Mood changes after watching pornography on the Internet are linked to tendencies towards Internet-pornography-viewing disorder
Internet-pornography-viewing disorder (IPD) is considered one type of Internet-use disorder. For IPD's development,
it was assumed theoretically that a dysfunctional use of Internet pornography to cope with depressive
mood or stress might be considered to be a risk factor. To address the effect of Internet pornography use on
mood, an online study with three measuring points with a sample of male participants was conducted. Participants
were investigated regarding their tendencies towards IPD, personal use of Internet pornography, general
mood, perceived stress, and their Internet pornography use motivation. Moreover, participants were asked regarding
their current mood, sexual arousal, and need to masturbate before and after they watched Internet pornography
self-determinedly in a private environment. Data showed that tendencies towards IPDwere associated
negatively with feeling generally good, awake, and calm and were correlated positively with perceived stress in
daily life and using Internet pornography for excitation seeking and emotional avoidance. Self-determined use of
Internet pornography in their private environment was accompanied by changes in mood and indicators of sexual
arousal. Moreover, tendencies towards IPD were negatively related to mood before and after Internet-pornography
use as well as an actual increase of good and calm mood. The results showed effects of watching
Internet pornography on mood and sexual arousal which can be considered having reinforcing effects for the
user. Thus, the results are in line with theoretical assumptions on IPD's development, in which the positive
(and negative) reinforcement received by Internet-pornography use is related to cue-reactivity and craving
reactions.
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