Clinical Characteristics of Men Interested in Seeking Treatment for Use of Pornography
Clinical Characteristics of Men Interested in Seeking Treatment for Use of Pornography

Summary/Abstract: This study examined the prevalence of, and factors associated with, men’s interest in seeking treatment for use of pornography. Methods: Using an Internet-based data-collection procedure, we recruited 1,298 male pornography users to complete questionnaires assessing demographic and sexual behaviors, hypersexuality, pornography-use characteristics, and current interest in seeking treatment for use of pornography. Results: Approximately 14% of men reported an interest in seeking treatment for use of pornography, whereas only 6.4% of men had previously sought treatment for use of pornography. Treatment-interested men were 9.5 times more likely to report clinically significant levels of hypersexuality compared with treatment-disinterested men (OR = 9.52, 95% CI = 6.72–13.49). Bivariate analyses indicated that interest-in-seeking-treatment status was associated with being single/unmarried, viewing more pornography per week, engaging in more solitary masturbation in the past month, having had less dyadic oral sex in the past month, reporting a history of seeking treatment for use of pornography, and having had more past attempts to either “cut back” or quit using pornography completely. Results from a binary logistic regression analysis indicated that more frequent cut back/quit attempts with pornography and scores on the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory – Control subscale were significant predictors of interest-in-seekingtreatment status. Discussion and conclusions: Study findings could be used to inform current screening practices aimed at identifying specific aspects of sexual self-control, impulsivity, and/or compulsivity associated with problematic use of pornography among treatment-seeking individuals.

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