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Roles of Religiosity, Obsessive–Compulsive Symptoms, Scrupulosity, and Shame in Self-Perceived Pornography Addiction: A Preregistered Study

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Abstract

This study examined the roles of religiosity, shame, obsessive–compulsive symptoms, and scrupulosity in perceived pornography addiction. We theorized that religiosity causes pornography users to feel shame regarding their use, and in turn, self-identify as addicted to pornography, especially for individuals high on one of several proposed moderators. Participants were 645–646 pornography users who believe in a theistic God. Confirmatory analyses indicated that religious primes did not have indirect or moderated indirect effects on perceived addiction. However, exploratory analyses revealed that religious primes were associated with higher shame, and in turn, perceived addiction among individuals high on both organizational religiosity and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder compulsivity subscales. Additionally, self-reported religiosity had indirect effects on perceived addiction via shame, especially among individuals high on scrupulosity or moral disapproval of pornography.

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Notes

  1. Only one OCD subscale was entered per model due to collinearity and construct overlap. None of the three-way interactions with gender or pornography use were significant. Controlling for pornography use did not change the significance of these tests.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Harry Reis and anonymous reviewers for invaluable comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Western Carolina University, 91 Killian Building Lane, Cullowhee, NC, 28723, USA

    David C. De Jong & Casey Cook

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De Jong, D.C., Cook, C. Roles of Religiosity, Obsessive–Compulsive Symptoms, Scrupulosity, and Shame in Self-Perceived Pornography Addiction: A Preregistered Study. Arch Sex Behav 50, 695–709 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01878-6

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