While the use of pornography is widespread in the general population, its problematic use appears to be especially prominent among religious men. A recent study, published in Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity, suggests that a psychological construct called scrupulosity might explain why.
Previous studies have presented mixed findings when it comes to the relationship between religion and pornography use. Overall, religiosity has been associated with both an increase and a decrease in problematic pornography viewing. Researchers Borgogna and colleagues propose that this discrepancy in findings might be explained by the interfering effects of two constructs: scrupulosity and self-compassion.
Scrupulosity is characterized by over-concern with adhering to religious standards – in other words, “pathological guilt/obsession with religious perfectionism.” The researchers suggest that scrupulosity might explain why religious individuals tend to experience heightened distress in association with their use of pornography. They explain, “individuals who hold themselves to extremely high religious standards may be the most susceptible to perceiving their pornography viewing as problematic.”
Self-compassion, on the other hand, is characterized by a positive attitude towards oneself and acceptance of the self without judgment. Since many religions teach self-compassion, researchers suggest that this trait might explain why religion is in part negatively related to problematic pornography viewing. The authors say, “These men may be likely to accept and move past perceived transgressions rather than ruminating and engaging in highly self-critical behaviors that might paradoxically increase pornography viewing.”
A total of 244 heterosexual men completed an online survey that measured problematic pornography use with the 9-item Cyber Pornography Use Inventory. The inventory assessed components such as perceived compulsivity and emotional distress in relation to pornography use. Subjects also completed assessments of pornography viewing frequency, religiosity, spirituality, religious behavior, masculine ideology, and self-compassion. Finally, scrupulosity was assessed with the “Fear of Sin” subscale of the Penn Inventory of Scrupulosity, which included items like ‘I feel guilty about immoral thoughts I have had.’
Results were that scrupulosity showed strong positive correlations with the problematic use of pornography. What’s more, mediation analysis found that scrupulosity mediated the relationship between religion and problematic pornography. Although researchers measured various other aspects of religion, scrupulosity remained the strongest predictor.
Another compelling finding was that scrupulosity was even more strongly associated with the problematic use of pornography than it was with religiosity. The authors share, “this finding highlights the dark side of scrupulosity, as it suggests moral obsession and perfectionism over religious issues is more strongly related to the incongruence problems (e.g., problems with pornography viewing), than the actual underlying religious belief system.”
Contrary to the researchers’ predictions, self-compassion showed no significant correlation with problematic pornography viewing. The researchers share a possible explanation for this lack of effect. They suggest that scrupulosity might have been so strongly correlated with problematic pornography that it squandered any counter effects of self-compassion. The authors suggest that future studies attempt to uncover other religious factors that might mitigate the impact of scrupulosity on problematic pornography viewing.
The researchers suggest that mental health clinicians working with religious male clients should address the following components during therapy: “(1) the religious-based obsessive thoughts that are part of scrupulosity, (2) the impulsive actions of accessing pornography, and (3) the cyclical feelings of guilt and shame that result from pornography use.”
The study, “A Closer Examination of the Relationship between Religiosity and Problematic Pornography Viewing in Heterosexual Men”, was authored by Nicholas C. Borgogna, Anthony Isacco, and Ryon C. McDermott.
