Robert S Tokunaga
Biographic Data
| ID | 3770330 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Robert S Tokunaga |
| GIVEN NAMES | Robert S |
| FAMILY NAME | Tokunaga |
| SIGNATURE | TOKUNAGA R S |
| AFFILIATIONS | The University of Texas at San Antonio |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6302-7532 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 50 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 288 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 50 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 9 |
Adolescents’ Pornography Exposure, Sexually Dominant Behavior, and Partnered Sexual Satisfaction
Parent-adolescent communication about sex and adolescent sexting behaviors
The term “sexting” refers to sexually suggestive and/or explicit messages exchanged in one-to-one or one-to-many forms over Internet-enabled devices. According to the multisystem perspective, parent-adolescent communication influences sexual socialization globally and sexting locally. In the present study, a model of the relationships among the breadth of sex topics discussed between parents and adolescent children, comfort in parent-adolescent s…
Impersonal Sex and Pornography
Following the recent exhortations of health communication scholars to continue the study of pornography and its potential impact on health-related behaviors, the present study investigated associations between the frequency of pornography use and six indicators of impersonal sex among a national probability sample of US adults. Impersonal sex has been linked to a variety of important public health outcomes, including STD risk and sexual aggressio…
Gender Differences in the Association between Pornography Use and Sexual Satisfaction
Sexual satisfaction has been identified by public health experts as essential for sexual health, overall health, and well-being. The first meta-analysis of the association between pornography use and sexual satisfaction found a statistically significant negative correlation among men but not among women (i.e. men who consumed pornography more often were less sexually satisfied, while women's sexual satisfaction was not significantly related to th…
U.S. Males and Pornography
Communication scientists have published pornography research in the communication discipline's central journals for decades. Health communication scholars have become particularly interested in pornography in recent years, given increasing evidence of its likely impact on critical sexual health outcomes. An important resource for scholarship on pornography use is the General Social Survey (GSS). The first major article on pornography use and pote…
Pornography Use, Moral Incongruence, Psychological Distress, and Sexual Satisfaction
On Men’s Problematic Pornography Use and Hostile Attitudes Toward Women
More Support for the Dependency-Resentment Hypothesis
Previously in Sexuality & Culture ( S&C ), we published an article titled “On men’s problematic pornography use and hostile attitudes toward women” (Wright and Tokunaga in Sex Cult, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-025-10424-2 ). This article presented our first articulation of the Dependency-Resentment Hypothesis (DRH) of men’s problematic pornography use and hostile attitudes toward women. It also presented analyses of data collected in Gre…
The Dependency-Resentment Hypothesis of Men’s Problematic Pornography Use and Hostile Attitudes Toward Women
United States Women and Pornography
Pornography, identification, alcohol, and condomless sex
Using national probability data from the 2022 National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, the present study evaluated whether moderators of the association between frequency of pornography exposure and condomless sex are consistent with the sexual script acquisition, activation, application model’s (3AM) suppositions about the facilitating effects of wishful identification and decreased self-regulation and forethought capacity. Consistent with…
Pornography Use, Sensation Seeking, and the Importance of Meta-Analytic Replication
From the U.S. to Denmark and Beyond
Methodologists from a variety of social and behavioral sciences have called attention to misunderstandings, misclassifications, and misapplications of third variable "controls" in observational research. We are unaware, however, of a comprehensive discussion of these issues in the sexological literature. In this article, we attempt to detail several of the more important potential pitfalls within the context of a case study commentary on a recent…
Pornography Consumption and Sexual Choking
Many researchers interested In the socializing effects of pornography have found heuristic utility in the sexual script acquisition, activation, application model (3AM) of mediated sexual socialization. Studies have emphasized overall pornography/sexual behavior associations, however, rather than mediating sexual beliefs that a 3AM perspective suggests should underlie such associations. The present study used data from a campus-representative pro…
Pornography, Sexual Insecurity, and Orgasm Difficulty
