Porn addiction a sign of mental health disorder: study

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Pornography has long provided means of solitary sexual pleasure, or an avenue of sexual exploration between two partners. While some see benefits to the consumption of pornographic material, a new study suggests that addiction to these materials may affect a person's mental health, Medical Daily reports.

According to a study conducted by researchers at Case Western Reverse University in Cleveland, 87 percent of adult men and 34 percent of adult women watch pornography. Additionally, 13 percent of internet traffic has been attributed to pornographic websites and accounts.

The researchers, led by doctoral candidate Joshua Grubbs, surveyed over 700 porn watching adults about their viewing habit and were given a questionnaire to evaluate how often they consumed pornographic materials, their perceived level of addiction, and how they felt towards their perceived addiction.

NY Daily News reports that the researchers found that those who believed they had uncontrollable addictions to pornographic material significantly predicted negative feelings such as anger, anxiety, depression and stress. Researchers also noted that it's not the pornographic material that makes viewers feel bad, but the thought that they are addicted to this type of material that makes them feel negative emotions.

The same study was also conducted in over 1,000 psychology undergraduate students from 3 different U.S. universities, yielding very similar results. Researchers say that the results "imply that links between use and distress are likely accomplished through perceived addiction."

"It doesn’t seem to be the pornography itself that is causing folks problems, it’s how they feel about it," Grubbs explained in a press release. "Perceived addiction involves a negative interpretation of your own behavior, thinking about yourself like, 'I have no power over this'...We know from many studies that thinking something has control over you leads to psychological distress."

Grubbs added that it's not guilt that causes the negative emotions, but the feeling that the viewers consume too much pornographic materials. He said, "Someone can be called out and publicly shamed, a marriage can become troubled, or maybe you are caught at work and get fired. Any of these causes psychological distress."

NY Daily News reports that according to the study authors, "Although concerns about links between pornography use and psychological distress may be warranted, these concerns would be better focused on individuals’ attitudes toward their own use, rather than on the use itself."

Brown University's Health Promotion lists some warning signs that a person may be experiencing problems with pornography use, including and not limited to:

• Taking too much time viewing pornography and having difficulty cutting back, even if one tries to.
• Use of pornographic materials becomes preferable than being intimate with one's partner.
• The time and effort used in consuming pornographic materials has affected one's academic, work, social, or family responsibilities.

If you or a friend or partner is experiencing some or all of these warning signs, you may opt to get help by seeing a therapist or a support group such as SAA.