The Assessment of Problematic Internet Pornography Use: A Comparison of Three Scales with Mixed Methods

Abstract

The primary aim of this study was to compare different screening tools for problematic internet pornography use (IPU) and identify the most accurate measure. The reliability and validity of three scales, namely, the Problematic Pornography Consumption Scale (PPCS), Problematic Pornography Use Scale (PPUS), and Short Internet Addiction Test Adapted to Online Sexual Activities(s-IAT-sex), were examined using three homogeneous groups, respectively. A total of 972 adults (mean age = 24.8) from 28 provinces/regions in China participated in the quantitative part (QUAN). The Brief Pornography Screener served as the reference standard. The PPCS demonstrated stronger reliability and validity, including criterion validity, as well as greater sensitivity and acceptable specificity; therefore, it was considered to be the more accurate screening instrument. In the qualitative part (QUAL), we interviewed 22 volunteers and 11 therapists (who had worked with individuals with problematic IPU) to examine their perspectives on the core features of problematic IPU and dimensions of the PPCS. Almost all the interviewees endorsed the structure of the PPCS. These findings encourage the use of the PPCS in future research studies and underscore its screening applications because of its ability to classify IPU as problematic or nonproblematic.

The development of the Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder Scale (CSBD-19): An ICD-11 based screening measure across three languages

“…Although the CSBD-19 was developed in an international setting and its psychometric properties were tested in Europe and the US as well, the present study is only the first step in a thorough examination of the CSBD-19. Future studies are needed to examine the reliability and the validity of the CSBD-19 in other countries and cultures (e.g., Eastern cultures) (Chen & Jiang, 2020).…”

Emerging Health and Education Issues Related to Internet Technologies and Addictive Problems

“…On the other hand, the main aim was to cover health and education approaches in the context of these problems, which has partially been achieved, as the majority of papers (74%) included both approaches. However, half of the papers (54%) were studies undertaken in educational settings (i.e., high schools [ 14 , 18 ], universities [ 12 , 13 ]) with a health purpose, such as to adapt a diagnostic tool [ 12 , 13 , 20 , 21 , 32 , 37 , 45 ] or to study psychological mechanisms or comorbid problems which affect or mediate these problems to be used in prevention and treatment plans [ 17 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 46 ]. Only a few studies (20%) were conducted in health settings (i.e., hospitals [ 44 ] or health centres [ 33 ]) or were health reviews about these problems [ 46 ]).…”

“…The problems studied are more specific IA problems rather than generalised IA (23% of the papers), which is a new trend on the field, and it is conversely opposite to the first two decades of research, in which IA was more prevalent than specific Internet use-related addiction problems. In order of frequency, in this second Special Issue, which was open to research on all addictive Internet and mobile phone use, the most prevalent problems ordered by frequency were: PMPU (38% [ 27 ]), IA (26% [ 16 ]), GD (23% [ 19 ]), SMA (18% [ 26 ]), OG (8% [ 39 ]), PUP (5% [ 37 ]), and PIS (3% [ 23 ]). This means the tendency before COVID-19 in the field was to study addictive problems related to the use of mobile technologies (e.g., PSU) and its risks, and this has increased during the pandemic [ 50 ].…”

“…Almost all works were empirical (90%) with quantitative studies (only two mixed methods and no qualitative ones). Still there are a fifth of the papers in the Special Issue which are psychometric studies, in which usually cultural validations of diagnostic tools have been undertaken, such as the Spanish and Colombian Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale for Adolescents (MPPUSA [ 13 ]), or the Problematic Pornography Consumption Scale (PPCS [ 37 ]), which shows the interest to scientifically validate existing measures on problematic use of smartphones, gaming and pornography across cultures [ 51 , 52 ]. This long tradition in psychometrics in the field is probably due to the global phenomena related to the addictive uses of technologies world-wide, and the cross-cultural interest in these common problems in young populations [ 53 ].…”

Problematic Pornography Use in Japan: A Preliminary Study Among University Students

“…Among researchers, it is referred to as problematic pornography use (Fernandez and Griffiths, 2019), and is characterized by control difficulties, excessive use, avoidance of negative emotions, and persistent use despite negative consequences (Kor et al, 2014). In addition, problematic pornography use could be interpreted in a behavioral addiction framework, which includes the six core components of addiction (Griffiths, 2005): salience (when an activity becomes the most important thing in one's life), mood modification (using behavior to modify one's mood state), withdrawal (an unpleasant emotional state that is experienced when the behavior is stopped), tolerance (needing an increase in behavior frequency to achieve similar effects), relapse (reverting to earlier behavior patterns after abstinence), and conflict (harmful consequences of the addictive behavior) (Fernandez and Griffiths, 2019;Chen and Jiang, 2020). Problematic pornography use is also related to other addictive behaviors, namely, hypersexuality, gambling, internet, and gaming (Kor et al, 2014;Stockdale and Coyne, 2018).…”