What Matters: Quantity or Quality of Pornography Use? Psychological and Behavioral Factors of Seeking Treatment for Problematic Pornography Use

Abstract

Introduction: Pornography has become popular with Internet technology. For most people, pornography use (PU) is entertainment; for some, it can result in seeking treatment for out-of-control behavior. Previous studies have suggested that PU can influence sexual behaviors, but the direct relation between frequency of PU and treatment-seeking behaviors has not been examined.

Aims: To investigate whether individuals seeking treatment as a consequence of their problematic PU do so because of their quantity of pornography consumption or because of more complex psychological and behavioral factors related to PU, such as the severity of negative symptoms associated with PU and/or subjective feeling of loss of control over one's behavior.

Methods: A survey study was conducted of 569 heterosexual Caucasian men 18 to 68 years old, including 132 seeking treatment for problematic PU (referred by psychotherapists after their initial visit).

Main outcomes measures: The main outcome measures were self-reported PU, its negative symptoms, and actual treatment-seeking behavior.

Results: We tested models explaining sources of seeking treatment for problematic PU with negative symptoms associated with PU and additional factors (eg, onset and number of years of PU, religiosity, age, dyadic sexual activity, and relationship status). Seeking treatment was significantly, yet weakly, correlated solely with the frequency of PU (r = 0.21, P < .05) and this relation was significantly mediated by negative symptoms associated with PU (strong, nearly full mediation effect size; k(2) = 0.266). The relation between PU and negative symptoms was significant and mediated by self-reported subjective religiosity (weak, partial mediation; k(2) = 0.066) in those not seeking treatment. Onset of PU and age appeared to be insignificant. Our model was fairly fitted (comparative fit index = 0.989; root mean square error of approximation = 0.06; standardized root mean square residual = 0.035) and explained 43% of the variance in treatment-seeking behavior (1% was explained by frequency of PU and 42% was explained by negative symptoms associated with PU).

Conclusion: Negative symptoms associated with PU more strongly predict seeking treatment than mere quantity of pornography consumption. Thus, treatment of problematic PU should address qualitative factors, rather than merely mitigating the frequency of the behavior, because frequency of PU might not be a core issue for all patients. Future diagnostic criteria for problematic PU should consider the complexity of this issue.

Keywords: Hypersexual Behavior; Pornography; Problematic Sexual Behavior; Psychotherapy; Treatment Seeking.