Dakota Beacon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 3, 2009 CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Maria Donovan, (866) FRC-NEWS or Tom Freier, NDFA]

Washington, D.C. – North Dakota Family Alliance and Family Research Council released a new study today that comprehensively details the effects of pornography on marriages, children, communities and individual happiness.

The study, “The Effects of Pornography on Individuals, Marriage, Family and Community,” synthesizes all available research on the effects of pornography on families and communities.

Pornography distorts an individual’s concept of the nature of conjugal relations, which, in turn, alters both sexual attitudes and behavior. It is a major threat to marriage, to family, to children and to individual happiness. In undermining marriage, it is one of the major factors in undermining social stability.

“While pornography is destructive to individuals and the entire family, I am especially concerned about its impact on children”, states Tom Freier, Executive Director with the North Dakota Family Alliance. Pornography eliminates the warmth of an affectionate family, leads to stress and parental conflict, increases the risk of parental separation and divorce, and increases the risk of children becoming consumers of pornography.

Social scientists, clinical psychologists, and biologists have begun to clarify some of the social and psychological effects, and neurologists are beginning to delineate the biological mechanisms through which pornography produces its powerful negative effects. Among the study’s findings:

• Men who view pornography regularly have a higher tolerance for abnormal sexuality, including rape, sexual aggression, and sexual promiscuity.

• Married men who are involved in pornography feel less satisfied with their conjugal relations and less emotionally attached to their wives. Wives notice and are upset by the difference.

• Pornography engenders greater sexual permissiveness, which in turn leads to a greater risk of out-of-wedlock births and STDs, which in turn lead to still more weaknesses and debilities.

• The presence of sexually oriented businesses significantly harms the surrounding community, leading to increases in crime and decreases in property values.

• Child-sex offenders are more likely to view pornography regularly or to be involved in its distribution.

• Pornography eliminates the warmth of affectionate family life, which is the natural social nutrient for the growing child.

A study of 1300 eight-to-thirteen-year-old girls found that, among those who engaged in “cybersex”, 95% of the parents were completely unaware of their children’s involvement.  Compared to adolescents who do not search for pornography online, adolescents who search for pornography online are about three times more likely to have parents who do not monitor their behavior.

Keys to protecting against the harmful effects of pornography begin in the family.  “Most important is the relationship between the mom and dad, and then a loving relationship with the children, and of course in today’s technological society, limiting and monitoring children’s use of the internet”, states Tom Freier.

To view the entire study, go to www.ndfa.org, or for more information, call NDFA at 701-364-0676.

Copyright © 2009 North Dakota Family Alliance