Young adulthood is a critical development period when mental health problems such as anxiety and depression become more prevalent. Likewise, there is evidence to suggest that depression and anxiety may lead to increased pornography usage. We examined the association of depression and anxiety symptoms with pornography viewing frequency among a prospective cohort of young adults (n = 1864) from California. Multinomial logistic regression models estimated the association of depression symptoms only, anxiety symptoms only, and comorbid depression and anxiety with pornography viewing frequency (never, < 3 times/month, one to several times/week, one to several times/day) at a 6-month follow-up. Models adjusted for gender, sexual orientation, sexual satisfaction, and adverse childhood experiences. Participants with comorbid depression and anxiety (vs. no depression or anxiety symptoms) had 2.72 (95% CI: 1.66–4.46) times the odds of frequent pornography viewing (one to several times/day) compared to never watching pornography. There was an association of depression symptoms only with frequent pornography viewing but it did not reach statistical significance (OR: 1.95, 95% CI: 0.78–4.89). Anxiety symptoms alone (vs. no depression and anxiety symptoms) were not associated with pornography viewing at any frequency in the full sample. However, in gender-stratified models, anxiety symptoms alone were associated with pornography viewing among women (OR: 1.44. 95% CI: 1.00–2.07), but not men (1.12, 95% CI: 0.65–1.96). Findings suggest comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms are associated with frequent pornography viewing among young adults, and anxiety symptoms alone are associated with pornography viewing among women, but not men.

青年期是一个关键的发展时期，焦虑和抑郁等心理健康问题变得更加普遍。同样，有证据表明，抑郁和焦虑可能会导致色情制品的使用增加。我们检查了来自加利福尼亚的前瞻性年轻人队列 （n = 1864） 中抑郁和焦虑症状与色情观看频率的关联。多项式 logistic 回归模型估计了在 6 个月的随访中，仅抑郁症状、仅焦虑症状以及共病抑郁和焦虑与色情观看频率（从不，< 3 次/月，每周 1 至数次，每天 1 至数次）的关联。模型根据性别、性取向、性满意度和不良童年经历进行了调整。与从不看色情片相比，患有抑郁和焦虑共病（与没有抑郁或焦虑症状相比）的参与者经常观看色情片（每天一到几次）的几率是 2.72 倍（95% CI：1.66-4.46）。抑郁症状仅与频繁观看色情片有关，但未达到统计学意义（OR：1.95,95% CI：0.78-4.89）。在完整样本中，单独的焦虑症状（与没有抑郁和焦虑症状相比）与任何频率的色情观看无关。然而，在性别分层模型中，仅焦虑症状与女性观看色情片相关 （OR： 1.44. 95% CI： 1.00–2.07），但与男性无关 （1.12， 95% CI： 0.65–1.96）。研究结果表明，抑郁和焦虑症状共病与年轻人频繁观看色情片有关，仅焦虑症状与女性观看色情片有关，但与男性无关。