A needs assessment for better education in Maltese schools about the risks of pornography consumption

Abstract

Introduction: Pornography consumption is widely considered to have a significant impact on health and personal relationships, and is identified as a public health threat. Adolescents revert to pornography in the absence of comprehensive and holistic Sexuality and Relationship Education. The Covid-19 pandemic increased maladaptive and dysfunctional behaviours among adolescents, including excessive pornography consumption. This research sought to explore young people’s learning needs related to the risks of pornography consumption in Maltese and Gozitan schools. Research Question: To what extent are Maltese adolescents adequately educated and informed about the risks of sexually explicit material, including pornography consumption, on health and relationships? Methodology: A mixed-method explanatory sequential design was employed by way of a questionnaire survey with a convenience sample of 1134 adolescents (68% response rate) (aged 13-16 in Year 10 and 11); a questionnaire survey with 168 (68% response rate) from the total population (N=247) of secondary PSCD, Ethics and Religion teachers in Maltese (state/church) schools; and a focus group discussion among 5 PSCD, Ethics and Religion subjects coordinators / policy makers in state / church education authorities. Survey data were analysed using the IBM SPSS statistics software and the focus group discussion by thematic analysis. Bradshaw’s Taxonomy of Social Need theoretical framework guided the study. This study was approved by the University Research Ethics Committee. Results: Adolescents perceived pornography mostly as staged and an unreliable source of knowledge about sex. More than half of the adolescents did not perceive pornography consumption as a problem. More adolescents would encourage their friends to seek help, rather than they would seek help for themselves. Adolescents would seek help largely from professionals and parents/family members. While most adolescents (78.8%) discussed pornography at school, 75.2% claimed this rarely happened. Most adolescents accessed the internet from smartphones without being monitored by a responsible adult. Adolescents achieved an average of 70.3% of correct knowledge scores about the risks of pornography consumption while the educators obtained an average of 86.5%. A third of educators perceived themselves not to be well-informed and knowledgeable but most felt confident (56.5%) and competent (73.8%) educating about pornography. Policymakers’ perceived challenges and facilitating factors to pornography education were attributed to parents, adolescents, educators, head of schools, policymakers themselves, and higher authorities in management. Conclusion: Recommendations are made for schools to integrate education about pornography much earlier in the syllabus and ensure relevant teachers are well informed and trained on the topic at both initial teacher training and continuing professional education. Further research in the area is required.