Psychometric development of the Problematic Pornography Use Scale

Addict Behav. 2014 May;39(5):861-8. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.01.027. Epub 2014 Feb 13.

Abstract

Despite the increased social acceptance and widespread use of pornography over the past few decades, reliable and valid instruments assessing problematic use of pornography are lacking. This paper reports the findings of three studies aimed at developing and validating a new scale measuring problematic pornography use. The Problematic Pornography Use Scale (PPUS) items showed high internal consistency, convergent validity, and construct validity. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed four core factors relating to proposed domains of problematic pornography use. High PPUS scores were positively correlated with measures of psychopathology, low self-esteem and poor attachment. Although PPUS scores were related to other behavioral addictions, problematic pornography use as operationalized in the current paper appears to be uniquely distinguished from features of behavioral addictions relating to gambling and Internet use. Findings highlight the potential use of the PPUS for future research and possible clinical applications by defining problematic pornography use as a behavioral addiction.

Keywords: Addiction; Pornography; Pornography Scale.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Anxiety / psychology
  • Behavior, Addictive / diagnosis*
  • Behavior, Addictive / psychology
  • Erotica / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Internet
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Object Attachment
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Self Concept
  • Self Report
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Young Adult