The Role of Difficulties in Emotion Regulation and Thought Control Strategies on Pornography Use

Objective: Due to easy accessibility to pornography for adolescents and youth, research on the use of pornography has proliferated in recent years. The aim of this study was to examine‌ the role of difficulties in emotion regulation and thought control strategies on pornography use. Methods: The population of this research included all students of the Sistan and Baluchestan University in southeastern Iran. A total of 395 students (193 men and 202 women), with a mean age of 22.35 years, were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method. The participants completed the standardized measures of frequency of pornography use, difficulties in emotion regulation, and thought control strategies. Data were analyzed in SPSS (v. 22) software by using Pearson&rsquo;s correlation coefficient and Stepwise multiple regression. Results: The results showed that 74% of men used pornography in the past 12 months; however, only 35% of women used pornography in the past 12 months. The results also revealed that pornography use was correlated with difficulties in emotion regulation and thought control strategies. Multiple regressions revealed that, in men, difficulties in emotion regulation (&beta;=0.27; P<0.001) can positively predict pornography use and distraction (&beta;=-0.28; P<0.001) can negatively predict pornography use. In addition, the results demonstrated that, in women, difficulties in emotion regulation (&beta;=0.30; P<0.001) can positively predict pornography use and social control (&beta;=-0.18; P<0.001) can negatively predict pornography use. Conclusion: These findings indicated that difficulties in emotion regulation and thought control strategies (distraction and social control strategies) may successfully address the frequency of pornography use.