What do we know about the mental health of porn performers? A systematic literature review

Abstract

Purpose

Much has been debated about the impact pornography has on the health of those who consume it. But how is it affecting the people starring in it? Performing in porn is a unique profession which requires a person to have sex with other–often unfamiliar–people in front of a camera for a living comes with various kinds of stigma, and is accompanied by several health risks for professionals and amateurs. This brief report aims to compile available evidence on the mental health of performers in porn.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses the PRISMA approach to systematically review existing research from health sciences and psychology to provide an overview of what is known about mental health in porn performers.

Findings

Only three US studies examine the topic and none of them are recent, which may be because of porn performers being a population which has been described as hard to reach for researchers. The existing knowledge on performers’ mental health is inconclusive at best, but points towards significantly poorer mental health and higher prevalence of mental disorders in some, but not others. New general research on the topic is needed to close this gap; more importantly, granular investigation into which populations are at risk of developing poor mental health and because of which circumstances are needed as a basis to support vulnerable performers.

Social implications

The lack of insights into the mental health of performers may be related to prevailing stigma. This should be investigated. No sufficient evidence exists to inform policy which could improve performers’ mental health or prevent mental ill-health.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first systematic review compiling existing evidence on mental health of porn performers. An approach to address the lack of research is proposed.

Citation

Jarke, H. (2022), "What do we know about the mental health of porn performers? A systematic literature review", Journal of Public Mental Health, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 119-127. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-07-2021-0083