While recent meta-analyses have provided answers to a number of historically contentious debates about correlates of pornography use, several questions remain unanswered. Whether pornography is associated with sexual functioning is one such question. Informed by theorizing on sexual scripting, social comparisons, and sexual objectification, the present study examined the possibility that pornography is related to orgasm difficulty through sexual …
On the Use of Control Variables in Pornography Effects Research
Perceived Similarity, Utility, and Social Realism as Potential Mediators of the Link between Pornography Use and Condomless Sex
One of the most consistent findings in content analyses of popular, commonly consumed pornography is the near absence of condoms. A recent meta-analysis found that pornography use is associated with an increased likelihood of condomless sex, but the studies available for analysis rarely included measures of potential cognitive mediators underlying the association. Following the sexual script acquisition, activation, application model (3AM) of med…
U.S. Parents Underestimate Their Children’s Pornography Use and Learning
Pornography and religiosity
Sexual behavior and religious practice are fundamental social dynamics of longstanding interest to communication scholars. Drawing insights from the Reinforcing Spirals Model (RSM) and Sexual Script Acquisition, Activation, Application Model (3AM), this study examined whether (a) religiosity operated primarily as a predictor of later pornography consumption, which in turn predicted heightened sexual permissiveness, or (b) earlier pornography cons…
But Do Porn Sites Get More Traffic than TikTok, OpenAI, and Zoom
In 2013, the Huffington Post (HP) featured a provocative article titled “Porn sites get more visitors each month than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter combined” (Kleinman, 2013). Given that Amazon, Twit
Model Specification in Media Effects Research
To Misspecify Is Common, to Probe Misspecification Scientific
The ills of modeling variables substantively involved in a causal process as “controls” have been discussed extensively by social scientists who do not study media. Until recently, Slater was one of the few communication scientists to suggest that media effects scholars engage in overcontrol. Bushman and Anderson have now echoed this concern in the context of a broader treatise on research trends in the media violence literature. The present stud…
Pornography, Masturbation, and Relational Satisfaction
Exploratory Findings on U.S. Adolescents’ Pornography Use, Dominant Behavior, and Sexual Satisfaction
Objectives: Sexual satisfaction is an important component of sexual health and wellbeing across the life course, including adolescence. While research on pornography use and sexual satisfaction has become increasingly common, the vast majority of studies have focused on adults. An additional limitation of studies to date is a lack of assessment of mediating mechanisms.Methods: To help address these gaps in the literature, this study used data fro…
Pornography and Sexual Dissatisfaction
Research finding that pornography use is associated with lower sexual satisfaction is common; evaluation of the mechanisms hypothesized as underlying the association is not. Informed by multiple theoretical perspectives, the present study tested a conceptual model positing that (a) regularly consuming pornography conditions the user’s arousal template to be particularly responsive to pornographic depictions, (b) this amplified arousal to pornogra…
Pornography Consumption and Satisfaction
A classic question in the communication literature is whether pornography consumption affects consumers' satisfaction. The present paper represents the first attempt to address this question via meta-analysis. Fifty studies collectively including more than 50,000 participants from 10 countries were located across the interpersonal domains of sexual and relational satisfaction and the intrapersonal domains of body and self satisfaction. Pornograph…
Pornography and Impersonal Sex
This paper presents meta-analytic findings on pornography consumption and impersonal sexual attitudes and behaviors. Results were based on more than 70 reports spanning over 40 years of research. Data from 13 countries were located, with attitudinal results from more than 45,000 participants and behavioral results from over 60,000 participants. Pornography consumption was associated with an impersonal approach to sex among both men and women; amo…
Is Pornography Consumption a Risk Factor for Condomless Sex
This paper presents meta-analytic findings on the association between pornography consumption and condomless sex. Results were based on 45 reports spanning two decades. Data from 18 countries, with a participant total of over 35,000, were located. Higher levels of pornography consumption were associated with an elevated likelihood of engaging in condomless sex. A model-based meta-analysis did not support the viewpoint that the pornography use-con…
Pornography, Alcohol, and Male Sexual Dominance
