This week my students are exploring the world of addiction. In prep for class, I did a little search on PsychARTICLES regarding Internet over-usage/addiction and pornography usage. PsychARTICLES contains a full-text database of 60 APA peer-reviewed journals from the 1870s to the present. As of February 2007, it contained 121,000 articles. Here’s what I found. NOTHING.
Well, almost nothing. 34 articles found with “pornography” (mostly debating during the Reagan years about the government’s trying to limit its availability. When searching the term,”Internet AND Addiction”, PsychARTICLES delivered just 5. One article appeared in both searches which was a survey of mental health counselors regarding the frequency of Internet overuse in their clientele. That survey, by the way, found that out of approximately 1000 clients, 61% reported Internet over-usage. Of those who struggle with over-usage, 59% admitted to porn addictions).
Let’s put the paucity of APA literature on porn and Internet addiction in perspective. APA also publishes a database of psychological literature that is NOT full-text (PsychINFO). PsychINFO contains the abstracts of 2.3 million records (books, articles, dissertations, etc.). While PsychARTICLES is almost exclusively APA’s own journals, PsychINFO contains records from all sorts of social/psychological journals, books, etc. not published by APA themselves. Here’s what I found when I typed in the word pornography: 1100 records and many recent ones researching the effects of it on adults and children. “Internet AND addiction” gathered 380 records.
What do I make of this? First, not many medical/psychological researchers are touching the subject. APA journals almost completely ignore the topics. Second, there is significant doubt by researchers whether Internet addiction is a real addiction. Third, the general public is VERY interested in the topics. A quick search of google of “Internet addiction” finds 508,000 records.
Why the professional/public disconnect? Probably fear of stepping into political quicksand. It would require some to think that porn is a problem (since that is the largest industry on the Internet).
Musings on Faith and Psychology 
APA won’t be able to ignore it for long. I anticipate that research will begin to explore the epidemiology of child molestation and find it related to pornography. I have already heard that violent pornography is associated with committing rape. APA might consider pornography a victimless habit right now but I think the data will debunk that myth soon enough. As for Internet addiction, I think we’re stuck comparing it to gambling addictions but since internet is so intertwined in our lives it is hard to tease apart what degree of internet use is addictive.
On a side note, I heard that 40% of pastors admitted to looking at pornography. Surprisingly, Fuller Seminary (where I attend) has had very little discussion of it. I’m not sure if that is typical of most seminaries but I’d like to see more action taken in this area by the church. For a problem that is probably more prevalent for the members than the clergy (i.e. higher than 40%) I would think we would need to address it head on.
Have you seen Pornified by Pamela Paul? Ms. Paul is a correspondent for TIME. She argues that our debates about pornography are stuck in the early nineties; and that things are a lot worse (harder and heavier) than Playboy. Notably, as a non-religious feminist, she is angered at how porn has been cooled up lately. Porn is not feminist; it is not liberating; and it is not healthy exploration, she argues.
Paul, yes I have read Pamela Paul’s piece. Very good. She’s gotten lots of hate mail, not surprisingly.
Glenn Beck focused on the problem for a week on his TV show. Didn’t really catch all of it. The toddler was running about prior to bath time. Not quite for her eyes/ears.
RTS Orlando had a spiritual emphasis week in the late 90’s that focused on sexuality. Among the speakers were Dan Allender, Gary Rupp, and John Freeman. They found a number of students were struggling with sexual issues. Just like ordinary society.
Tim Challies’s post A Pornified Culture refers to an APA study which reports
Of course, the study appears to leave unsaid much that could be said, but this may be one data point for you.
You may find this series of paper drafts helpful in your research: http://www.covenanteyes.com/blog/2008/12/31/scholars-lecture-about-the-social-costs-of-pornography/
The APA may be afraid of pornography research, but these folks are not.