Excerpts:
About a quarter of men and 12% of women reported probable PPU [Problematic Porn Use].
The main purpose of this study was to examine the association between PPU and psychopathological symptoms (i.e., depression, anxiety, loneliness), and their interactions with sexual behavior frequencies (i.e., masturbation and pornography use).
[Finally!] In addition to analyses focusing on pornography using individuals only, we found that those individuals who did not use pornography or did not masturbate during the past year had significantly lower levels of mental distress and loneliness than those who did. (Emphasis supplied)
Younger age, male gender, and minority sexual orientations associate with [porn and masturbation frequency and PPU].
[Using pornography and masturbating] might have unique neurobiological implications. … We posit that both behaviors (separately or overlapping) may contribute to the development and sustainability of PPU.
One possible explanation could be that not loneliness alone, but loneliness paired with frequent pornography use (potentially as a coping strategy) may explain the association with probable PPU. Lonely individuals may seek out pornography to cope with their loneliness … Thus, loneliness might be a specifically relevant predictor of probable PPU when paired with frequent pornography use. … At the same time, frequent pornography use may lower the phasic concentration of dopamine in reward pathways,… which may lead to decreased mood (experience of mental distress) and motivation. … Lower motivation and decreased mood might lead to more social isolation, potentially resulting in more experiences of loneliness and therefore more pornography use. Mental distress and loneliness may, for these reasons, be associated with [porn use frequency].
In this study, we did not consider relationship status, which might be another important demographic variable to consider in future studies.
We expected the underlying mechanisms (e.g., behavior enhancement through conditioning processes and dopaminergic reward pathway stimulation) to be rather universal (i.e., to be generally present in humans beyond specific demographic group differences). However, we did recognize that specific demographic variables (i.e., age, gender, sexual orientation) might influence (positive predictors) both the dependent variable as well as independent variables. This was evident in the current study as age and sexual orientation displayed significant zeroorder correlations with dependent and independent variables.
Arch Sex Behav
Engelhardt et al. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03266-4
Abstract
Problematic pornography use (PPU) is a widespread phenomenon in the USA. Recent research suggests PPU to be related to psychological symptoms. Little is known about these associations on a national level and even less about potential interactions with frequencies of pornography use and masturbation. This study utilized a large representative sample (n = 2,773; 53.7% women; 85.1% heterosexual) of US men and women. We tested associations with PPU as well as interaction effects between mental distress (i.e., anxiety and depression), loneliness, and frequencies of pornography use and masturbation. All study variables displayed statistically significant positive correlations with PPU. Interaction effects between loneliness and pornography use frequency (β = 0.10) and between mental distress and masturbation frequency (β = 0.11) in predicting PPU were found. PPU relates to symptoms of anxiety, depression, and loneliness in US men and women. Individuals who experience loneliness with pornography use and mental distress with masturbation may be specifically vulnerable to PPU. Further research is needed to examine these associations and effects in longitudinal designs.