Explaining the relationship between sexually explicit internet material and casual sex: A two-step mediation model

Despite increasing interest in the implications of adolescents’ use of sexually explicit Internet material (SEIM), we still know little about the relationship between SEIM use and adolescents’ casual sexual activities. Based on a three-wave online panel survey study among Dutch adolescents (N = 1079; 53.1% boys; 93.5% with an exclusively heterosexual orientation; Mage = 15.11; SD = 1.39), we found that watching SEIM predicted engagement in casual sex over time. In turn, casual sexual activities partially predicted adolescents’ use of SEIM. A two-step mediation model was tested to explain the relationship between watching SEIM and casual sex. It was partially confirmed. First, watching SEIM predicted adolescents’ perceptions of SEIM as a relevant information source from Wave 2 to Wave 3, but not from Wave 1 to Wave 2. Next, such perceived utility of SEIM was positively related to stronger instrumental attitudes toward sex and thus their views about sex as a core instrument for sexual gratification. Lastly, adolescents’ instrumental attitudes toward sex predicted adolescents’ engagement in casual sex activities consistently across waves. Partial support emerged for a reciprocal relationship between watching SEIM and perceived utility. We did not find a reverse relationship between casual sex activities and instrumental attitudes toward sex. No significant gender differences emerged

Microscopic study of 240Pu, mean-field and beyond

The influence of exact angular-momentum projection and configuration mixing on properties of a heavy, well-deformed nucleus is discussed for the example of Pu240. Starting from a self-consistent model using Skyrme interactions, we analyze the resulting modifications of the deformation energy, the fission barrier height, the excitation energy of the superdeformed minimum associated with the fission isomer, the structure of the lowest rotational bands with normal deformation and superdeformation, and the corresponding quadrupole moments and transition moments. We present results obtained with the Skyrme interactions SLy4 and SLy6, which have slightly different surface tensions.Comment: 7 pages REVTEX4, 4 figures. accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.