Mens Internet Sex Addiction Predicts Sexual Objectification of Women Even After Taking Pornography Consumption Frequency into Account

Abstract

Excessive online video pornography consumption is associated with sexual objectification, particularly in male consumers. However, previous studies have not considered that there is a subgroup of internet users whose consumption may become excessive due to their internet sex addiction. Such users may, in response to internet sex addiction symptoms such as craving, have increased levels of sexual objectification. In a sample of 1,272 male consumers of online video pornography (Mage = 32.93, SDage = 9.44), we examined whether internet sex addiction is linked to sexual objectification. We fitted a series of structural equation models and found that men who scored higher on internet sex addiction were more likely to objectify women. More importantly, this link did not cease when controlling for the frequency of online video pornography consumption. Our findings suggest that there are other mechanisms related to addictive symptomatology, than just the link through online video pornography consumption, that may contribute to sexual objectification. Addiction-related factors may have a unique role in fostering sexual objectification. Isolating internet sex addiction as a potential driver highlights the need to address objectifying behaviors in individuals struggling with this addiction.