Discrimination

Open Access: No.

Abstract

The association between frequent pornography exposure and sexual socialization processes and effects has been of longstanding interest to pornography scholars. In recent years, pornography scholars have become increasingly interested in problematic pornography use, of which frequent consumption is a central correlate. The Dependency-Resentment Hypothesis (DRH) unites these research areas by predicting the nature of the relationships among heterosexual men’s frequent pornography use, problematic pornography use, and hostile attitudes toward women. Following affirmative DRH research conducted in North America and Europe, this Letter reports DRH consistent results from an Asian cultural context. While providing promising support for the tenets and generalizability of the hypothesis, further research using data gathered in other countries and using additional methods is urgently needed.

Relevance

The Dependency-Resentment Hypothesis of Men’s Problematic Pornography Use and Hostile Attitudes Toward Women (DRH) is as follows:

The first step in the sequence (pornography use frequency → problematic pornography use) postulates that men’s pornography use frequency varies and that more frequent use increases the likelihood of problematic pornography consumption.

The second step in the sequence (problematic pornography use → hostile attitudes toward women) postulates that men’s dependence on pornography (and accompanying adverse consequences) ultimately leads to misogynistic resentment through the reallocation of hostility from the self (i.e., men’s self-resentment at their inability to regulate their pornography consumption) to the other (i.e., resentment toward the object of their dysregulated behavior—the sexually alluring and what they perceive as overpoweringly enticing women in pornography).

This hypothesis has been tested and found valid in North America and Europe. Additional evidence also support the validity of the hypothesis in Asia.

Citation

Wright, P. J., Tokunaga, R. S., Zheng, L., & Zhang, X. (2025). The Dependency-Resentment Hypothesis: Beyond North America and Europe. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 51(7), 791–797. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2025.2556454