January 2020
Beáta Bőthe, István Tóth-Király, Zsolt Demetrovics, Orosz Gábor
DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2020.1716205
Abstract
To date, no short scale existed that could assess problematic pornography use (PPU) having a solid theoretical background and strong psychometric properties. Having such a short scale may be advantageous when scarce resources are available and/or when respondents’ attention spans are limited. The aim of the present investigation was to develop a short scale that can be utilized to screen for PPU. The Problematic Pornography Consumption Scale (PPCS-18) was used as a basis for the development of a short measure of PPU (PPCS-6). A community sample (N1=15,051), a sample of pornography site visitors (N2=760), and a sample of treatment-seeking individuals (N3=266) were recruited to investigate the reliability and validity of the PPCS-6. Also, its association was tested to theoretically-relevant correlates (e.g., hypersexuality, frequency of masturbation), and a cut-off score was determined. The PPCS-6 yielded strong psychometric properties in terms of factor structure, measurement invariance, reliability, correlated reasonably with the assessed variables, and an optimal cut-off was identified that could reliably distinguish between PPU and non-problematic pornography use. PPCS-6 can be considered as a short, reliable, and valid scale to assess PPU in studies when the length of a questionnaire is essential or when a brief screening for PPU is necessary.
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