Potential health hazards of pornography consumption as viewed by psychiatric nurses.

Adverse effects of pornography consumption (PC) have been identified from over 150 empirical studies conducted since 1970. Yet, the practice literature of psychiatric nurses does not address the health risks of PC. This study determines the perceptions of psychiatric nurses (n = 194) with regard to PC effects. A significant majority of psychiatric nurses agreed (72%) that there are potential adverse effects to PC, that there are risks for preadult consumers of pornography (78% agreement), and that PC risks need to be addressed by their profession (68% agreement). Agreement lends support for expanding nurses' knowledge concerning PC.