Identification and comprehensive characterization of moral disapproval and behavioral dysregulation-based pornography-use profiles across 42 countries

Sungkyunkwan University's Research Team; Beáta Bőthe; István Tóth-Király; Nevena Popova; Léna Nagy; Mónika Koós; Zsolt Demetrovics; Marc N Potenza; Shane W Kraus; Rafael Ballester-Arnal; Dominik Batthyány; Sophie Bergeron; Joël Billieux; Peer Briken; Julius Burkauskas; Georgina Cárdenas-López; Joana Carvalho; Jesús Castro-Calvo; Lijun Chen; Giacomo Ciocca; Ornella Corazza; Rita I Csako; Andrea Czakó; David P Fernandez; Elaine F Fernandez; Hironobu Fujiwara; Johannes Fuss; Roman Gabrhelík; Ateret Gewirtz-Meydan; Biljana Gjoneska; Mateusz Gola; Hashim T Hashim; Md Saiful Islam; Mustafa Ismail; Martha C Jiménez-Martínez; Tanja Jurin; Ondrej Kalina; Verena Klein; András Költő; Chih-Ting Lee; Sang-Kyu Lee; Karol Lewczuk; Chung-Ying Lin; Christine Lochner; Silvia López-Alvarado; Kateřina Lukavská; Percy Mayta-Tristán; Dan J Miller; Oľga Orosová; Gábor Orosz; Fernando P Ponce

doi:10.1556/2006.2024.00054

Identification and comprehensive characterization of moral disapproval and behavioral dysregulation-based pornography-use profiles across 42 countries

Sungkyunkwan University's Research Team, Beáta Bőthe, István Tóth-Király, Nevena Popova, Léna Nagy, Mónika Koós, Zsolt Demetrovics, Marc N Potenza, Shane W Kraus, Rafael Ballester-Arnal, Dominik Batthyány, Sophie Bergeron, Joël Billieux, Peer Briken, Julius Burkauskas, Georgina Cárdenas-López, Joana Carvalho, Jesús Castro-Calvo, Lijun Chen, Giacomo CioccaOrnella Corazza, Rita I Csako, Andrea Czakó, David P Fernandez, Elaine F Fernandez, Hironobu Fujiwara, Johannes Fuss, Roman Gabrhelík, Ateret Gewirtz-Meydan, Biljana Gjoneska, Mateusz Gola, Hashim T Hashim, Md Saiful Islam, Mustafa Ismail, Martha C Jiménez-Martínez, Tanja Jurin, Ondrej Kalina, Verena Klein, András Költő, Chih-Ting Lee, Sang-Kyu Lee, Karol Lewczuk, Chung-Ying Lin, Christine Lochner, Silvia López-Alvarado, Kateřina Lukavská, Percy Mayta-Tristán, Dan J Miller, Oľga Orosová, Gábor Orosz, Fernando P Ponce

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

16 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The Moral Incongruence Model of Pornography Use proposes that pornography-use-related problems may be present due to problematic pornography use (PPU) and/or moral disapproval (MD) of pornography use. Despite some supporting empirical evidence, no study has tested the presence of different pornography-use profiles based on individuals' behavioral dysregulation (i.e., PPU) and moral values concerning pornography use. The generalizability of previous findings to diverse populations has also been limited given the scarcity of studies conducted outside of Western countries.

METHODS: Using data from the International Sex Survey (42 countries, N = 66,994; Mage = 32.16 years, SD = 12.27), we conducted latent profile analysis to identify pornography-use profiles based on individuals' frequency of use, MD, and PPU. The profiles were compared along a wide range of pornography-use-related, sexuality-related, and psychological correlates.

RESULTS: Six pornography-use profiles were identified, including two increased risk groups (i.e., Increased risk of PPU without MD and Increased risk of PPU with some MD). Several factors differentiated between the increased risk vs. no/low risk profiles (e.g., relatedness satisfaction) as well as between the two increased risk profiles (e.g., religiosity). Apart from behavioral dysregulation, moral values concerning pornography use played an important role in distinguishing pornography-use profiles and demonstrated the importance of inquiring about MD when working with individuals with pornography-use-related problems.