This study surveyed German heterosexual men's interest and engagement in a variety of dominant behaviors observed in recent analyses of pornography. Interest in watching popular pornographic movies or more frequent consumption of pornography was associated with men's desire to engage in or having already engaged in behaviors such as hair pulling, spanking a partner hard enough to leave a mark, facial ejaculation, confinement, double-penetration (…
More than a dalliance? Pornography consumption and extramarital sex attitudes among married U.S. adults
Extramarital sex is one of the most commonly cited reasons for divorce. U.S. adults who have more positive extramarital sex attitudes are more likely to engage in extramarital sex. Given pornography’s positive portrayal of extramarital sex, several recent studies have explored whether people who consume pornography have a more positive attitude toward extramarital sex. Consistent correlations have been found, but limitations to inference are pose…
An Evaluation of Two Characterizations of the Relationships Between Problematic Internet Use, Time Spent Using the Internet, and Psychosocial Problems
Journal Article An Evaluation of Two Characterizations of the Relationships Between Problematic Internet Use, Time Spent Using the Internet, and Psychosocial Problems Get access Robert S. Tokunaga, Robert S. Tokunaga 1Department of Communication, University of Arizona, Tucson Arizona 85721, USA 1Corresponding author: Robert Shota Tokunaga; Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Stephen A. Rains Stephen A. Rains 1…
Men’s Objectifying Media Consumption, Objectification of Women, and Attitudes Supportive of Violence Against Women
Interpersonal surveillance over social network sites
Surveillance has long been used as a way to guard against dangers lurking in one's immediate environment. Humans have carried over this evolutionarily adaptive solution to the maintenance of their interpersonal relationships. The landscape of relational surveillance has dramatically changed with the inception of Internet platforms, such as social networking sites. The goal of this investigation is to understand the motives of online surveillance …
An Examination of Functional Difficulties From Internet Use
Seminal studies concerning the Internet brought legitimacy to public concerns about its dissocializing effects. Although the negative social and professional outcomes of the Internet are still attributed to the time users spend online, scholars have more recently turned their attention to media habits in explaining these effects. This investigation tests the displacement and media habit perspectives on the consequences of Internet use. Study 1 us…
Seeking interpersonal information over the Internet
Online information-seeking strategies are well understood in the context of health information acquisition but less is known about the information management of interpersonal information gathered over the Internet. One way to understand this nascent method for information seeking is to examine the motives that underlie one's intent to seek online information about others. The present study applies theory of motivated information management (TMIM)…
Engagement With Novel Virtual Environments
This article extends theory on the deficient self-regulation (DSR) of Internet use and media habits by integrating predictors relevant to technology use. It introduces novelty perceptions of a technology and flow as conditions that increase the likelihood of experiencing DSR and media habits. An experiment, with between- and within-subjects components, was undertaken to test whether the relationships of DSR hypothesized at various stages of techn…
A meta-analysis of the relationships between psychosocial problems and internet habits
Losses of self-control over Internet use, indicative of Internet habits, have caught the attention of the public for some time. A large collection of studies that theorize about and test the associations between psychosocial problems and Internet habits has been amassed over the last two decades. A meta-analytic review was used to determine the average correlations of Internet habits with loneliness and depression in existing research and explore…
Women's perceptions of their male partners’ pornography consumption and relational, sexual, self, and body satisfaction
Are the relational, sexual, body, and self satisfaction of heterosexual women affected by their partners’ pornography consumption? And if so, how? These questions have been asked of women in smaller-scale, qualitative investigations for some time, and are being asked increasingly in larger-scale, quantitative studies. Mirroring the general trend in the pornography effects literature, early papers tended to anticipate negative effects, while more …
But Do Porn Sites Get More Traffic than TikTok, OpenAI, and Zoom
In 2013, the Huffington Post (HP) featured a provocative article titled “Porn sites get more visitors each month than Netflix, Amazon and Twitter combined” (Kleinman, 2013). Given that Amazon, Twit
U.S. Adults’ Attitudes toward Gay Individuals’ Civil Liberties, Moral Judgments of Homosexuality, Support for Same-sex Marriage, and Pornography Consumption, Revisited
