(PS10-A17) Pornography Viewing, PTSD Symptoms, and Romantic Relationship Quality in Military Couples

Military service members experience high rates of psychiatric disorders (Crum-Cianflone et al., 2016) and theirmental health challenges – especially PTSD symptoms – are related to lower relationship satisfaction (Allen et al., 2010). It has been hypothesized that some service members may engage in sexual behaviors to cope with posttraumatic stress (Howard, 2007), and as many as one in six service members endorse behaviors consistent with compulsive sexual behavior disorder (Borgnogna et al., 2021). Furthermore, several studies have observed that service members’ PTSD severity is positively associated with the frequency of their pornography viewing (e.g., Shirk et al., 2021; Smith et al., 2014). However, despite ample research linking men’s solitary pornography viewing to poorer romantic relationship outcomes in civilian samples (e.g., Huntington et al., 2021; Willoughby et al., 2021), no research has investigated whether these patterns occur in military couples, nor how PTSD severity may interact with pornography viewing to predict relationship quality. The current study explores possible links among these variables in a sample of military couples, investigating (1) whether service members’ reports of solitary pornography viewing are related to their romantic relationship quality and (2) whether associations between solitary pornography viewing and romantic relationship quality are mediated by PTSD severity.

One hundred and ninety service members (92% male) who had participated in a randomized controlled trial of a relationship education program answered questions regarding their solitary pornography viewing, PTSD symptoms, and relationship quality (i.e., dedication, communication danger signs, and positive bonding) as part of a follow-up survey 6.5 years following intervention. One-way ANOVAs showed significant differences (all p < .05) between service members who reported no pornography viewing, “sometimes” viewing pornography, and “often” viewing pornography, such that PTSD severity was higher and relationship quality was lower as service members reporting more viewing. In stepwise linear regression models, PTSD symptoms partially (for communication danger signs) or fully (for dedication and positive bonding) accounted for the association between pornography viewing and relationship quality.
            These results extend to military couples the observation that solitary pornography viewing, especially among men, is associated with lower romantic relationship quality. They are also consistent with the hypothesis that, for some individuals, pornography viewing may function as a form of avoidant coping or experiential avoidance (Borgogna & McDermott, 2018; Brem et al., 2018; Howard, 2007; Levin et al., 2019). Implications for future research on pornography viewing and military couples will be discussed.