Meditation as an intervention for men with self-perceived problematic pornography use: A series of single case studies

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of meditation as an intervention for pornography viewing for men who identify with self-perceived problematic pornography use (SPPPU). A series of randomized, multiple baseline (across subjects) single-case studies are reported in accordance with accepted guidelines (SCRIBE). Twelve males with SPPPU participated in a 12-week AB design with a single intervention condition: twice-daily guided meditations delivered via audio recordings. Eleven participants completed the study. They logged daily pornography viewing throughout and filled out the Problematic Pornography Consumption Scale (PPCS) at intake and post-study. Post-study interviews provided important explanatory data for outcome measures. Although TAU-U calculations for data trends showed that TAU-U values were all in the expected direction, only results from two participants indicated meditation as a statistically effective intervention. The baseline trends in the expected direction were likely the result of participants logging their daily pornography use for the first time – thus representing a significant deviation from pre-intervention ‘life as usual’ – an effect that was not considered at the time of study design. Interview data provided support and evidence for meditation as the reason for reduced SPPPU, specifically due to the perceived impacts participants experienced related to decreased rumination, improved self-acceptance, and decreased experiences of guilt and shame that typically followed pornography viewing. PPCS results indicated that measures had significantly improved for seven out of the eleven participants who completed the study. This study shows encouraging – but inconclusive – results on meditation as a potentially effective intervention for SPPPU. Further studies would benefit from addressing research limitations.