Emotion Regulation
Concept
Emotion regulation is the set of processes by which people influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express them. Difficulties with emotion regulation are implicated in many problematic behaviours.
What emotion regulation is
Emotion regulation refers to the processes by which people influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express them. Difficulties here are linked to many problematic behaviours.
How it relates to pornography use
Community members very commonly describe pornography use as a way to cope with stress, boredom, anxiety, loneliness, or low mood — as an escape rather than a source of pleasure. Theoretical accounts such as the I-PACE model place poor emotion regulation at the centre of how problematic use develops.
Practical angle
A recurring recovery theme is building alternative ways to regulate emotion: noticing feelings, and developing other coping strategies so that pornography is not the default response to distress. See also stress and boredom.
What the research shows
Theory such as the I-PACE model proposes that poor emotion regulation and using behaviour to cope with negative affect play a role in the development of problematic Internet and pornography use. Direct evidence specific to PPU is still developing.
Community observation
Community members very commonly report using pornography to cope with stress, boredom, anxiety, loneliness, or low mood — often describing it as an escape rather than a source of pleasure.
Practical implications
- Building alternative emotion-regulation skills (noticing feelings, developing other coping strategies) is a central recovery theme.
- Understanding the feeling that precedes use can reveal what need the behaviour is serving.
What we know
- People frequently use pornography to manage negative emotions.
- Emotion-regulation difficulties are a risk factor for various problematic behaviours.
What we don't know
- Whether improving emotion regulation reliably reduces problematic pornography use in controlled studies.
- Which specific emotion-regulation skills are most effective here.
What is debated
- How central emotion regulation is relative to habit, cue reactivity, and reward processes in driving PPU.
Related research
- Integrating psychological and neurobiological considerations regarding the development and maintenance of specific Internet-use disorders: An Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model
- A current understanding of the behavioral neuroscience of compulsive sexual behavior disorder and problematic pornography use
Limitations
- Most supporting evidence is theoretical or drawn from related disorders rather than PPU specifically.
- Coping and emotion regulation are difficult to measure precisely.