Psychometric Instruments for Problematic Pornography Use: A Systematic Review

Despite a lack of consensus in the field about how best to conceptualize problematic pornography use, psychometric instruments have nonetheless been developed to assess the construct. The present systematic review aimed to (i) identify psychometric tools that have been developed to assess problematic pornography use; (ii) summarize key characteristics, psychometric properties, and strengths and limitations of instruments for problematic pornography use; (iii) compare the instruments’ theoretical conceptualizations of problematic pornography use; and (iv) evaluate each instrument on their ability to assess various core components of addiction. In this article, 22 instruments assessing problematic pornography use were reviewed. Results indicated that while the instruments had different conceptualizations of problematic pornography use, addiction still emerged as the most common theoretical framework used by the instruments. Five of the most commonly assessed addiction components across the different instruments were (1) impaired control, (2) salience, (3) mood modification, (4) interpersonal conflict, and (5) general life conflict. Contextual factors that may potentially affect the assessment of problematic pornography use and recommendations for researchers and clinicians are discussed.