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christian counseling today
VOL. 22 NO. 1
73
between pornography use and romantic
relationship avoidance and anxiety. The
researcher notes that these findings are
consistent with other suggestions of how
“pornography scripts present gender-
typed and sexualized working models
of self and others, which could shape
how men position themselves within
their actual romantic relationships….
By showing fleeting sexual encounters
and noncommittal relationships,
pornography my validate men’s fears
that their real-life partners will cheat on,
reject, and/or abandon them” (p. 104).
As the researcher suggests,
counselors may want to consider,
when working with men who use
pornography, the extent to which
pornography use may be tied to body
image and relationship concerns, as well
as their emotional well-being.
Clinicians’ Observations
of Clients’ Addiction and
Pornography Use
Short, M.B., Wetterneck, C.T., Bistrisky, S.L.,
Shutter, T., & Chase, T.E. (2016). Clinicians’
beliefs, observations, and treatment effective-
ness regarding clients’ sexual addiction and
Internet pornography use.
Community Mental
Health Journal
, published online 27 June
2016. DOI: 10.1007/s10597-016-0034-2.
This is a study of the perceptions and
experiences of clinicians who work with
clients facing sexual addiction and use
Internet pornography. The researchers
obtained a convenience sample of clini-
cians through both online and in-person
announcements, as well as the snowball
technique. Participants were 183 mental
health professionals, most of whom were
licensed (84.7%). The mean number of
years in practice was 10.9 (SD = 10.8).
Most practiced full-time (67.1%). Par-
ticipants were primarily female (65%)
and Caucasian (80.9%), with 8.2%
identifying as African-American, 6.6%
as Hispanic, and 4.3% as other. Most
participants had their master’s degree
(71.0%), while 24.6% had their doctoral
degree.
Over a third (39.4%) of participants
indicated ever working with clients with
a sexual addiction, and 21.3% indicated
they are currently seeing a client with
a sexual addiction. About half (48.8%)
of participants reported working with a
client with Internet pornography use as
their presenting problem (and 26.2%
reported currently seeing a client who
was using Internet pornography).
In terms of beliefs about sexual
addiction and Internet pornography,
... pornography use is related to
internalizing a masculine ideal,
which is tied to muscularity and
body dissatisfaction, adding to
pressures in meeting certain
standards of appearance.