Approximately a decade ago, Wright and colleagues published three studies probing the nature of the relationship between heterosexual U.S. adults' attitudes toward homosexuality and pornography consumption. Adopting an "effects" perspective (while acknowledging the nonexperimental nature of their data), they reasoned that pornography use could either lead to more antagonistic attitudes (by consumers viewing homosexuality through pornography's len…
Perspectives on Internet Addiction, Problematic Internet Use, and Deficient Self-Regulation
This chapter reviews the contributions of communication research in the study of Internet addiction, problematic Internet use, and deficient self-regulation. A history of media addictions is presented, with Internet addiction and its later refinements situated in their appropriate historical context. The study of Internet addiction, problematic Internet use, and deficient self-regulation originated from different perspectives, each with its uniqu…
Pornography Consumption and US Adults' Attitudes toward Gay Individuals' Civil Liberties, Moral Judgments of Homosexuality, and Support for Same-Sex Marriage
This study compared views on homosexuality among US adults who varied in their consumption of pornography. Nationally representative cross-sectional data generated by the General Social Survey (GSS) between 2000 and 2012 were employed. Pornography consumers expressed more positive attitudes toward gay individuals' civil liberties, more moral acceptance of homosexuality, and more support for same-sex marriage. Moderation analyses indicated the imp…
Pornography, Masturbation, and Relational Satisfaction
Pornography vs. sexual science
This study examined U.S. adolescents’ pornography consumption, pornography dependency, and belief in a variety of notions contradicted by basic sexological science. Data were from 595 youth aged 14–18 who participated in a population-based probability survey. Consistent with the sexual script acquisition, activation, application model (3AM) of sexual media socialization, adolescents who had viewed pornography were more likely to hold erroneous se…
The Effects of Engagement with Entertainment
A meta-analysis was employed to evaluate the state of research on the persuasion effects of involvement with entertainment media. The study investigates the effect of homophily, empathic identification, parasocial relationships, and transportation with entertainment media on attitudinal, behavioral and knowledge-related outcomes. The study identifies the specific conditions under which the effects vary. Results from the meta-analysis suggest that…
From the U.S. to Denmark and Beyond
Methodologists from a variety of social and behavioral sciences have called attention to misunderstandings, misclassifications, and misapplications of third variable "controls" in observational research. We are unaware, however, of a comprehensive discussion of these issues in the sexological literature. In this article, we attempt to detail several of the more important potential pitfalls within the context of a case study commentary on a recent…
On Men’s Problematic Pornography Use and Hostile Attitudes Toward Women
But, Words Can Never Hurt Me If
The study explored the influence of self-construals, a well-investigated and important dimension of culture, on the process of feeling and responding to hurt. Participants responded to a survey measuring self-construals, overall hurt feelings, mood, attributions, and relational consequences. The findings revealed that interdependence was positively associated with hurt feelings, but found no support for the relationship between independence and h…
High-Speed Internet Access to the Other
The global village metaphor, originally popularized by Marshall McLuhan, suggests that individuals connected to information and communication technologies become more involved with others from around the world. The speed at which messages are communicated is one factor why Internet-supported technologies create a sense of community. The diffusion of Internet networks to areas around the world naturally increases the potential for intercultural co…
Following you home from school
Social networking site or social surveillance site? Understanding the use of interpersonal electronic surveillance in romantic relationships
An Evaluation of Two Characterizations of the Relationships Between Problematic Internet Use, Time Spent Using the Internet, and Psychosocial Problems
Journal Article An Evaluation of Two Characterizations of the Relationships Between Problematic Internet Use, Time Spent Using the Internet, and Psychosocial Problems Get access Robert S. Tokunaga, Robert S. Tokunaga 1Department of Communication, University of Arizona, Tucson Arizona 85721, USA 1Corresponding author: Robert Shota Tokunaga; Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Stephen A. Rains Stephen A. Rains 1…
The Effects of Engagement with Entertainment
