Understanding Perceived Problematic Pornography Use with the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model

Problematic pornography use and its adverse consequences are prevalent, but little is known about its psychosocial contributors. Drawing on the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model (DSMM), this study explores whether and how perceived problematic Internet pornography use is associated with psychological factors from three domains: social (i.e., family adaptability), dispositional (i.e., self-acceptance), and development factors (i.e., impulse control difficulties). Analysis of an anonymous survey of 1,483 Chinese emerging adults showed that family adaptability and self-acceptance were negatively correlated with perceived problematic pornography use, whereas impulse control difficulties were positively correlated with perceived problematic pornography use. Self-acceptance mediated the association between family adaptability and perceived problematic pornography use. Impulse control difficulties moderated such mediation effect, in which the protective effect of family adaptability on self-acceptance and that of self-acceptance on perceived problematic pornography use were attenuated by impulse control difficulties. These findings advance understanding of the complex underlying psychosocial mechanisms of perceived problematic pornography use by providing evidence to the applicability of DSMM on such problematic use and clarifying the direct, indirect, and/or moderating role(s) of family adaptability, self-acceptance, and impulse control difficulties in those mechanisms. They also provide insights for targeted approaches in future intervention programs among emerging adults.