More than 40% of children under 12 have watched pornography

More than 40% of children under 12 have watched pornography - and experts say it's turning teenagers into SEX ADDICTS The majority of sex addicts begin experiencing problems before the age of 16, says addiction expert
 

The majority of sex addicts begin experiencing problems before the age of 16, says addiction expert

40% of those questioned had watched porn under the age of 12

Broken homes, single-sex schools and poor sex education also to blame

Almost half of those who suffer with sex addiction first experienced problems before they turned 16, according to a startling new survey.

Easy access to online pornography and poor sex education is largely to blame, said addiction therapist Paula Hall, who produced the study.
 
She argues this is proven by survey results that 40 per cent of teenagers had used pornography before the age of 12 and 90 per cent felt it was to blame for their addiction. 

Easy access: The increase in online porn has been blamed for a rise in sex addiction among teenagers.

The research also suggests that factors such as parental separation, single sex schooling and limited sex education are all contributing factors.

And nearly half of those surveyed had experienced some kind of childhood abuse or assault, indicating this to be a major cause of the condition

Hall’s survey of people with sex addiction, conducted for her new book Understanding and Treating Sex Addiction, looked at the age most people started, what factors led them there, whether they sought help and the consequences of their addictions. 

She defines sex addiction in its simplest terms as: 'a pattern of out-of-control sexual behaviour that causes problems in someone’s life'. 

Russell Brand claimed sex addiction almost ruined his career

The survey also highlights the contrasts between male and female attitudes about sex addiction. 

Substantially more men seek help than women, with 57.3 per cent of men seeking professional help, and only 38.3 per cent of women.  

In women, ‘affirmation and feeling wanted’ was their biggest ‘reward’ for their sexual behaviour, with 80 per cent of them citing this as the reason.

For men, ‘excitement’ was identified as being the biggest reward

But the results also indicate the damaging consequences of sex addictions. 

Sixty-five per cent of those questioned struggled with low self-esteem and almost half experienced mental health problems.  

Nearly half had lost a partner because of their behaviour and a quarter said it had effected their sexual functioning. 

Furthermore, 63 per cent said their sex addiction had wasted time and 42 per cent that they’d wasted money.

When asked what the biggest influence was on their sex addiction, ‘easy access’ and ‘lack of education’ were both cited as more significant than ‘negative’ childhood experiences. 

Watching pornography was also identified as being the most common result of addiction.  

As Hall states: 'The reality of the Western world today is that ‘opportunity’ is everywhere and people, with or without a background of trauma and/or attachment difficulties, can now indulge their sexual desires and run the risk of becoming addicted'. 

She conducted her study through the Relate website and through therapy groups, with 350 people suffering with sex addiction replying. 


The results have been published in her new book, Understanding and Treating Sex Addiction. 
Earlier this year, Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the country's top prosecutor said that teenage relationships are becoming more abusive because of the easy access to internet pornography, expressing his concern about the 'exposure of young people to all sorts of material'.

He admitted there could be a link between the easy access to internet pornography for children and 'emerging research' about increasing violence in teenage relationships.

SIGNS OF SEX ADDICTION

Dr Patrick Carnes, one of the world's leading experts in sexual addiction, suggests there are various possible warning signs:
Feeling that your behaviour is out of control
Feeling unable to stop your behaviour, in spite of knowing the consequences
Persistently pursuing destructive and/or high risk activities
Using sexual fantasies as a way of coping with difficult feelings or situations
Needing more sexual activity in order to experience the same level of high
Suffering from intense mood swings around sexual activity
Spending more time either planning, engaging in or regretting and recovering from sexual activities
Neglecting important social, occupational or recreational activities in favour of sexual behaviour