Social Science Research on Pornography

Data

We have organized the datasets into five categories:

• pornography use and attitudes
• factors affecting access
• possible outcomes
• pornography industry
• other statistics

In each case, we provide a link to the source of the data, as well as links to studies that have used the data. In many cases, we have also provided a ready to use dataset available for immediate download. Please email us additional datasets that you think should be added to this collection (ssrp@byu.edu).

Pornography Use and Attitudes

General Social Survey

The General Social Survey has data back to 1972 and includes questions about whether the individual has seen an X–rated movie, attitudes towards pornography, and a number of potential outcome variables such as frequency of marital intimacy and quality of relationship.

Download GSS: data, codebook GSS home page

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Factors Affecting Access

Current Population Survey—Computer and Internet Use Supplement

This Computer and Internet Use supplement from the Current Population Survey contains detailed questions about computer and internet use in households.

Download CPS supplement: data, codebook Full CPS data sets available through NBER

National Longitudinal Survey of Youth

Variables on computer and Internet use are taken from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

Download NLSY: data, codebook Download additional NLSY variables

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Possible Outcomes

Child Abuse

The National Data Analysis System reports the number of children reported as abused and neglected and referred for investigation per 1,000 children in the population, for years 1990-2005.

Download NDAS: data, codebook NDAS home page

Happiness

From the General Social Survey. Includes happiness data on 46,000 adults from 1972-2006 and happiness of marriage data for 24,400 married adults. Includes information on age, gender, race, marital status, work status, number of children, and whether the respondent saw an X-rate movie in the last year.

Download GSS Happiness: data, codebook Papers using this data: Stevenson and Wolfers (forthcoming)

Divorce

Based on data compiled by Wolfers (2006). Full dataset is available for download on his website. The divorce rates are state-level divorce rates for 1956-1998. The stock of divorced individuals are state-age-level counts at ten year intervals for 1960-2000 and is based on data from the census.

Download Divorce Rate: data, codebook Download Divorce Stock: data, codebook Download from Justin Wolfers' Site

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides information on state-year-gender specific STD rates for 1984-2006.

Download STD: data, codebook Download from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Collected by Richard Estes and Neil Weiner.

Download from ICPSR

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Pornography Industry

Stock and Revenue Data

Daily stock prices and quarterly revenue for Playboy and New Frontier Media companies.

Download Stock Price: data, codebook Download Revenue: data, codebook

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Other Statistics

This section includes statistics related to pornography that have been cited in media reports. We are trying to identify and obtain the data on which each of these statistics is based. Any assistance with this part of the project would be greatly appreciated. Send any information to ssrp@byu.edu.

• "70% of all internet porn traffic occurs during the 9-5 work day"
  (source: Orange County Business Journal cites SexTracker)
• "Child pornography is estimated to be a $20 billion–a–year industry and is expected to reach between $30 billion and $35 billion in 2009, says Ernie Allen, president and chief executive of the NCMEC and ICMEC and chairman of the new coalition, called the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography.... NCMEC said that by February 2006, its CyberTipline unit had received more than 340,000 reports of child pornography."
  (source: Wall Street Journal, March 16, 2006)
• "Two in five Internet users visited an adult site in April, according to tracking by comScore Media Metrix. The company said 4% of all Web traffic and 2% of all surfing time involved an adult site."
  (source: Wall Street Journal, August 17, 2005)
• "According to recent surveys, nearly 60 percent of Christian men and 37 percent of pastors admit to struggling with pornography. No longer just a problem for men, 35 percent of women also admit to the addiction."
  (source: Church Executive News, article on December 1, 2008)
• "In 2001, in a study of 7,037 adults, two thirds of those who visit websites with sexual content say their Internet activities haven't affected their level of sexual activity with their partners."
  (source: DivorceWizards.com)
• "Americans rent upwards of 800 million porn videos and DVD's a year compared with 3.6 billion non-porn videos"
  (source: DivorceWizards.com cites Adams Media Research)
• "One in four children were sent pictures of people who were naked or having sex."
  (source: Computer Spy cites US Congressional Study submitted June 8, 2000)

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