CONCLUSION: Findings also support recent calls for better-integrated sex therapy and sexual medicine perspectives into pornography-use-related problems research and care.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	131-154
Number of pages	24
Journal	Journal of Behavioral Addictions
Volume	14
Issue number	1
Early online date	13 Mar 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2024.00054
Publication status	Published - 28 Mar 2025

Keywords

Humans
Erotica/psychology
Morals
Adult
Male
Female
Young Adult
Sexual Behavior
Middle Aged
Adolescent
addictive behavior
dysregulation
pornography
morality
compulsive behavior

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10.1556/2006.2024.00054Licence: CC BY-NC

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© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Final published version, 1.59 MBLicence: CC BY-NC

Cite this

Sungkyunkwan University's Research Team, Bőthe, B., Tóth-Király, I., Popova, N., Nagy, L., Koós, M., Demetrovics, Z., Potenza, M. N., Kraus, S. W., Ballester-Arnal, R., Batthyány, D., Bergeron, S., Billieux, J., Briken, P., Burkauskas, J., Cárdenas-López, G., Carvalho, J., Castro-Calvo, J., Chen, L., ... Ponce, F. P. (2025). Identification and comprehensive characterization of moral disapproval and behavioral dysregulation-based pornography-use profiles across 42 countries. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 14(1), 131-154. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2024.00054

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title = "Identification and comprehensive characterization of moral disapproval and behavioral dysregulation-based pornography-use profiles across 42 countries",

abstract = "BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The Moral Incongruence Model of Pornography Use proposes that pornography-use-related problems may be present due to problematic pornography use (PPU) and/or moral disapproval (MD) of pornography use. Despite some supporting empirical evidence, no study has tested the presence of different pornography-use profiles based on individuals' behavioral dysregulation (i.e., PPU) and moral values concerning pornography use. The generalizability of previous findings to diverse populations has also been limited given the scarcity of studies conducted outside of Western countries.METHODS: Using data from the International Sex Survey (42 countries, N = 66,994; Mage = 32.16 years, SD = 12.27), we conducted latent profile analysis to identify pornography-use profiles based on individuals' frequency of use, MD, and PPU. The profiles were compared along a wide range of pornography-use-related, sexuality-related, and psychological correlates.RESULTS: Six pornography-use profiles were identified, including two increased risk groups (i.e., Increased risk of PPU without MD and Increased risk of PPU with some MD). Several factors differentiated between the increased risk vs. no/low risk profiles (e.g., relatedness satisfaction) as well as between the two increased risk profiles (e.g., religiosity). Apart from behavioral dysregulation, moral values concerning pornography use played an important role in distinguishing pornography-use profiles and demonstrated the importance of inquiring about MD when working with individuals with pornography-use-related problems.CONCLUSION: Findings also support recent calls for better-integrated sex therapy and sexual medicine perspectives into pornography-use-related problems research and care.",

keywords = "Humans, Erotica/psychology, Morals, Adult, Male, Female, Young Adult, Sexual Behavior, Middle Aged, Adolescent, addictive behavior, dysregulation, pornography, morality, compulsive behavior",

author = "\{Sungkyunkwan University's Research Team\} and Be{\'a}ta B{\H o}the and Istv{\'a}n T{\'o}th-Kir{\'a}ly and Nevena Popova and L{\'e}na Nagy and M{\'o}nika Ko{\'o}s and Zsolt Demetrovics and Potenza, \{Marc N\} and Kraus, \{Shane W\} and Rafael Ballester-Arnal and Dominik Batthy{\'a}ny and Sophie Bergeron and Jo{\"e}l Billieux and Peer Briken and Julius Burkauskas and Georgina C{\'a}rdenas-L{\'o}pez and Joana Carvalho and Jes{\'u}s Castro-Calvo and Lijun Chen and Giacomo Ciocca and Ornella Corazza and Csako, \{Rita I\} and Andrea Czak{\'o} and Fernandez, \{David P\} and Fernandez, \{Elaine F\} and Hironobu Fujiwara and Johannes Fuss and Roman Gabrhel{\'i}k and Ateret Gewirtz-Meydan and Biljana Gjoneska and Mateusz Gola and Hashim, \{Hashim T\} and Islam, \{Md Saiful\} and Mustafa Ismail and Jim{\'e}nez-Mart{\'i}nez, \{Martha C\} and Tanja Jurin and Ondrej Kalina and Verena Klein and Andr{\'a}s K{\"o}lt{\H o} and Chih-Ting Lee and Sang-Kyu Lee and Karol Lewczuk and Chung-Ying Lin and Christine Lochner and Silvia L{\'o}pez-Alvarado and Kate{\v r}ina Lukavsk{\'a} and Percy Mayta-Trist{\'a}n and Miller, \{Dan J\} and O{\v I}ga Orosov{\'a} and G{\'a}bor Orosz and Ponce, \{Fernando P\}",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2024 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ ",

