CYBERSPACE—Clinical research journal Behavioral Therapy has published results of the first-ever study conducted to address a malady referred to as “problematic internet pornography viewing.” Though it is common for many pornography watchers to refer to issues related to the excessive use of internet porn as “addiction,” the authors of the study, Utah State University psychologist Michael Twohig and graduate student Jess Crosby, approached the problem rather as an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

“Despite the prevalence of problematic internet pornography viewing and the breadth of intervention approaches to potentially address it, no studies to address this problem have been reported to date,” reads an abstract of the study. “An emerging treatment approach, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), holds promise as a treatment for internet pornography viewing because of its focus on processes hypothesized to underlie this maladaptive behavior.”

Read the full article