CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand – Pornography use has little or no significant impact on intimacy for about 90 percent of couples, according to new research from the University of Otago. However, for the other 10 percent, the more frequently men use pornography, the less sexually intimate they are with their partners.

Master’s student and family therapist Anne Martin surveyed 136 New Zealand women about pornography usage, their attitudes about porn and their intimate experiences. The women ranged in age from 18 to 78.

Almost two-thirds of the subjects said their partners had used pornography within the past year. Almost 18 percent said they estimated their partner used it once a week or more often. More than 38 percent of women reported using pornography themselves in the past year, as did 22 percent of couples.

“The study found many women have a positive attitude about pornography, but for about 10 percent of women, pornography is a specific concern in their relationship,” Martin said. “There is a correlation between increased pornography use and decreasing levels of all types of intimacy in [those] relationships.”

Intimacy was divided into five areas:

1. Emotional intimacy — experiencing a closeness of feelings.
2. Social intimacy —having common friends and similarities in social networks.
3. Intellectual intimacy — sharing ideas.
4. Sexual intimacy — sharing general affection and/or sexual activity.
5. Recreational intimacy — shared ideas and hobbies or mutual participation in sporting events.

Martin’s research supervisor, clinical psychologist and addiction specialist Associate Professor Simon Adamson, said the study provided some useful information. However, he stopped short of saying porn use causes lack of intimacy.

“It was not possible in this study to determine whether pornography use reduced intimacy or if men in relationships with lower levels of intimacy in turn used pornography more,” he said. “But there is certainly a clear enough picture here to indicate that this is something couples would benefit from talking about.”