year = "2025",

month = mar,

day = "28",

doi = "10.1556/2006.2024.00054",

language = "English",

volume = "14",

pages = "131--154",

journal = "Journal of Behavioral Addictions",

issn = "2062-5871",

publisher = "Akademiai Kiado",

number = "1",

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Sungkyunkwan University's Research Team, Bőthe, B, Tóth-Király, I, Popova, N, Nagy, L, Koós, M, Demetrovics, Z, Potenza, MN, Kraus, SW, Ballester-Arnal, R, Batthyány, D, Bergeron, S, Billieux, J, Briken, P, Burkauskas, J, Cárdenas-López, G, Carvalho, J, Castro-Calvo, J, Chen, L, Ciocca, G, Corazza, O, Csako, RI, Czakó, A, Fernandez, DP, Fernandez, EF, Fujiwara, H, Fuss, J, Gabrhelík, R, Gewirtz-Meydan, A, Gjoneska, B, Gola, M, Hashim, HT, Islam, MS, Ismail, M, Jiménez-Martínez, MC, Jurin, T, Kalina, O, Klein, V, Költő, A, Lee, C-T, Lee, S-K, Lewczuk, K, Lin, C-Y, Lochner, C, López-Alvarado, S, Lukavská, K, Mayta-Tristán, P, Miller, DJ, Orosová, O, Orosz, G & Ponce, FP 2025, 'Identification and comprehensive characterization of moral disapproval and behavioral dysregulation-based pornography-use profiles across 42 countries', Journal of Behavioral Addictions, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 131-154. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2024.00054

Identification and comprehensive characterization of moral disapproval and behavioral dysregulation-based pornography-use profiles across 42 countries. / Sungkyunkwan University's Research Team; Bőthe, Beáta; Tóth-Király, István et al.
In: Journal of Behavioral Addictions, Vol. 14, No. 1, 28.03.2025, p. 131-154.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Identification and comprehensive characterization of moral disapproval and behavioral dysregulation-based pornography-use profiles across 42 countries

