Mental Health
A global investigation of the Moral Incongruence Model of Pornography Use across genders, religions, and cultures.
Open Access: Yes.
Abstract
Background and aims
Millions of people struggle with compulsive/problematic pornography use (i.e., PPU) or self-perceived addiction (i.e., SPA) to pornography. Despite pornography’s global availability and PPU’s recent official recognition as a manifestation of compulsive sexual behavior disorder, these problems remain poorly understood, primarily due to a lack of rigorous research beyond small, homogeneous samples. To address this gap and provide evidence that is both robust and generalizable, we tested the applicability of the Moral Incongruence Model of Pornography Use across diverse populations. This model posits that individuals develop problems with their pornography use due to behavioral dysregulation (i.e., PPU) and/or when their use conflicts with their moral values (i.e., moral incongruence), often influenced by religious beliefs, resulting in SPA.
Methods
Using data from the International Sex Survey (N = 66,994; 50.8% women), we examined the associations between religiosity, pornography use frequency, PPU, and SPA, considering moral incongruence as a moderator. We employed multi-group structural equation models across 34 countries, three genders, and seven religious affiliations.
Results
Results indicated that the model was invariant across all countries, genders, and religious affiliations, with weak and positive associations between religiosity and PPU/SPA, and moderate-to-strong associations between pornography use frequency and PPU/SPA. Moral incongruence moderated the relationship between pornography use frequency and PPU/SPA, with stronger associations at higher levels of moral disapproval.
Conclusions
These findings suggest that, regardless of cultural background, gender, or religion, the same mechanisms may underlie PPU/SPA, supporting the generalizability of the Moral Incongruence Model and its relevance to current international diagnostic guidelines.
Relevance
The present study addressed addressed the generalizability of the Moral Incongruence Model of Pornography Use across various cultures, genders, and religious affiliations. Our “robust findings” suggested that regardless of an individual’s cultural background, gender identity, or religion, the same mechanisms – behavioral dysregulation and pornography problems dues to moral incongruence – may underlie their problematic pornography use and/or self-perceived addiction to pornography. Those individuals who experience “greater conflict” or moral incongruence between their use of pornography and their moral values “report higher levels of problems” with pornography use.
Citation
Bőthe, B., Michaud, A., Beaulieu, V., Houle, S., Nagy, L., Koós, M., Kraus, S. W., Potenza, M. N., Demetrovics, Z., Költő, A., International Sex Survey Consortium, & Grubbs, J. B. (2026). A global investigation of the Moral Incongruence Model of Pornography Use across genders, religions, and cultures. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, Article 2006.2025.00540. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2025.00540
