College Students at Higher Risk of Sexual Addiction than American Public

By Audrey Barrick, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, February 15, 2007

Pornography is becoming more of the norm in America, and college students are facing high risk of sexual addictions more than any other group, a recent study found.

Campus Crusade for Christ, the nation's largest Christian student organization, has partnered with Bravehearts, Inc., in a project to tell college students across the nation the truth about porn and sexual addiction on campus.

The jointly developed multi-media presentation, "Porn Nation - The Naked Truth," has already hit more than 80 campuses, starting up conversations on the impact of pornography among college students.

Coming out of the project was a survey completed by more than 21,000 students. Results showed that 21 percent of the students believe their own sex lives are not normal; one in three feel degraded by their sexual behaviors; and more than 15 percent of the students score in the highest range of risk for developing a sexual addiction. The last statistic amounts to twice the rate of American adults in general.

"The false promise of pornography taps into the deepest needs of our soul,” said Michael Leahy, founder of Bravehearts, in a released statement. A former sexual addict himself, Leahy tells students how he has found freedom "from a secret, life-long addiction to pornography.”

That freedom taps into the "close" connection between sexuality and spirituality, according to Leahy.

Pornography may be becoming more prevalent on college campuses, but so is a hunger for spirituality.

CCC spokesman Tony Arnold highlighted that studies show four out of five students believe that the spiritual area of their life is important.

"There's a deep hunger for something else in their lives," said Arnold, in a December interview on CBS, "perhaps this generation more than in the last 40 years."

More than 7 million students visited the CCC-developed website everystudent.com in 2006 to explore college life and questions about God, the ministry reported. Some of the popular topics visited on the site include "Is there a God?" and "Toxic porn: Toxic sex."

More students are getting involved in Christian activities, Arnold noted, as campus ministries are on the rise across the states. CCC is currently active on 1,163 American colleges and universities.