereas studies conducted in distressed couples have tended to identify adverse correlates (e.g., Bergner & Bridges, 2002; Schneider, 2000; Zitzman & Butler, 2009). Much of this work has been cross-sectional, focused on solo SEM use, and has collected data from just one partner in the relationship. The current study sought to build on this work and clarify how SEM use might impact relationship functioning over time by collecting monthly diary data across 6 months in a sample of 529 heterosexual couples, allowing me to directly compare joint and solo SEM use within an Actor-Partner Interdependence Modeling framework (APIM; Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006) focused on predicting change in relationship functioning over time. Although a handful of main effects emerged across the models (e.g., own reports of solo SEM use at baseline predicted drops in one’s partner’s sexual dissatisfaction across 6 months), the results revealed a number of interactions between partners’ reports of SEM use. These interactions suggested that joint SEM use was associated with higher levels of relationship and sexual satisfaction only when both partners reported that behavior, highlighting the importance of partners agreeing on reports of that dyadic behavior. The interactions further suggested solo SEM use could be associated with lower relationship satisfaction and dedication if only one partner reported it, but that those adverse effects were buffered if both partners reported solo SEM use. The implications of these findings and potential avenues for future research will be discussed