Let's Talk about Porn, Baby: Examining Communication about Pornography As a Mediator between Perceived Pornography Addiction and Relationship Satisfaction and Relationship Instability

Background and Purpose:

Pornography use is a common behavior, with some US studies reporting that up to 70% of men and 40% of women are daily users. Even with such high usage, pornography itself continues to be a highly taboo topic. Research itself is a mixed bag, with some studies demonstrating negative outcomes, others demonstrating positive, and still others presenting mixed results. A particular controversy is around the addictive nature of pornography. While the DSM-V-TR lacks a diagnosis for pornography addiction, many clinicians have taken up specialties in “porn addiction”. Regardless of official diagnosis, many people report their pornography use is out of control, or addictive; we seek to understand how perceived pornography addiction will predict relationship satisfaction and instability. We propose that one reason that perceived pornography addiction will predict lower relationship satisfaction and higher relationship instability is due to the taboo nature of pornography resulting in difficulties communicating about pornography. Altogether, we hypothesize that pornography communication will mediate the relationship between perceived pornography addiction and both relationship satisfaction and instability.

Methods:

This was a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data consisting of individuals ages 18+ in committed relationships. The final sample consisted of 3710 individuals, 71% female and 28% male. The mean age for the sample was 38 years (SD =11.19) and the mean time in their relationship was 8.8 years (SD =9.8). We used latent variables of perceived pornography addiction, pornography communication, relationship satisfaction, and relationship instability. We also controlled for pornography use, pornography acceptance, age, and relationship status with manifest variables. Perceived pornography addiction was measured using the CPUI-9, a 9-question survey, with standardized factor loadings of at least .78. Pornography communication was measured by 5 questions with standardized factor loadings of at least .57. Relationship satisfaction was measured by 6 questions with standardized factor loadings of at least .69. Relationship instability was measured using 3 questions with standardized factor loadings of at least .53.

Results:

Mplus was used to run our structural equation model using perceived pornography addiction to predict both relationship satisfaction and relationship instability. We then ran pornography communication as a mediator while controlling for gender, relationship status, isolated pornography use, pornography acceptance in both analyses. Communication about pornography was shown to be a significant mediator for both satisfaction and instability. All results help when accounting for controls.

Conclusions and Implications:

Our study indicates pornography’s damaging effects on committed relationships. Our findings go beyond the discussion regarding whether it has a negative or positive effect by suggesting how pornography may impact those relationships. For couples, families, and clinicians, a focus on helping couples learn to discuss their pornographic habits may help to stem the tide of pornography, both increasing satisfaction and lowering instability.