Dissertation (Ph.D.) -- The Institute for Clinical Social Work, . / A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Institute of Clinical Social Work in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Thesis (Honors)--College of William and Mary, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-82). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Marriage and Family Therapy, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 44-46).

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Journ.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-46). Also available in print.

Prof. C. Rensleigh

Currently, it is estimated that there are over 45 million child pornographic images and videos on the internet. The purpose of the current study is to record the characteristics of those convicted of accessing, distributing, and/or producing child pornography in the State of North Dakota. To examine this phenomenon, the District of North Dakota Federal Probation and Pretrial Supervision Service records have been disseminated. Overall, the results indicate that child pornographers in North Dakota mirror those around the globe. In addition, the sample of child pornographers was compared to other sexual offenders and general offenders through bivariate analyses. There were statistically significant differences found between both groups.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This thesis examines the motivations behind the advocates and detractors of the Indianapolis Anti-Pornography Ordinance of 1984. It will examine how and why Indianapolis Conservatives, who opposed pornography due to its perceived moral implications, joined forces with a radical feminist to create an ordinance outlawing pornography that utilized the radical feminist argument of pornography’s potential violence. It will explain the national divide between radical and liberal feminists on the issue of pornography and how this is reflected on a local scale through the methods of Indianapolis feminists to contend with violence against women. Through interviews with those associated with the ordinance, it will broaden the understanding of the sides in the debate and how the ordinance was defeated. This thesis will also demonstrate that while the ordinance ultimately failed to be enforced after being signed into law by Mayor Hudnut, it marked a significant moment in not only Indianapolis but the Nation’s history and helped change the course of the pornography debate.

The purpose of this study was to examine relations between adolescent religiosity and pornography use, and the roles of self-regulation, attitudes towards pornography, and social control as mediators of these relations. It was hypothesized that religiosity would protect adolescents from exposure to pornography by increasing their self-regulation capacity, their conservative attitudes about pornography, and their perceived social norms regarding pornography. The sample consisted of 419 adolescents (ages 15 - 18 years; M age = 15.68, SD = .98; 56% male) recruited online from across the U.S. Participants completed an online survey. All variables were bivariately associated as expected. Path models were used to examine the hypotheses regarding links between religiosity (religious internalization, religious involvement, and religious salience) and pornography use (purposeful and accidental) by way of mediators (self-regulation, attitudes towards pornography, and social control). This proposed model was partially supported by the analyses. Models without direct effects from the religiosity variables to pornography use fit the data as well as those with the direct paths, and thus the full mediation models were preferred (as they were more parsimonious). Religious salience had the strongest bivariate relationships while religious internalization revealed the most significant indirect paths. Religious involvement had the strongest indirect paths in the models. Attitudes towards pornography had the most effects as a mediator for purposeful pornography viewing, though all mediators played some role. For accidental pornography viewing, social control had the most effects, with attitudes towards pornography having no effect at all. The findings suggest that religiosity may protect adolescents from purposeful and accidental exposure to pornography, and that self-regulation, attitudes towards pornography, and social control may serve as mechanisms underlying these protective effects.