A recent study conducted by Marie-Ève Daspe, Marie-Pier Vaillancourt-Morel, and Yvan Lussier examined the associations between the frequency of pornography use, perceived lack of control over pornography use, and relationship and sexual satisfaction.
A total of 1 036 participants aged between 18 and 55 and involved in a romantic relationship completed online questionnaires about pornography use and relationship functioning.
What were the results?
We found that frequency of pornography use is associated with perceived lack of control over pornography use (i.e., difficulty controlling a strong urge, even in inappropriate moments, and trouble stopping or decreasing this behavior). Participants who reported a higher frequency of pornography use reported a greater feeling of losing control over this behavior.
Our results also showed that the frequency of pornography use and perceived lack of control are more strongly associated when relationship and sexual satisfaction are low than when relationship and sexual satisfaction are high.
These findings suggest that relationship and sexual dissatisfaction puts the individuals at risk of having a sense of loss of control over their use of pornography. This could be explained by a use of pornography as a means to cope with distress and negative emotions triggered by this dissatisfaction.
For more details, we invite you to read the full paper:
Daspe, M.-È., Vaillancourt-Morel, M.-P., Lussier, Y., Sabourin, S., & Ferron, A. (2018). When pornography use feels out of control: The moderation effect of relationship and sexual satisfaction. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 44(4), 343-353. doi: 10.1080/0092623X.2017.1405301
