Pathological personality traits and problematic pornography use: the mediating role of life satisfaction

Although pathological personality traits have been associated with problematic pornography use (PPU), limited evidence has examined the cognitive-affective mechanisms through which these variables are statistically associated. In particular, the potential mediating role of life satisfaction has received little attention, especially within a DSM-5 dimensional personality framework and a non-Western context. This study tested an I-PACE-informed statistical mediation model in which life satisfaction statistically mediated the association between pathological personality traits and PPU among Iranian adults.

In this cross-sectional descriptive-correlational study, a convenience online sample of 591 Iranian adults aged 18–40 years residing in Tehran completed the Problematic Pornography Use Scale, Personality Inventory for DSM-5–Brief Form, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) with maximum likelihood estimation and 5,000 bias-corrected bootstrap resamples was used to examine the hypothesized associations among pathological personality traits, satisfaction with life, and problematic pornography use. Pathological personality traits were negatively associated with life satisfaction (β = −0.472, p < .001) and positively associated with PPU (β = 0.303, p < .001), while life satisfaction was negatively associated with PPU (β = −0.450, p < .001).

The standardized indirect effect through life satisfaction was statistically significant (β = 0.212, 95% bias-corrected CI [0.176, 0.253], p < .001), and the standardized total effect of pathological personality traits on PPU was β = 0.516. The findings indicate that lower life satisfaction may represent an important cognitive-affective correlate in the statistical association between dimensional pathological personality traits and PPU. By integrating subjective well-being into an I-PACE-informed account of PPU, this study extends understanding of psychological factors that may be relevant to future longitudinal research and clinical formulation.

Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran Peyman MamSharifi, Faramarz Sohrabi, Ahmad Borjali & Farideh HosseinSabet Department of Assessment and Measurement, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran The corresponding author serves as a volunteer peer reviewer for Springer Nature journals, including BMC Psychology, BMC Public Health, BMC Psychiatry, and Discover Medicine. The author has no editorial role in the handling of this manuscript and declares that this role has not influenced the design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, or reporting of the study. No other competing interests exist.

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