Investigating the Associations of ADHD Symptoms, Impulsivity, Physical Exercise, and Problematic Pornography Use in a Chinese Sample

Ying Zhang; Lijun Chen; Xiaoliu Jiang; Beáta Bőthe

doi:10.3390/ijerph192215221

Investigating the Associations of ADHD Symptoms, Impulsivity, Physical Exercise, and Problematic Pornography Use in a Chinese Sample

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 18;19(22):15221. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192215221.

Authors

Ying Zhang¹, Lijun Chen², Xiaoliu Jiang², Beáta Bőthe^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical Education, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, China.
² Department of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, China.
³ Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada.
⁴ Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3T 1J4, Canada.

Abstract

Investigating the relationship between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and impulsivity will benefit our understanding of the concept of problematic pornography use (PPU), and revealing predisposing and malleable moderators of PPU will be beneficial for its prevention and intervention. The current study not only aimed to observe these relationships, but also explored the potential moderating role of physical exercise in the general population. A total of 600 Chinese adults (M_age = 32.31, SD_age = 12.40, 39.8% women) were recruited and completed an online survey. The results showed that participants with regular exercise scored lower than those without exercise on ADHD, impulsivity, and PPU (all ps < 0.001). Using latent moderated structural equations (LMS), the findings revealed that the relationship between ADHD symptoms and PPU was mediated by impulsivity, and physical exercise moderated this relationship (B = -0.14, p = 0.048). Specifically, when individuals' physical exercise was higher than 0.84 standard deviations above the mean, the positive predictive effect of impulsivity on PPU was not significant. These findings indicate the important role of impulsivity in the relationship between ADHD and PPU, and physical exercise could be a meaningful component of interventions among individuals experiencing PPU.

Keywords: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); impulsivity; latent moderated structural equations (LMS); physical exercise; problematic pornography use (PPU).

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / epidemiology
China / epidemiology
Erotica
Exercise
Female
Humans
Impulsive Behavior
Male

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 19BSH117). B.B. was supported by the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, SSHRC).