A Brief Scale to Measure Problematic Sexually Explicit Media Consumption: Psychometric Properties of the Compulsive Pornography Consumption (CPC) Scale Among Men Who Have Sex With Men

Abstract

Although the phenomenon of hypersexuality has been described in the literature, and scales of compulsive sexual behavior have been published, the existing measures do not assess compulsive sexually explicit media (SEM) consumption. This study tested the psychometric properties of a new scale, the Compulsive Pornography Consumption (CPC). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses results showed good psychometric performance of a five item two factor preoccupation-compulsivity solution. As hypothesized, the scale correlates positively with compulsive sexual behavior, internalized homonegativity, and negatively with sexual self-esteem. The scale will enable researchers to investigate the etiologic factors of compulsive SEM use, and enable clinicians to assess problematic consumption.

Examining the relationship between use of sexually explicit media and sexual risk behavior in a sample of men who have sex with men in Norway

“…To rule out competing explanations that hypersexuality leads to some MSM just watching more over everything (and engaging in risk behavior) or that internalized homonegativity would lead some men to negatively evaluate their SEM watching as bareback, we included these scales. Finally, social desirability has been shown to influence responding on socially sensitive items, such as SEM consumption and sexual behaviors (Noor et al ., ). Hence, we included these items in the model considering their potential to be confounds and to not be on the causal pathway between exposure to SEM and the specified outcomes.…”

“…From these we selected measures that from our knowledge of the target population could be hypothesized as alternative explanations for both watching bareback SEM and engaging in risk behaviors (Wilkerson, Iantaffi, Smolenski et al ., ). These included a measure of Positive and Negative Affect to control for the possibility that negative emotional states would lead some participants to both report more bareback SEM consumption and risk behavior (Noor, Rosser & Erickson, ; Rosser, Noor & Iantaffi, ). Similarly, compulsive sexual behavior and internalized homonegativity have been shown to influence MSM's risk behavior (Benotsch, Kalichman & Kelly, ; Dew & Chaney, ; Smolenski, Ross, Risser & Rosser, ; Smolenski, Stigler, Ross & Rosser, ).…”

Normal, Problematic, and Compulsive Consumption of Sexually Explicit Media: Clinical Findings Using the Compulsive Pornography Consumption (CPC) Scale Among Men Who Have Sex With Men

“…The CPC scale is comprised of five items (Noor, Rosser, & Erickson, 2014). Two items assess obsessive thinking about pornography: (1) I thought of pornography when I was trying to focus on other things; and (2) I was upset because I could not stop thinking about pornography; and three items assess compulsive pornography behavior: (3) I watched pornography even though I did not want to; (4) It was necessary for me to watch pornography to feel at ease; and (5) I could only have an orgasm when watching pornography.…”

A New Measure of the Perceived Influence of Sexually Explicit Online Media on the Sexual Behaviors of Men Who Have Sex With Men

“…Interestingly, although there is growing evidence that exposure to C 0 AI in sexually explicit media is positively associated with engagement in C 0 AI among MSM (Nelson et al, 2014b; Rosser et al, 2013; Stein et al, 2012), MSM in this study reported that exposure to sexually explicit media had no effect on their desire for C 0 AI. Using a subsample ( N = 1,165) of the previous online sample from Rosser's group, investigators developed and provided preliminary psychometric support for a scale of compulsive consumption of sexually explicit media among MSM (Noor, Rosser, & Erickson, 2014). Findings demonstrated that compulsive consumption of sexually explicit media was related to greater internalized homonegativity, lower sexual self-esteem, earlier age of sex with a male partner, and more male sexual partners—but not C 0 AI.…”