AU - Sungkyunkwan University's Research Team

AU - Bőthe, Beáta

AU - Tóth-Király, István

AU - Popova, Nevena

AU - Nagy, Léna

AU - Koós, Mónika

AU - Demetrovics, Zsolt

AU - Potenza, Marc N

AU - Kraus, Shane W

AU - Ballester-Arnal, Rafael

AU - Batthyány, Dominik

AU - Bergeron, Sophie

AU - Billieux, Joël

AU - Briken, Peer

AU - Burkauskas, Julius

AU - Cárdenas-López, Georgina

AU - Carvalho, Joana

AU - Castro-Calvo, Jesús

AU - Chen, Lijun

AU - Ciocca, Giacomo

AU - Corazza, Ornella

AU - Csako, Rita I

AU - Czakó, Andrea

AU - Fernandez, David P

AU - Fernandez, Elaine F

AU - Fujiwara, Hironobu

AU - Fuss, Johannes

AU - Gabrhelík, Roman

AU - Gewirtz-Meydan, Ateret

AU - Gjoneska, Biljana

AU - Gola, Mateusz

AU - Hashim, Hashim T

AU - Islam, Md Saiful

AU - Ismail, Mustafa

AU - Jiménez-Martínez, Martha C

AU - Jurin, Tanja

AU - Kalina, Ondrej

AU - Klein, Verena

AU - Költő, András

AU - Lee, Chih-Ting

AU - Lee, Sang-Kyu

AU - Lewczuk, Karol

AU - Lin, Chung-Ying

AU - Lochner, Christine

AU - López-Alvarado, Silvia

AU - Lukavská, Kateřina

AU - Mayta-Tristán, Percy

AU - Miller, Dan J

AU - Orosová, Oľga

AU - Orosz, Gábor

AU - Ponce, Fernando P

N1 - © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

PY - 2025/3/28

Y1 - 2025/3/28

N2 - BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The Moral Incongruence Model of Pornography Use proposes that pornography-use-related problems may be present due to problematic pornography use (PPU) and/or moral disapproval (MD) of pornography use. Despite some supporting empirical evidence, no study has tested the presence of different pornography-use profiles based on individuals' behavioral dysregulation (i.e., PPU) and moral values concerning pornography use. The generalizability of previous findings to diverse populations has also been limited given the scarcity of studies conducted outside of Western countries.METHODS: Using data from the International Sex Survey (42 countries, N = 66,994; Mage = 32.16 years, SD = 12.27), we conducted latent profile analysis to identify pornography-use profiles based on individuals' frequency of use, MD, and PPU. The profiles were compared along a wide range of pornography-use-related, sexuality-related, and psychological correlates.RESULTS: Six pornography-use profiles were identified, including two increased risk groups (i.e., Increased risk of PPU without MD and Increased risk of PPU with some MD). Several factors differentiated between the increased risk vs. no/low risk profiles (e.g., relatedness satisfaction) as well as between the two increased risk profiles (e.g., religiosity). Apart from behavioral dysregulation, moral values concerning pornography use played an important role in distinguishing pornography-use profiles and demonstrated the importance of inquiring about MD when working with individuals with pornography-use-related problems.CONCLUSION: Findings also support recent calls for better-integrated sex therapy and sexual medicine perspectives into pornography-use-related problems research and care.

AB - BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The Moral Incongruence Model of Pornography Use proposes that pornography-use-related problems may be present due to problematic pornography use (PPU) and/or moral disapproval (MD) of pornography use. Despite some supporting empirical evidence, no study has tested the presence of different pornography-use profiles based on individuals' behavioral dysregulation (i.e., PPU) and moral values concerning pornography use. The generalizability of previous findings to diverse populations has also been limited given the scarcity of studies conducted outside of Western countries.METHODS: Using data from the International Sex Survey (42 countries, N = 66,994; Mage = 32.16 years, SD = 12.27), we conducted latent profile analysis to identify pornography-use profiles based on individuals' frequency of use, MD, and PPU. The profiles were compared along a wide range of pornography-use-related, sexuality-related, and psychological correlates.RESULTS: Six pornography-use profiles were identified, including two increased risk groups (i.e., Increased risk of PPU without MD and Increased risk of PPU with some MD). Several factors differentiated between the increased risk vs. no/low risk profiles (e.g., relatedness satisfaction) as well as between the two increased risk profiles (e.g., religiosity). Apart from behavioral dysregulation, moral values concerning pornography use played an important role in distinguishing pornography-use profiles and demonstrated the importance of inquiring about MD when working with individuals with pornography-use-related problems.CONCLUSION: Findings also support recent calls for better-integrated sex therapy and sexual medicine perspectives into pornography-use-related problems research and care.

KW - Humans

KW - Erotica/psychology

KW - Morals

KW - Adult

KW - Male

KW - Female

KW - Young Adult

KW - Sexual Behavior

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Adolescent

KW - addictive behavior

KW - dysregulation

KW - pornography

KW - morality

KW - compulsive behavior

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105002401386

U2 - 10.1556/2006.2024.00054

DO - 10.1556/2006.2024.00054

M3 - Article

C2 - 39945767

SN - 2062-5871

VL - 14

SP - 131

EP - 154

JO - Journal of Behavioral Addictions

JF - Journal of Behavioral Addictions

IS - 1

ER -

Identification and comprehensive characterization of moral disapproval and behavioral dysregulation-based pornography-use profiles across 42 countries

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