Gender differences and socio-cultural factors contributing to the youth's tendency towards watching pornography

The present study investigates the problem of youths’ tendency to watch pornography. The objective was to investigate the gender differences and some socio-cultural factors which contribute to the youth’s tendency to watch pornographic films. The research method was a survey and the data of the study was gathered through administering a questionnaire. The target population was the youth aged between 15-25 in Gachsaran city, Iran. Using Cochran formula, we chose 384 participants as the sample. Clustering random sampling was carried out and the data was analyzed using SPSS software. For testing the hypotheses, t-tests and Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient were used. According to the results of the t-test, there was a significant differences between men and women according to dependent varable, and there was significant relationship between friendly relationships (as independent variable) and the tendency to watch pornography (dependant variable). Based on the results of Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient Test, there was a significant relationship between the variables of age, Internet use, religious beliefs, and leisure time as independent variables and the tendency to watch pornography as the dependent variable. Multiple regression analysis showed that independent variables (Internet use, religious beliefs, age, friendly relationship, and leisure time), totally, determined 32.6 percent of dependent variable variances. This coefficient was 34.01 percent for men and 31.12 percent for women.