A meta-analysis was employed to evaluate the state of research on the persuasion effects of involvement with entertainment media. The study investigates the effect of homophily, empathic identification, parasocial relationships, and transportation with entertainment media on attitudinal, behavioral and knowledge-related outcomes. The study identifies the specific conditions under which the effects vary. Results from the meta-analysis suggest that…
Engagement With Novel Virtual Environments
This article extends theory on the deficient self-regulation (DSR) of Internet use and media habits by integrating predictors relevant to technology use. It introduces novelty perceptions of a technology and flow as conditions that increase the likelihood of experiencing DSR and media habits. An experiment, with between- and within-subjects components, was undertaken to test whether the relationships of DSR hypothesized at various stages of techn…
More than a dalliance? Pornography consumption and extramarital sex attitudes among married U.S. adults
Extramarital sex is one of the most commonly cited reasons for divorce. U.S. adults who have more positive extramarital sex attitudes are more likely to engage in extramarital sex. Given pornography’s positive portrayal of extramarital sex, several recent studies have explored whether people who consume pornography have a more positive attitude toward extramarital sex. Consistent correlations have been found, but limitations to inference are pose…
Pornography, Alcohol, and Male Sexual Dominance
This study surveyed German heterosexual men's interest and engagement in a variety of dominant behaviors observed in recent analyses of pornography. Interest in watching popular pornographic movies or more frequent consumption of pornography was associated with men's desire to engage in or having already engaged in behaviors such as hair pulling, spanking a partner hard enough to leave a mark, facial ejaculation, confinement, double-penetration (…
Pornography Consumption and US Adults' Attitudes toward Gay Individuals' Civil Liberties, Moral Judgments of Homosexuality, and Support for Same-Sex Marriage
This study compared views on homosexuality among US adults who varied in their consumption of pornography. Nationally representative cross-sectional data generated by the General Social Survey (GSS) between 2000 and 2012 were employed. Pornography consumers expressed more positive attitudes toward gay individuals' civil liberties, more moral acceptance of homosexuality, and more support for same-sex marriage. Moderation analyses indicated the imp…
Seeking interpersonal information over the Internet
Online information-seeking strategies are well understood in the context of health information acquisition but less is known about the information management of interpersonal information gathered over the Internet. One way to understand this nascent method for information seeking is to examine the motives that underlie one's intent to seek online information about others. The present study applies theory of motivated information management (TMIM)…
Perspectives on Internet Addiction, Problematic Internet Use, and Deficient Self-Regulation
This chapter reviews the contributions of communication research in the study of Internet addiction, problematic Internet use, and deficient self-regulation. A history of media addictions is presented, with Internet addiction and its later refinements situated in their appropriate historical context. The study of Internet addiction, problematic Internet use, and deficient self-regulation originated from different perspectives, each with its uniqu…
A Meta-Analysis of Pornography Consumption and Actual Acts of Sexual Aggression in General Population Studies
Whether pornography consumption is a reliable correlate of sexually aggressive behavior continues to be debated. Meta-analyses of experimental studies have found effects on aggressive behavior and attitudes. That pornography consumption correlates with aggressive attitudes in naturalistic studies has also been found. Yet, no meta-analysis has addressed the question motivating this body of work: Is pornography consumption correlated with committin…
A Review and Meta-Analysis Examining Conceptual and Operational Definitions of Problematic Internet Use
This study examined different conceptual and operational definitions of problematic Internet use (PIU). 3 perspectives of PIU are described along with a meta-analytic review (K = 112) conducted to explore the implications stemming from how PIU is measured. The results offer evidence to support the construct validity of measures developed from the impulse control disorder and relationship resource deficits traditions but raise questions about subs…
Men’s Objectifying Media Consumption, Objectification of Women, and Attitudes Supportive of Violence Against Women
Interpersonal surveillance over social network sites
Surveillance has long been used as a way to guard against dangers lurking in one's immediate environment. Humans have carried over this evolutionarily adaptive solution to the maintenance of their interpersonal relationships. The landscape of relational surveillance has dramatically changed with the inception of Internet platforms, such as social networking sites. The goal of this investigation is to understand the motives of online surveillance …
