Fast Facts

(Young, 2013; Nathanson, 2021)

Research has demonstrated that overcoming a pornography habit is absolutely possible, and that over time, pornography’s negative effects can be managed and largely reversed.

Citations

Young K. S. (2013). Treatment outcomes using CBT-IA with Internet-addicted patients. Journal of behavioral addictions, 2(4), 209–215. https://doi.org/10.1556/JBA.2.2013.4.3
Nathanson, A. (2021). Psychotherapy with young people addicted to internet pornography. Psychoanal. Study Child, 74(1), 160-173. doi:10.1080/00797308.2020.1859286

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(Martellozzo, Monaghan, Adler, Davidson, Leyva, & Horvath, 2016)

Of the adolescents who had been exposed to porn, 28% were first exposed by accident, 19% were unexpectedly shown pornography by someone else, and only 19% searched for it intentionally, according to research by the NSPCC.

Citations

Martellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J.R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M.A.H. (2016). 'I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it'. A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people. London: Middlesex University. NSPCC. Retrieved from https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/media/1187/mdx-nspcc-occ-pornography-report.pdf

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(Brown, Durtschi, Carroll, & Willoughby, 2017)

People who use porn as a self-soothing technique tend to have some of the lowest reports of emotional and mental wellbeing according to a 2017 study.

Citations

Brown, C. C., Durtschi, J. A., Carroll, J. S., & Willoughby, B. J. (2017). Understanding and predicting classes of college students who use pornography. Computers in Human Behavior, 66, 114-121. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.09.008

How Porn Can Impact Mental Health and Fuel Loneliness

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(Snagowski, Wegmann, Pekal, Laier, & Brand, 2015)

Research shows remarkable neurological similarities between substance addiction and compulsive pornography consumption.

Citations

Love, T., Laier, C., Brand, M., Hatch, L., & Hajela, R. (2015). Neuroscience of Internet Pornography Addiction: A Review and Update. Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 5(3), 388–433. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs5030388
Snagowski, J., Wegmann, E., Pekal, J., Laier, C., & Brand, M. (2015). Implicit associations in cybersex addiction: Adaption of an Implicit Association Test with pornographic pictures. Addictive behaviors, 49, 7–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.05.009

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(Brown, Durtschi, Carroll, & Willoughby, 2017)

Porn consumption is associated with lower self-esteem.

Citations

Brown, C. C., Durtschi, J. A., Carroll, J. S., & Willoughby, B. J. (2017). Understanding and predicting classes of college students who use pornography. Computers in Human Behavior, 66, 114-121. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.09.008

How Porn Can Impact Mental Health and Fuel Loneliness

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(Park, Wilson, Berger, Christman, Reina, Bishop, Klam, & Doan, 2016; Banca, Morris, Mitchell, Harrison, Potenza, & Voon, 2016)

Because of desensitization, many porn consumers find themselves consuming more porn, consuming more often, or consuming more extreme forms of pornography.

Citations

Park, B. Y., Wilson, G., Berger, J., Christman, M., Reina, B., Bishop, F., Klam, W. P., & Doan, A. P. (2016). Is Internet Pornography Causing Sexual Dysfunctions? A Review with Clinical Reports. Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 6(3), 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs6030017
Banca, P., Morris, L. S., Mitchell, S., Harrison, N. A., Potenza, M. N., & Voon, V. (2016). Novelty, conditioning and attentional bias to sexual rewards. Journal of psychiatric research, 72, 91–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.10.017

How Porn Can Become An Escalating Behavior

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(Wright, Paul, & Herbenick, 2021)

According to a nationally representative survey of U.S. teens, 84.4% of 14 to 18-year-old males and 57% of 14 to 18-year-old females have viewed pornography.

Citations

Wright, P. J., Paul, B., & Herbenick, D. (2021). Preliminary insights from a U.S. probability sample on adolescents’ pornography exposure, media psychology, and sexual aggression. J.Health Commun., 26(1), 39-46. doi:10.1080/10810730.2021.1887980

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(Young, 2013)

Research assessing the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in treating porn addiction found that “over 95% of clients were able to manage symptoms at the end of the twelve weeks and 78% sustained recovery six months following treatment.”

Citations

Young K. S. (2013). Treatment outcomes using CBT-IA with Internet-addicted patients. Journal of behavioral addictions, 2(4), 209–215. https://doi.org/10.1556/JBA.2.2013.4.3

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(Hilton, 2013; Goodwin, Browne, & Rockloff, 2015)

Porn is considered a supernormal stimulus.

Citations

Hilton D. L., Jr (2013). Pornography addiction - a supranormal stimulus considered in the context of neuroplasticity. Socioaffective neuroscience & psychology, 3, 20767. https://doi.org/10.3402/snp.v3i0.20767
Goodwin, B. C., Browne, M., & Rockloff, M. (2015). Measuring Preference for Supernormal Over Natural Rewards: A Two-Dimensional Anticipatory Pleasure Scale. Evolutionary Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704915613914

How Porn Can Change The Brain

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(BBFC, 2020)

The majority of young people are exposed to porn by the time they’re 13, according to research involving young people in the UK.

Citations

British Board of Film Classification. (2020). Young people, pornography & age-verification. BBFC. Retrieved from https://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-classification/research

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(Volkow, Koob, & McLellan, 2016)

Some experts have determined four major brain changes common to addicted brains—sensitization, desensitization, hypofrontality, and a malfunctioning stress system— all of which can be found in cases of pornography consumption.

Citations

Volkow, N. D., Koob, G. F., & McLellan, A. T. (2016). Neurobiologic advances from the brain disease model of addiction. N Engl J Med, 374(4), 363-371. doi:10.1056/NEJMra1511480

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(Gilliland, South, Carpenter, & Hardy, 2011)

Research shows that while feeling guilt can motivate healthy change, feeling shame actually fuels problematic porn habits.

Citations

Gilliland, R., South, M., Carpenter, B. N., & Hardy, S. A. (2011). The roles of shame and guilt in hypersexual behavior. 18(1), 12-29. doi:10.1080/10720162.2011.551182

Fighting Against Both Porn & Shame Is More Than Possible, It’s Necessary

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