Contrary to Common Belief, Female Porn Stars Have Great Self Esteem

Pornographic actresses are probably having more sex than you. No surprise there. But a newly published study suggests there’s a good chance many of them have better self esteem, to boot — not to mention more enjoyable sex lives, better body images, and more positive outlooks on life. As for the widely held belief that female porn actresses share a history of sexual abuse (commonly known as the Damaged Goods Hypothesis), the researchers found the actresses were no more “damaged” than their non-pornographic counterparts. In a study recounted in the latest issue of the Journal of Sex Research, a team of investigators led by Shippensburg University psychologist James D. Griffen surveyed 177 porn actresses on “a variety of behavioral, social, and psychological dimensions,” namely: demographic information (age, ethnicity, etc), sexual behaviors and attitudes, self-esteem, quality of life and drug use.

Griffith’s team relied on self-reported survey responses from pornographic actresses ranging from 18—50 years of age. The average performer had been in the industry for 3.5 years. Self-esteem, quality of life and drug use were surveyed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale and the TCU drug screen, respectively — all of which have demonstrated strong reliability across wide populations. Sexual and behavioral attitudes were assessed with a series of questions, featured here.

The porn actresses’ self reports were then compared to those collected from a sample of women matched according to age, ethnicity, and marital status. The result was a TON of data.