An Examination of Functional Difficulties From Internet Use
Seminal studies concerning the Internet brought legitimacy to public concerns about its dissocializing effects. Although the negative social and professional outcomes of the Internet are still attributed to the time users spend online, scholars have more recently turned their attention to media habits in explaining these effects. This investigation tests the displacement and media habit perspectives on the consequences of Internet use. Study 1 us…
Women's perceptions of their male partners’ pornography consumption and relational, sexual, self, and body satisfaction
Are the relational, sexual, body, and self satisfaction of heterosexual women affected by their partners’ pornography consumption? And if so, how? These questions have been asked of women in smaller-scale, qualitative investigations for some time, and are being asked increasingly in larger-scale, quantitative studies. Mirroring the general trend in the pornography effects literature, early papers tended to anticipate negative effects, while more …
A meta-analysis of the relationships between psychosocial problems and internet habits
Losses of self-control over Internet use, indicative of Internet habits, have caught the attention of the public for some time. A large collection of studies that theorize about and test the associations between psychosocial problems and Internet habits has been amassed over the last two decades. A meta-analytic review was used to determine the average correlations of Internet habits with loneliness and depression in existing research and explore…
Pornography Consumption and Satisfaction
A classic question in the communication literature is whether pornography consumption affects consumers' satisfaction. The present paper represents the first attempt to address this question via meta-analysis. Fifty studies collectively including more than 50,000 participants from 10 countries were located across the interpersonal domains of sexual and relational satisfaction and the intrapersonal domains of body and self satisfaction. Pornograph…
Linking Pornography Consumption to Support for Adolescents' Access to Birth Control
This article reports the results of three meta-samples investigating U.S. adults' pornography consumption, attitudes toward teen sex, and support for teen access to birth control. Findings were based on multiple independent samples totaling more than 11,000 people. Pragmatic motivations included examining what public health advocacy groups would consider a positive public opinion effect of pornography at a potentially pivotal time for U.S. policy…
Pornography and Impersonal Sex
This paper presents meta-analytic findings on pornography consumption and impersonal sexual attitudes and behaviors. Results were based on more than 70 reports spanning over 40 years of research. Data from 13 countries were located, with attitudinal results from more than 45,000 participants and behavioral results from over 60,000 participants. Pornography consumption was associated with an impersonal approach to sex among both men and women; amo…
Is Pornography Consumption a Risk Factor for Condomless Sex
This paper presents meta-analytic findings on the association between pornography consumption and condomless sex. Results were based on 45 reports spanning two decades. Data from 18 countries, with a participant total of over 35,000, were located. Higher levels of pornography consumption were associated with an elevated likelihood of engaging in condomless sex. A model-based meta-analysis did not support the viewpoint that the pornography use-con…
Exploratory Findings on U.S. Adolescents’ Pornography Use, Dominant Behavior, and Sexual Satisfaction
Objectives: Sexual satisfaction is an important component of sexual health and wellbeing across the life course, including adolescence. While research on pornography use and sexual satisfaction has become increasingly common, the vast majority of studies have focused on adults. An additional limitation of studies to date is a lack of assessment of mediating mechanisms.Methods: To help address these gaps in the literature, this study used data fro…
Pornography and Sexual Dissatisfaction
Research finding that pornography use is associated with lower sexual satisfaction is common; evaluation of the mechanisms hypothesized as underlying the association is not. Informed by multiple theoretical perspectives, the present study tested a conceptual model positing that (a) regularly consuming pornography conditions the user’s arousal template to be particularly responsive to pornographic depictions, (b) this amplified arousal to pornogra…
Psychology (45 works) · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology (39 works) · Social Psychology (37 works) · Gender, Feminism, and Media (33 works) · Pornography (33 works) · Sex work and related issues (20 works) · Sociology (18 works) · Computer Science (17 works) · Social Psychology (17 works) · Medicine (15 works)