A new study has disproved the claims that a man's habit of viewing sex films can lead to problems getting or sustaining an erection.
The new study from UCLA and Concordia University, the first to actually test the relationship between how much erotica men are watching and erectile function, shows that viewing sexual films is unlikely to cause erectile problems and may even help sexual arousal.
Researchers Nicole Prause and Jim Pfaus analyzed data, collected from 280 male volunteers during previous studies in Prause's lab, for the effect watching erotica has on sexual arousal.
All the men reported the average number of hours per week that they had viewed sex films, which ranged from zero to 25 hours, and also completed a questionnaire that measures levels of sexual desire. Of the 280 volunteers, 127 of them had regular partners and completed the International Index of Erectile Function, a questionnaire that requires men to rate their experience with erectile function.
Prause added that when they analyzed the data from these prior studies, they found that the men who had watched more sex films at home were more aroused when they watched sex films in the lab.
While one could object that this was expected since they like sex films, the result is important because clinicians often claim that men get desensitized by watching these films, said Prause. They are responding more strongly to very vanilla erotica than the guys for whom the films are more novel. While this association doesn't establish a cause, it proves viewing erotica at home is not desensitizing and perhaps even sensitized the men to respond more strongly.
Prause and Pfaus also found that there is no relationship between viewing sex films and the incidence of erectile dysfunction in men who are sexually active.
While many people think easy access to porn leads to problems in the bedroom, our study suggests the opposite: that erectile dysfunction is most likely caused by the same issues that have been known for some time, such as performance anxiety, poor cardiovascular health or side-effects from substance abuse, said Pfaus.
Prause noted that they have strong psychotherapy and medical interventions to help with erectile problems. These data suggest that inventing a new problem, porn causing erectile problems, for which there is no tested treatment, may be a disservice to patients.
The study is published in the online journal Sexual Medicine.
