On Thursday, the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) has published an updated paper on the harms of pornography on children. The paper finds that consumption of pornography is associated with many negative emotional, psychological, sociological, and physical health outcomes. These include increased rates of depression, anxiety, acting out and violent behavior, younger age of sexual debut, sexual promiscuity, increased risk of teen pregnancy, child sex abuse, sexual trafficking, and a distorted view of relationships between men and women. For adults, pornography results in an increased likelihood of divorce which is also harmful to children.
Dr. David Perry, ACPeds Board Member and primary author, made the following statement:
“Pornography is a societal epidemic that harms children’s mental, emotional, social, and physical health. ACPeds urges healthcare professionals to communicate the risks of pornography use to patients and their families and to offer resources both to protect children from viewing pornography and to treat children already suffering from its wide-ranging negative effects.”
Click here to read the full paper, here for the factsheet, and here for the parent handout.
