title: Viewing child pornography: prevalence and correlates in a representative community sample of young Swedish men.
abstract: Most research on child pornography use has been based on selected clinical or criminal justice samples; risk factors for child pornography use in the general population remain largely unexplored. In this study, we examined prevalence, risk factors, and correlates of viewing depictions of adult-child sex in a population-representative sample of 1,978 young Swedish men (17-20 years, Mdn = 18 years, overall response rate, 77 %). In an anonymous, school-based survey, participants self-reported sexual coercion experiences, attitudes and beliefs about sex, perceived peer attitudes, and sexual interests and behaviors; including pornography use, sexual interest in children, and sexually coercive behavior. A total of 84 (4.2 %) young men reported they had ever viewed child pornography. Most theory-based variables were moderately and significantly associated with child pornography viewing and were consistent with models of sexual offending implicating both antisociality and sexual deviance. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, 7 of 15 tested factors independently predicted child pornography viewing and explained 42 % of the variance: ever had sex with a male, likely to have sex with a child aged 12-14, likely to have sex with a child 12 or less, perception of children as seductive, having friends who have watched child pornography, frequent pornography use, and ever viewed violent pornography. From these, a 6-item Child Pornography Correlates Scale was constructed and then cross-validated in a similar but independent Norwegian sample.
authors: Integrated Forensic Program, Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, 1804 Highway 2 East, Brockville, ON, K7V 5W7, Canada, michael.seto@theroyal.ca.
authors: Michael C
authors: MC
authors: Seto
authors: Chantal A
authors: CA
authors: Hermann
authors: Cecilia
authors: C
authors: Kjellgren
authors: Gisela
authors: G
authors: Priebe
authors: Carl Göran
authors: CG
authors: Svedin
authors: Niklas
authors: N
authors: Långström
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004882:Erotica / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010378:Pedophilia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult