Perceptions of Porn Addiction


Cover of Time April 2016



TIME’s recent “Porn” cover story describes a perceived relationship between internet porn use and reports of young men experiencing erectile dysfunction (Buscombe, 2016). Some have been motivated to create strategies to help others reduce porn use. Buscombe writes: “Of course there are much broader concerns about porn’s effect on society that go beyond the potential for sexual dysfunction, including the fact that it often celebrates the degradation of women and normalizes sexual aggression.” Later Buscombe mentions the lack of definitive research establishing negative effects of porn.

Having just published a book about sexuality, morality and Christian cultures (A House Divided), I checked to see if there was some new research. It turns out, there are a lot of hypotheses and very little scientific evidence connecting pornography to harmful effects. But there are some promising ideas—whatever the science reveals, there’s no doubt people in general, and Christians in particular, are troubled by pornography. Here’s my list.

1. Defining pornography continues to be a problem but it is relevant.
The word pornography carries a negative connotation to be sure. Pornography has become a generic term for depictions of nudity and sexually explicit behavior (e.g., Wright, 2013). Some writers include a reference to the motivation of the producer (e.g., to stimulate sexual arousal) but that makes no sense. Think about it—how do you know anyone’s motives? If something is morally wrong or illegal or harmful, who cares about the motive? Shouldn’t we be concerned about the thing that is morally wrong, illegal, or harmful?

The problem with a definition is important because it can lead to action.  In relatively free societies like democracies, people argue for rights of expression. When people agree to be a part of organizations that set restrictions on nudity and sexuality, the criteria are more precise. For example, R-rated movies require justification for viewing and nudes are not permitted in art classes at some Christian colleges and universities (Huffington Post). We could extrapolate from these rules to assume that nudity is porn. This seems pretty restrictive compared to what seems like an “anything goes” philosophy at state universities. However, compared to the modesty evident in Amish and Muslim clothing for women, the level of exposure of a woman’s body on Christian campuses appears risqué. (Nobody seems to care much about menswear.)

2. Porn addiction is pervasive?
Actually, reports of porn addiction are commonplace despite the lack of scientific evidence. You won’t find features of a mental disorder termed “porn addiction” or even "sexual addiction" in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (2013). But on page 481 you will see a note explaining the problem of insufficient evidence.

Stephanie Montgomery-Graham and her colleagues at Western University, London, Ontario examined the media problem of rushing to judgment about pornography and relationships (2015). They identified common themes in popular media and compared them to academic research. The conclusion, as you might imagine, is that popular stories lag behind science. Popular stories report about porn addiction. And websites propose cures. But the science is not conclusive.

Alex Kwee and his colleagues writing in the Journal of Psychology and Christianity (2007) recognize the problem of defining sexual addiction (which includes porn use) but proceed to discuss the distress experienced by men at the Christian college where they work. They report that 66% of men who saw a counselor about “sexual concerns believed or suspected that they struggled with sexual addiction, whether or not they were actually assessed to have an addiction. (p. 4).” Later the authors discuss their view of the pressures from the “purity movement” and associated abstinence teaching on these men. They note that the concept of “sexual purity” is vague and adds to distress. They express concerns about the combination of Christian teaching, “pornography dependence and compulsive masturbation (p.11).”

As you can see, porn use can be bound up with beliefs about sexual addiction and masturbation.

3. “Perceived Addiction” is a helpful concept

Joshua B. Grubbs and several researchers (2015) reported the results of two studies that might help understand the “addiction” problem. As an aside, they provide some stats noting that in the U.S. close to 87% of young men and 34% of young women use internet pornography. They note what others have—mental health workers’ belief in the problem of pornography and the lack of research.

Here’s the helpful idea. Instead of focusing on the problem of addiction, they consider the impact of “perceived addiction.” That is, the authors look at how individuals interpret their feeling of being addicted to pornography. This perception includes three key concepts: A perception of compulsive behavior that is out of control, a perception that they are letting pornography interfere with their daily routines, and the presence of emotional distress—feelings of guilt, shame, and regret. The results of two studies supported their idea that perceived addiction to internet pornography explained the emotional distress. The distress did not appear related to the level of pornography usage.

4. Pornography and sexual violence toward women

Evangelical Christians and feminists seem like odd partners in any cause. But they might sometimes focus on an issue of concern to both groups--the idea that pornography leads to sexual violence against women.

What Jodie L. Baer and her co-investigators (2015) found might help understand this perceived connection. They tested the “Confluence Model.” This model suggests that any link between pornography and sexual aggression needs to be understood in a context of other factors—Hostile Masculinity (HM) and Sexual Promiscuity (SP). In their study they looked at how these factors related to sexual coercion.

Here’s a quote from the discussion (p. 168): “Consistent with previous Confluence Model research, the current study found that pornography use was associated with sexually coercive acts among males who were predisposed toward high sexual risk, that is, those who were both high in HM and high in SP.” They add an important qualification. The men scoring high on their ratings of Hostile Masculinity and Sexual Promiscuity were users of violent sexual media compared to the men at low sexual risk.

SOME THOUGHTS

Helping people who feel distressed is a good idea.

The notion of “perceived addiction” can be useful to health care professionals if the focus can be on helping the person seeking treatment discover ways to reduce their distress.

Communities like Christian colleges and universities have a measure of control over access to porn on their networks. But, people usually find ways to access anything that’s prohibited thus an important focus ought to be on evidence-supported ways to help with perceived addiction and the accompanying emotional distress. Codes of sexual conduct and an understanding of Christian teaching about sexual purity are well known. There’s no evidence that more teaching or preaching about purity will solve the problem—perhaps these activities make things worse.

People with strong religious beliefs and values about sexuality may have more distress than others.

An awareness of how people understand what their faith teaches about sex is important to understanding their distress and need for forgiveness and assistance. Recognize there is a wide range of what constitutes “pornography” among Christians—you won’t know until you ask. One person's porn is another person's art.

Harm may be a moral foundation for restricting some forms of pornography.

The finding that certain types of pornography (violent acts toward women) may interact with other factors like hostility and low control of sexual behavior might be more helpful in understanding actual sexual violence against women. Considering the reported high rates of pornography use, it seems the rates of sexual violence would be even higher if pornography, defined as including nudity, was the only cause of sexual violence.

An awareness of whatever harms a significant number of people without conferring any benefit might be a useful basis for making changes in democratic societies. This won’t satisfy either extreme libertarians or those wanting to ban every portrayal of nudity. But studies linking depictions of sexual violence and the degradation of women and other persons suggest a way forward.

Some counselors or therapists may not know what they are doing.
A person in distress over pornography may be the victim of useless treatment if the clinician touts treatment for porn addiction. The reason of course has to deal with the lack of scientific evidence for the condition without considering how to treat the condition. But the idea of treating a perceived addiction and focusing on distress along with the ideas presented in Kwee's report may be helpful.

READ MORE about Sexuality, Morality, and Christian Cultures in A House Divided

For ideas on helping Christians, see Alex Kwee's page.

Contact Information

Facebook Page:   Geoff W. Sutton

Twitter   @GeoffWSutton


Website: Geoff W. Sutton   www.suttong.com

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