Does use of pornography contribute to sexual offending behavior in teens?

In a recent study in Washington County, Utah in cases involving juvenile sexual offenses, it was found that 51 of the 76 cases studied involved the juvenile perpetrator viewing pornography on multiple occasions prior to the offense occurring.

As part of the evaluation process for determining the risk of future offending and need for treatment, juvenile offenders were asked to disclose their use of pornography prior to the sexual offenses occurring.   51 of the 76 youth who were interviewed admitted that they had viewed pornography on multiple occasions prior to engaging in the sexual offending behaviors.

These findings are significant as this data suggests that the use of pornography may be a factor that contributes to sexual offending behavior in teens.  The study does not suggest that every youth who views pornography will engage in sexual offending behaviors, but it does suggest that youth who view pornography may pose a greater risk to engaging in sexual offending behavior.

While there are a variety of factors that contribute to juvenile sexual offending behaviors, the use of pornography by the perpetrator is a factor that should be given increased attention and should be adequately addressed in treatment.  Because of the infiltration of pornography into our society, particularly among youth, and along with the vulnerability of being impacted by pornography, a growing number of teens are finding themselves involved in the legal system due to sexual acting out behaviors.

Many of these youth have no prior criminal history, do not have pedophilic tendencies, do not display other sexually deviant behaviors and do not demonstrate anti-social tendencies, but yet, because of having committed a sexual offense are being placed in treatment settings designed for juvenile sexual offenders who present as more “traditional” sexual offenders.

The most prominent conclusion from this small study:  While certainly teen sexual offending behaviors need to be prosecuted and treated, there also needs to be increased consideration given to the need for assessing and treating this new generation of offenders in a manner that will be most effective and get to the core of the issues, which in many cases involves treating an addiction to pornography.  In addition to the already well-established tenants of sexual offender treatment, juvenile sexual offenses treatment should also include assessment and intervention for potential addiction to pornography.

Q&A: My son has been clean from pornography for several months without professional help. What benefit is there for him to participate in the program?

It sounds like your son is making progress and it is encouraging that he has been able to refrain from using pornography for several months. The Mending The Armor program can still be of great benefit to your son as we want to assure that all youth who participate in the program are able to achieve a long-term recovery from pornography addiction and not simply be “abstinent” for a period of time. Breaking an addiction to pornography can be difficult and often times can involve multiple periods of abstinence followed by relapses. We believe there is a difference between “abstinence” and “recovery”.

It has been our experience that many youth are able to refrain from viewing pornography by using will power alone for a period of time, but that unfortunately, too many eventually relapse back into the addiction. This happens with some young men who refrain from viewing pornography to become worthy to serve a mission, but with the stresses and demands of missionary life, begin to struggle again with the addiction while serving. This also happens with some returned missionaries who have been able to remain abstinent while on their missions, but upon returning home and reintegrating into society, become vulnerable and return to the addiction. For many adults attempting to overcome the addiction, their pornography addiction has been a life-long issue and only after years of failed attempts, have realized that they can’t do it on their own and need professional help. The Mending The Armor program is designed to help young people learn to manage the addiction while they are still young, so they can avoid having to deal with the problem later in life.

“Abstinence” is defined as simply refraining from the use of pornography through will power, while “recovery” refers to the acquisition of the insight to understand the origins, cycle and underlying issues that accompany the addiction along with the skills to manage the emotions that drive the addiction.

Youth who complete the program are provided professional clinical intervention to assist them in identifying the origins of the addiction, the cycle of the addiction, the underlying emotional issues that drive the addiction and assistance in the creation of a recovery plan. The recovery plan then serves as a long-term guide for effective management of a proclivity toward using pornography. Completing the Mending The Armor program serves as an important tool beyond simply “will power” for helping youth to overcome pornography addiction.