Why Sexual Satisfaction Matters for Problematic Pornography Consumption: Indirect Effects Via Pornography Use Motives and Moral Disapproval. Implications for Assessment and Intervention

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the role of motives for pornography use and moral disapproval of pornography in the association between sexual satisfaction and problematic pornography consumption. Method: The sample included 933 Romanian adults, aged 18–75 years (M = 29.22; SD = 10.07), most of whom were female (69.1%). Participants completed measures of sexual satisfaction, problematic pornography consumption, motives for pornography use, moral disapproval of pornography, and socio-demographic data. Results: Using a conditional process approach, we found that sexual satisfaction was indirectly associated with problematic pornography consumption through pornography use motives related to fantasy, lack of sexual satisfaction, emotional distraction/suppression, and stress reduction. Several conditional indirect effects appeared stronger at lower levels of moral disapproval of pornography and weakened as moral disapproval increased, although formal evidence of moderated mediation was observed only for the lack of sexual satisfaction motive. In contrast, sexual pleasure and boredom avoidance motives did not yield significant conditional indirect effects. Conclusions: Overall, the findings highlight the role of pornography use motives and moral disapproval in understanding the association between sexual satisfaction and problematic pornography consumption, with implications for theory as well as assessment and intervention in therapeutic practice.