Profiles of Cyberpornography Use and Sexual Well-Being in Adults

Abstract

Introduction Although findings concerning sexual outcomes associated with cyberpornography use are mixed, viewing explicit sexual content online is becoming a common activity for an increasing number of individuals. Aim To investigate heterogeneity in cyberpornography-related sexual outcomes by examining a theoretically and clinically based model suggesting that individuals who spend time viewing online pornography form three distinct profiles (recreational, at-risk, and compulsive) and to examine whether these profiles were associated with sexual well-being, sex, and interpersonal context of pornography use. Methods The present cluster-analytic study was conducted using a convenience sample of 830 adults who completed online self-reported measurements of cyberpornography use and sexual well-being, which included sexual satisfaction, compulsivity, avoidance, and dysfunction. Main Outcomes Measures Dimensions of cyberpornography use were assessed using the Cyber Pornography Use Inventory. Sexual well-being measurements included the Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction, the Sexual Compulsivity Scale, the Sexual Avoidance Subscale, and the Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale. Results Cluster analyses indicated three distinct profiles: recreational (75.5%), highly distressed non-compulsive (12.7%), and compulsive (11.8%). Recreational users reported higher sexual satisfaction and lower sexual compulsivity, avoidance, and dysfunction, whereas users with a compulsive profile presented lower sexual satisfaction and dysfunction and higher sexual compulsivity and avoidance. Highly distressed less active users were sexually less satisfied and reported less sexual compulsivity and more sexual dysfunction and avoidance. A larger proportion of women and of dyadic users was found among recreational users, whereas solitary users were more likely to be in the highly distressed less active profile and men were more likely to be in the compulsive profile. Conclusion This pattern of results confirms the existence of recreational and compulsive profiles but also demonstrates the existence of an important subgroup of not particularly active, yet highly distressed consumers. Cyberpornography users represent a heterogeneous population, in which each subgroup is associated with specific sexual outcomes.

Facets of impulsivity and related aspects differentiate among recreational and unregulated use of Internet pornography

“…In addition, there is the possibility of distinctive biases in data for individuals with recreational and unregulated IP use. Moreover, there are individuals who experience problems due to their IP use, even though the average time they use IP is low (Grubbs & Perry, 2018; Vaillancourt-Morel et al, 2017). It has to be noted that cut-off scores used for s-IATporn have not been validated and cut-offs for IP use were based on the sample distribution.…”

Untangling the Porn Web: Creating an Organizing Framework for Pornography Research Among Couples

“…Impulsivity has received attention as a potential predictor for the small percentage of individuals who suffer from dysregulated pornography use, with some mixed results (e.g., Antons & Brand, 2018;Gola et al, 2017). Although research has consistently shown that high frequency pornography use tends to be associated with problematic relationship outcomes (e.g., Wright et al, 2017), it is important to assess how individual differences may lead to a higher propensity for high frequency use (potentially to the point of dysregulation) as there will likely be relational consequences for such use (Vaillancourt-Morel et al, 2017).…”

Self-identification as a pornography addict: examining the roles of pornography use, religiousness, and moral incongruence

“…Even though self-reported feelings of addiction may not wholly map onto actual behavior patterns, there is evidence that they may be a clinical concern. Specifically, self-reported feelings of addiction are likely a source of meaningful clinical impairment, as prior works have linked them cross-sectionally with psychological distress (using the CPUI-9; Grubbs, Volk, Exline, & Pargament, 2015), religious and spiritual difficulties (using the Perceived Compulsivity subscale of the CPUI-9; Wilt, Cooper, Grubbs, Exline, & Pargament, 2016), relational difficulties (using a modified version of the Kalichman Sexual Compulsivity Scale focused on pornography; Leonhardt, Willoughby, & Young-Petersen, 2018), alcohol consumption (using a translation of the Cyber Pornography Use Inventory; Morelli, Bianchi, Baiocco, Pezzuti, & Chirumbolo, 2017), problematic gaming (using a Hungarian version of the CPUI-9; Bőthe, Tóth-Király, & Orosz, 2015), and sexual distress (using the Perceived Compulsivity subscale of the CPUI-9;Vaillancourt-Morel et al, 2017;Volk, Thomas, Sosin, Jacob, & Moen, 2016). Prior works have also shown that self-reported feelings of addiction to pornography predict both general psychological distress (using a latent variable estimation of the CPUI-9; Grubbs, Stauner, Exline, Pargament, & Lindberg, 2015) and religious and spiritual difficulties over time (using the CPUI-9 full score; Grubbs, Exline, Pargament, Volk, & Lindberg, 2017).…”